A sudden setback could change everything! Just before the midseason, Texas junior Erin Gemmell suffered an ankle sprain, casting a shadow of uncertainty over her participation in the remainder of the meet. This news comes from the 2025 Texas Hall of Fame Invitational, held at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center in Austin, TX, from November 18-21, 2025. Prelims begin at 9:30 am ET for swimming and 11:30 am ET for diving, with finals at 5:30 pm ET (except Tuesday, which has relay timed finals at 5 pm ET). You can follow the results on Meet Mobile under “Texas Hall of Fame Swimming Invite.”
Gemmell, who led off the Texas women’s 800 free relay tonight, swam a 1:45.92. This is about two seconds off her season-best time of 1:42.64, achieved a month prior in a dual meet against Tennessee. During that same meet, Gemmell also shared insights about her summer training with Team USA and the arrival of fellow mid-distance freestyler Nikolett Padar.
Padar, swimming the second leg of the Texas relay, clocked in at 1:42.05. The Texas women ultimately finished 3rd in the 800 free relay with a time of 6:53.68, marking the #2 performance in school history. The school record, set in 2018 at the NCAA Championships, stands at 6:53.42. Stanford took 1st place tonight with a 6:51.07, while USC secured 2nd with a 6:53.17.
The Texas relay team also included freshman Inez Miller from Australia, who previously swam the 200 freestyle only once, achieving a 1:45.78 during the dual meet against Tennessee. Lillie Nesty, the final relay member, finished with a 1:41.91, which is notably faster than her 1:42.87 split at the 2025 NCAA Championships, where the team placed 4th.
This injury could be a game-changer. If Gemmell can recover and regain her form, the relay team has the potential to contend for a title in March.
What are your thoughts? Do you think this injury will significantly impact the team's performance, or can they still rise to the occasion? Share your opinions in the comments below!
