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Texas Sweeps Big 12 Titles for Third Straight Season

Texas Men

No. 1 Texas completed its second-ever sweep of the Big 12 Championships and secured its 36th consecutive conference team title Saturday evening at UT’s Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center. 
 
Texas won its 19th Big 12 team title with 1,040 points and swept the four-day event for the first time since 2008.  TCU placed second with 797 points while West Virginia rounded out the standings in third with 736 points. 
 
Sophomore Jack Conger was named the Men’s Swimmer of the Meet while senior Will Chandler was named the Men’s Diver of the Meet.  Swimmer Joseph Schooling was tabbed the Men’s Newcomer of the Meet, while Eddie Reese and Matt Scoggin were selected as the meet’s top swimming and diving coaches, respectively. 
 
All-America sophomore diver Mark Anderson kicked off the night with an impressive effort on his way to his second conference victory on platform in as many seasons.  The Californian won by nearly 125 points and totaled 423.10 points on his six dives.  Anderson earned a perfect score of “10” on his first dive, an inward, three-and-a-half somersault that totaled 86.40 points.  He netted three perfect scores from the seven judges on his fifth dive, an armstand somersault in the pike position. 
 
All-America sophomore Jack Conger produced the third 200 backstroke swim in UT history to clear the 1:40 mark and broke his own meet record in the event at 1:39.70. The mark eclipsed his meet record of 1:40.56 from a year ago.  Earlier this week, Conger claimed the American record in the 200 butterfly at 1:39.31.  Sophomore Will Glass finished as the runner-up in another impressive time of 1:41.66.
 
Brett Ringgold became the first Texas freshman to win a Big 12 title in the 100 freestyle since Olympic silver medalist Jimmy Feigen in 2009.  The Keller native snagged his first league crown at 42.82 while junior Matt Ellis placed third in 43.56.  Senior Clay Youngquist took fifth in 43.75, and junior John Murray took seventh in 44.07. 
 
Freshman Jonathan Roberts won his first career conference title and claimed the 1,650 freestyle in 14:53.33.  The Southlake native became the first UT freshman to win the mile at the Big 12 Championships since Jackson Wilcox in 2009.  All-America junior Sam Lewis placed second at 14:55.39.
 
Sophomore Will Licon lowered his Big 12 and school records in the 200 breaststroke and dipped below the 1:52 mark for the first time while winning in 1:51.77.  The El Paso native holds school records in the 200 and 400 individual medleys in addition to the 200 breaststroke.  Freshman Austin Temple added a second-place mark of 1:57.15 while sophomore Imri Ganiel took sixth in 2:01.98. 
 
Schooling became the second-fastest Longhorn behind Conger in the 200 butterfly and set a meet record in 1:40.59.  Junior John Martens took second in 1:43.05 and senior Tripp Cooper added a third-place mark of 1:45.10. 
 
Texas capped the meet by posting an NCAA automatic-qualifying cut in the 400 freestyle relay (Ringgold 42.60, Ellis 42.96, Darmody 43.55, Youngquist 43.03) at 2:52.14.

 

Texas Women

No. 6 Texas won all seven events Saturday evening and completed its first sweep of the Big 12 Championships Saturday evening at UT’s Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center. 
 
Texas won its 13th Big 12 Conference team title and third consecutive league crown with 1,082.5 points.  Iowa State placed second with 618.5 points while Kansas took third with 589 points.  West Virginia took fourth with 481 points and TCU placed fifth with 458 points. 
 
The swimming coaches voted senior Gretchen Jaques as the Women’s Swimmer of the Meet and sophomore Murphy Bromberg was named the Women’s Diver of the Meet.  Coaches selected UT’s Matt Scoggin as the Women’s Diving Coach of the Meet.  
 
Bromberg topped her school and Big 12 records in the platform diving event and ran away with the victory with 411.30 points.  The two-time U.S. senior national champion yielded perfect scores from six of the seven judges on her second dive, a back, three-and-a-half somersault in the tuck position for 99.00 points.  The All-American netted 70 points or better on all five of her dives on her way to victory. 
 
Sophomore Tasija Karosas nearly took down Kathleen Hersey’s school record in the 200 backstroke and won her second straight league crown in that event at 1:52.74, just off of Hersey’s mark of 1:52.58.  Sophomore Rebecca Baxley added a sixth-place time of 1:59.23. 
 
Freshman Rebecca Millard collected her first Big 12 individual title and won the 100 freestyle in a personal-best time of 48.84.  She became the first Texas freshman to win a league crown in the 100 freestyle since Karlee Bispo in 2009.  Freshman Mimi Schneider took second in 49.74 while sophomore MaKayla Markey placed fifth at 50.56. 
 
