The Stanford men’s swim team will be heading down to Austin, Texas to face the Texas Longhorns in the Texas Invitational, which starts today and concludes on Saturday. No. 2 Arizona will also be competing in the meet held at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.

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Stanford Daily File Photo

Junior Jason Dunford and the Cardinal will look to get out to a fast start at the Texas Invitational this weekend.

The Cardinal has two wins on the year thus far, against LSU and Washington.

Stanford is coming off of a particularly impressive performance at the Nike Cup Invitational last week, in which sophomore Eugene Godsoe put in a time of 1 minute, 43.91 seconds in the 200-meter back, one of the best times in the nation. Although Godsoe was off of the NCAA qualifying standard, he has established himself as one of the premier backstrokers in collegiate swimming. Godsoe’s development from his freshman to sophomore year and his emergence as the team’s leading backstroker after the departure of Hongzhe Sun last year will help Stanford maintain its excellence in the category.

Stanford’s other backstrokers include sophomore David Dunford, freshman Josh Charnin-Aker, and junior Scott Lathrope.

Coach Skip Kenney’s team boasts strong depth in sprint events, led by junior Jason Dunford, freshmen Austin Staab and Jake Allen, sophomores Alex Coville, Godsoe and David Dunford and junior Dan Priestley. Staab, Allen and the Dunford brothers have so far been the squad’s “A” team for the 200 free relay, as both have proven capable of putting forth sub-20 second times in relay splits for the 50 free.

“My personal goals for the season include: under 46 in the 100 fly, a low 19 in the 50 free and a 42.5 in the 100 free,” Jason Dunford said. “Being a citizen of Kenya, I have already made my Olympic qualifying standards, so I hope to final in the Olympics in the 100 fly and lower my African record (of 51.85) [long course meters].”

The 100 free at the Nike Cup was dominated by Stanford, as Staab, Jason Dunford, and senior Daniel Beal each won with times of 43.70, 43.82 and 43.84, respectively. The Stanford 400 relay has not been set officially, as the Cardinal did not swim the 400 free relay at the Nike Cup.

“I want to try my hand as a sprinter and see if I can nail down a relay spot on the 4 x 100 free relay,” Beal said. “Technique-wise, I have to focus on getting in and out of my walls faster. I tend to slow down after the flags, and in a short course race, that kind of deceleration can be fatal.”

The Cardinal’s real depth has been in its breaststroke squad. Stanford has traditionally been strong in the breaststroke field regularly putting swimmers in the top 8 of the NCAA Finals. This year, the breaststroke squad is led by junior captains Paul Kornfeld and Nate Cass.

Stanford’s breaststroke crew also includes junior Chris Ash, senior Karl Boehringer, freshman John Criste, senior Egan Gans, junior BJ Johnson, sophomore Brede Kolsrud and junior Paul Zaich. Zaich and Cass have made the U.S. national team, putting up the top six times for the year in 200 meter breast.

“I am always looking for ways to help the team reach and exceed its potential. Our team goal is for the whole team to go best times at the end of the season,” Kornfeld said. “But at this point of the season, the team is focusing on the little things that will help us at Pac-10s and NCAAs like attacking our turns, underwaters and hard kicking.”

Stanford will face tough competition when it takes to the pool today. Arizona took first in last year’s event with 787 points, Texas second with 787 and Stanford third with 543 points. The Longhorns have ten returning All-Americans and big names in the swimming world with Matt Lowe, Matt McGinnis, Michael Klueh and Rickey Berens slated to compete.

Texas also boasts the U.S. Summer Nationals 100-meter freestyle champion in sophomore Dave Walters. Arizona sends senior Darian Townsend, winner of last year’s NCAA finals in the 200 free, and also Albert Subirats, winner of both the 100 fly and 100 back.

Stanford is ranked No. 3 in the nation going into the meet.