The Rice swimming season was cut short. Still, the impression Marta Cano-Minarro made in a shortened campaign made waves at South Main.
Marta Cano-Minarro burst onto the Rice Swimming scene as a freshman in 2018. Her debut season was spectacular. She set the school record in the 200 IM. She won multiple CSCAA and C-USA Championships and was the anchor in three program-record-setting relay teams.
Her rapid ascent wasn’t unexpected. Prior to her arrival at Rice, Cano-Minarro competed in the FINA Junior World Swimming Championships where she finished Top 15 in the 200 Free. She also swam in the European Games, finishing sixth in the 200 Free.
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Rice swimming coach Set Huston said athletes like her “make the coach look pretty good”. He gave all the credit to Cano-Minnaro. Hutson cited her relentless pursuit to better herself and a work ethic commensurate with her own expectations, which are lofty.
Huston said Cano-Minarro “has big goals”, some of which she was able to achieve this past season. She won the 200 IM and 200 Free at the Conference USA Championships where she was named Co-Swimmer of the Meet. Soon after the season would end and she would be dubbed Conference-USA’s Co-Swimmer of the Year.
Cano-Minarro led the Owls in points at the conference championship, placing in the top three in seven different events, including four relays. Along the way, she set several personal bests as she continues to improve.
If the first two years of her collegiate career offer any indication, the best of Cano-Minarro could still be to come. That’s something that she and Rice swimming eagerly look forward to. The sooner she can get back in the pool, the sooner the rest of the world will see.
