And we're back! Several major college dual meets and the Arena Pro Swim Series in Austin, Texas, woke up meet seekers across the U.S. after a couple weeks of competitive hibernation. 

Most notably, the No. 5 Texas women "shocked" the second-ranked Georgia Bulldogs in Athens, GA, on Saturday, handing them their first home loss in a few years -- 22 to be exact. Wait, what? Yes, the Georgia women's team had not lost at home in an NCAA-record 103 straight dual meets over the past 22 years. Why is "shock" in quotations you ask? Well, the Longhorns are on a massive tear across the U.S., highlighted with their results at the Texas Invite in early December. To say they are "so hot right now" is an understatement.

The Georgia women have been nothing short of unstoppable in recent years, but the Bulldogs failed to put up much of a fight against the Longhorns, losing 124-171 in their home pool.

Why this is so surprising is not just the final score but also that many of UT's victories were by quite a large margin, which should raise some eyebrows as we near championship season. 

Allow me to submit several pieces of evidence to the court.

Item A:

Texas' Madisyn Cox came away with three individual wins:

• ​200-yard Free, 1:45.28 (second place was 1:47.03)
  
• ​200 Breast, 2:09.50 to 2:14.61
  
• ​200 IM, 1:57.26 to 2:01.39

Item B:

Remedy Rule followed suit in two of her victories:

• ​100 Fly, 53.21 to 53.87
• 200 Fly, 1:56.03 to 1:57.43

Item C:

Tasija Karosas came close to victory in the 100 back but returned with a strong statement in the 200.

• ​200 Back, 1:53.80 to 1:54.69

Item D:​

Rebecca Millard, in addition to her 50 free victory over Chantal Van Landeghem and Olivia Smoliga, also won the 100 free in 48.83 (second place was 49.41).

Item E:

Easy relay victories for Texas:

• ​200 Medley Relay, 1:37.70 to 1:39.69.
  
• ​400 Free Relay, 3:17.61 to 3:19.18.
  

Item F:

Joanna Evans also had two big wins in the 500 and 1000 Free, going 4:45.85 and 9:46.40, respectively, and winning by over a body length in each race.

Closing Statement:

With less than one month left to go until "conference craziness," every single NCAA team dials their swimmers in at different rates, tightening the screws, and allowing those training trip gains to emerge. The question is which team will be placing more of their marbles into its conference meet? Texas has the makings of an intrasquad for its conference championships but will be looking to get as many of those girls to the Big Show as possible. Georgia, on the other hand, must stave off a mighty gaggle of Texas Aggies, ranked seventh, along with strong performances likely from No. 12 Missouri, No. 14 Auburn, No. 18 Kentucky, and No. 21 Florida. Only time will tell. Until then….

...may the taper be with all of you.

By Adam Mania