Senior Kaitlin Pawlowicz captured her second career Big 12 title and first in the 1,650 freestyle Saturday evening in 16:01.92, good for the fifth-fastest swim in school history.  In December, Pawlowicz became just the third Longhorn ever to break 16 minutes in the event when she clocked 15:57.37 at the Texas Invitational.  Sophomore Smacker Miles added a fourth-place mark of 16:42.06.  Jaques nailed down her second straight league crown in the 200 breaststroke and led a one-two Texas finish atop the event in 2:08.94 for her third league title of the meet.  All-America sophomore Madisyn Cox took second in 2:11.42 while sophomore Jordan Surhoff placed fourth at 2:14.22.
 
Senior Kelsey LeNeave collected her second individual title of the meet and the first of her career in the 200 butterfly at 1:56.21.  Classmate Skylar Smith followed in fifth at 2:00.86.   
 
Texas capped the meet with its victory in the 400 freestyle relay (Millard 49.08, Karosas 49.54, Schneider 49.47, Jaques 48.91) at 3:17.00, just off of the NCAA automatic-qualifying cut of 3:16.41. 

 

TCU

The TCU men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams completed the Big 12 Championships with second and fifth place finishes overall, respectively, at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center in Austin.
 
It’s the third-straight year the men’s team has finished second at the meet.
 
The Horned Frogs placed four in the finals of the men’s 200 back with senior Cooper Robinson finishing third with an NCAA “B” cut time of 1:44.29. Junior Adam Szilagyi (1:45.28), who came in fourth and senior Josh Mangus (1:46.13), who finished fifth, also posted “B” status times and sophomore Chris Hearl (1:50.30) placed seventh.
 
Sophomore Julia Grace Sanders picked up a third-place time in the women’s 100 free finals behind a time of 50.09. Her time was only 0.01 seconds off a season best.
 
Senior Curtis Muller lead the way for the Horned Frogs in the men’s platform dive, posting a mark of 272.45 en route to a third-place score. It’s the top score in the event by a Horned Frog this season. Seniors Ricky Bradley (250.65) and Joseph Stegeman (191.55) finished sixth and seventh, respectively.
 
The men’s 400 free relay also paced to a third-place time, clocking in at 3:00.68. The members of the team were junior Adam Szilagyi, sophomores Garrett Hills and Chris Hearl and senior Josh Mangus.
 
Senior Thor Stenfjord picked up a fourth-place time in the men’s 1650 free at 15:33.01.
 
TCU placed two in the finals of the men’s 200 fly as freshmen Matt Spallas and Carlos Hunnicutt finished fourth and sixth, respectively. Spallas put up a time of 1:47.73, an NCAA “B” cut time, while Hunnicutt clocked in at 1:49.05. Spallas’ mark puts him at third all-time in program history.
 
In the men’s 200 breast finals, sophomore John Remetta recorded a fifth-place time at 2:00.75. His time is the fastest by a Horned Frog this season.
 
The women’s 400 free relay s            quad finished fifth behind a time of 3:26.98. The quartet consisted of Seniors Mackenzie Schuler and Ali Bleasdell, freshman Emily Gibson and junior Mikayla Winkler.
 
In the women’s 200 back finals, Bleasdell and freshman Devin Newton placed seventh and eighth with times of 1:59.73 and 2:00.90, respectively. Bleasdell’s mark is the fastest time in the event this season by a Horned Frog.
 
Winkler and junior Carley Stevens placed back-to-back in seventh and eighth in the women’s 1650 free with times of 17:03.49 and 17:05.75, respectively.
 
In the women’s 200 fly finals, junior Catherine Rash and Bleasdell posted seventh and eighth place times. Rash paced to a mark of 2:02.54, while Bleasdell finished at 2:02.70.
 
Sophomore Garrett Hills finished eighth at 44.65 in the men’s 100 free. It’s the top time this season by a Horned Frog in the event.
 
In the women’s platform dive, junior Kristen Connolly had the team’s best score in the platform dive at 187.45.
 
The Horned Frogs complete the four-day Big 12 Championships with six new school records.

 

West Virginia

The West Virginia University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams completed the fourth and final day of competition at the 2015 Big 12 Swimming & Diving Championships earlier tonight at the Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center in Austin, Texas.

“We finished really well,” said coach Vic Riggs. “Though we couldn’t get away from the DQ bug that has followed us all week, it was really great to see so many seniors swim their last races tonight.”

 The Mountaineer men finished third in the conference, while the women placed fourth.

“This team’s character can’t be expressed in words,” Riggs said. “You needed to be here and live this week to realize how difficult a week this was on them. They did a tremendous job and for both teams to swim as well as they did is a true testament to their character and desire to finish the job.”

The men’s 200-yard backstroke A Final saw Jay Hickey garner All-Big 12 honors with a sixth-place finish in a season-best time of 1:46.60. Nathan Cobbe placed eighth in 1:54.53. In the B Final of the event, Triston Mosby (1:48.90), David Palley (1:49.42) and Chris McMahon (1:51.77) finished second, third and fifth, respectively.

In the women’s 200-yard backstroke B Final, Taylor Gill led the way with a first-place finish and a season-best 1:58.92. Amelie Currat placed second (2:00.86) and Courtney Miller finished fifth (2:02.41).

“Taylor had a great 200 back to lead us off followed by Jay’s in the men’s,” Riggs said.

Jaimee Gillmore swam to All-Big 12 Second Team honors in the A Final of the women’s 100-yard freestyle. Gillmore’s season-best time of 50.15 earned her a fourth-place finish in the conference. In the B Final of the event, Celia Martinez placed seventh in 52.59.

Three Mountaineer men earned spots in the A Final of the men’s 100-yard freestyle and all three raced to All-Big 12 honors. Tim Squires led the way with a second-place finish in a season-best 43.43. Andrew Marsh finished fourth in a season-best 43.59 and Ross Glegg placed sixth in a season-best 43.96. 

“Jaimee continued her great meet in the 100 and the trio of Ross, Tim and Andrew all had great swims,” Riggs said.

Emma Skelley posted a time of 16:38.05 to earn All-Big 12 honors in the women’s 1,650-yard freestyle, placing third overall.

In the men’s 1,650-yard freestyle, James Koval claimed All-Big 12 honors with a fifth-place finish in 15:34.76. Pierce Bradshaw finished eighth in the event in 16:14.23.

“Emma swam a very solid mile with her best time,” Riggs said. “Also, James dropped 12 seconds in his mile for his best time.”

The men’s 200-yard breaststroke A Final was well represented by West Virginia competitors. Max Spencer led the way in third in 1:57.41 to earn All-Big 12 First Team accolades. Nate Carr placed fourth in 1:58.87 and Aidan Fumagalli finished seventh in 2:05.08.

In the B Final of the women’s 200-yard breaststroke, Jenelle Zee placed second in a lifetime-best 2:16.80. Morgan Emter finished sixth in a season-best 2:19.82.

“Jenelle had a great last 200 breast, and Nate, Max and Aidan all swam very well,” Riggs said.

Julie Ogden snagged another All-Big 12 First Team honor in the women’s 200-yard butterfly. Ogden placed third overall in the A Final in 1:59.13. Natalie Johnsen finished sixth in 2:01.45, earning All-Big 12 Second Team recognition.

In the men’s 200-yard butterfly A Final, Chase Williams hit the wall in fifth place in 1:47.99 to earn All-Big 12 distinctions. Austin Green placed seventh in 1:50.15 and Nathan Howells finished eighth in 1:50.60.

“Our fliers did a great job and all had best times, led by Julie and Chase,” Riggs said.

In the men’s platform diving event, Alex Obendorf claimed second place to earn All-Big 12 First Team honors with a score of 299.90. Michael Proietto and Logan McHenry earned All-Big 12 Second Team recognition, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively, in the event.

“It was a great final day for the male divers. They put it together on tower and capitalized on the opportunity to score some points for their team,” said diving coach Michael Grapner. “Having all four guys in the final was a big achievement for the men, especially since we don’t have tower to train for the event.

“Alex Obendorf set the bar high for the men as the only freshman. He will just keep moving up. All of the boys continue to improve and recognize their potential.”

The women’s platform diving saw Haily VandePoel placed fourth overall with a score of 222.60 to earn All-Big 12 honors. Jennifer Rey finished eighth in the event with a 179.10 mark.

To cap off the championships, the women’s 400-yard freestyle relay team of Jaimee Gillmore, Julie Ogden, Amelie Currat and Celia Martinez teamed up for a fourth-place finish in 3:24.71.

“Our relays did a great job and the diving helped secure a fourth-place team finish for the women,” Riggs said. “As banged up as this women’s team is, that is a great accomplishment.”

The men’s 400-yard free relay team of Andrew Marsh, Nate Carr, Ross Glegg and Tim Squires earned All-Big 12 First Team recognition with a second-place finish in 2:54.04.

Texas swept the meet with the Longhorn men and women both claiming the conference crown.

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