The Texas men’s and women’s squads walked away with both team titles at the 2009 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championships at the Mizzou Aquatics Center in Columbia. The Longhorn men have won all 13 conference championships to date, while the women earned their ninth title and first since 2006.
Thirty-four meet and overall conference records were broken during the four-day event. Of these, Texas was responsible for 21 of the 23 league championship meet records set, with Texas A&M contributing the other two.
MU head coach Brian Hoffer was voted as the men’s and co-women’s Swimming Coach of the Meet. Hoffer led his men’s team to a second place finish over A&M, the highest finish for the Tigers in conference history. On the women’s side, Kayla Durnil became just the third Missouri swimmer to win gold at the conference championship when she swam to her first career accolade with a time of 2:11.20 in the 200-yard breaststroke.
Texas women’s coach Kim Brackins was also selected to receive her first women’s coaching honor at a Big 12 Championship. Her swimming squad tabbed nine meet and four conference records overall at the event. Brackins helped guide freshman Kathleen Hersey, who earned Newcomer and Swimmer of the Meet honors.
Freshman Jimmy Feigen notched Newcomer of the Meet, becoming the 12th Longhorn freshman to do so. Meanwhile, junior Hill Taylor was chosen to receive his first Swimmer of the Meet honor after his top finishes in two events individually and contributed to two winning relays.
The sibling duo of Jessica and Drew Livingston (Texas) both earned Big 12 Diver of the Meet honors after setting league and championship records on the platform. Senior Jessica Livingston won her third title in the event with a score of 360.80, while freshman Drew Livingston earned his first diving title after producing a score of 542.95. UT dive coach Matt Scoggin garnered his fourth-straight, ninth overall, women’s Dive Coach of the Meet award, while Texas A&M’s coach Kevin Wright received his seventh honor on the men’s side.
In the final race of the day, over 1,300 fans witnessed the UT men’s 400-yard freestyle relay of David Walters, Benjamin Van Roekel, Jimmy Feigen and Ryan Verlatti make history. The relay broke the American, conference and meet record after clocking a time of 2:49.17. The record was previously held by the relay of Nate Dusing, Ian Crocker, Tom Hannan and Jamie Rauch, which was set in 2001.
TEAM STANDINGS
Men- 1. Texas (1,114); 2. Missouri (810.5); 3. Texas A&M (797.5)
Women- 1. Texas (893); 2. Texas A&M (831); 3. Missouri (582); 4. Kansas (493); 5. Iowa State (332); 6. Nebraska (298)
No. 3 Texas captures Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championship
Trailing by two points heading into the final session of action, No. 3 Texas captured all six events and pulled away in the team standings to capture the 2009 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championships Saturday evening at the Mizzou Aquatics Center. It marks the first Big 12 women’s swimming and diving championship for Texas since the 2006 season and the first for third-year head coach Kim Brackin. Texas has now claimed nine of the 13 Big 12 Conference meets contested.
Texas took the team title with 893 points, and two-time defending conference champion Texas A&M placed second with 831 points. Missouri placed third with 582 points, and Kansas took fourth with 493 points. Iowa State took fifth with 332 points and Nebraska placed sixth with 298 points.
The Longhorns opened the evening by completing a sweep of the diving events, as senior Jessica Livingston captured her third Big 12 platform diving title with 360.80 points. Freshman Shelby Cullinan took second with 306.10 points, and senior Kathryn Kelly competed in the preliminary round and chipped in a 13th-place finish.
Versatile freshman Kathleen Hersey notched her sixth individual school record in the 200 backstroke, where she was victorious in a new school and conference record time of 1:52.58. That mark eclipsed the previous school record of 1:52.98 set by Whitney Hedgepeth at the 1992 NCAA Championships. Freshman Katie Riefenstahl took second at 1:55.25, and senior Rebecca Orr placed sixth at 1:57.33. Sophomore Abbie Mahoney placed 14th overall at 2:02.31.
Freshman Karlee Bispo scored her second individual conference title in as many nights when she captured the 100 freestyle in 48.03. Senior Hee-Jin Chang took second in 48.51, and sophomore Brie Powers provided a key victory in the consolation final in 49.43. Sophomore Adrienne Woods placed 13th overall in 50.16, and freshman Becca Tomlin won the “C” final in 50.38.
Junior Susana Escobar scored her second-consecutive conference title in the 1,650 freestyle, where she was victorious in 16:13.53. Sophomore Ashleigh McCleery placed third in 16:25.65, and sophomore Natalie Sacco took fourth in 16:27.26. Junior Alexi Spann chipped in a second-place finish in the 200 breaststroke in 2:14.92, and sophomore Carlye Ellis placed sixth at 2:16.49.
Freshman Leah Gingrich scored her second conference title when she claimed the 200 butterfly in 1:55.18. Senior Jacqueline Martin-Lacey placed third in 1:58.10, and junior Traci Van Matre took seventh in 1:59.97. Sophomore Katie Hamilton placed 18th in the “C” final in 2:00.17.
Texas finished off the meet with a thrilling victory in the 400 freestyle relay. Bispo led off in 48.40 and gave way to Chang, who followed in 48.54. Riefenstahl picked up the third leg in 49.18, and Hersey anchored in 47.50 to produce a winning relay of 3:13.62.
No. 3 Texas takes down 400 free relay American record at Big 12 Championships
No. 3 Texas finished off a dominant performance at the 2009 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championships with a new American record in the 400 freestyle relay.
The relay of juniors Dave Walters, Ben Van Roekel, freshman Jimmy Feigen and senior Ryan Verlatti finished in 2:49.17 to eclipse the previous mark of 2:49.80 set by UT’s Nate Dusing, Ian Crocker, Tommy Hannan and Jamie Rauch at the 2001 NCAA Championships.
Texas claimed its 30th consecutive conference title with 1,114 points. Missouri took second with 810.5 points, and Texas A&M placed third with 797.5 points.
Freshman Drew Livingston collected his first conference diving title when he produced a dominant showing on the platform that produced numerous perfect 10’s from the seven judges. Livingston totaled 542.95 points for first place, and sophomore Matt Cooper took second with 440.40 points.
Senior Sean Patton kicked off the evening with a victory in the 200 backstroke in 1:41.99. Freshman Hayes Johnson followed in 1:43.44, and sophomore Bryan Collins completed the Texas trifecta by taking third in 1:43.88.
Freshman Jimmy Feigen picked up his second career conference title by just edging teammate Dave Walters in the 100 freestyle. Two nights after tying Walters in the 50 freestyle finals, Feigen touched one-hundredth of a second ahead of Walters, finishing in 42.43. Sophomore Scott Jostes took third in 43.36, and senior Ryan Verlatti took fifth in 43.47. Junior Ben Van Roekel placed sixth at 43.53, and sophomore Jonathan Jackson took seventh in 43.85.
Freshman Jackson Wilcox collected his second conference title of the meet, as he claimed the 1,650 freestyle in 14:41.85. Senior Michael Klueh followed in 15:00.39. Senior Agustin Magruder captured his second consecutive conference title in the 200 breaststroke in 1:54.41. Freshman Eric Friedland followed in second in 1:56.02.
Junior Ricky Berens claimed his second consecutive conference title in the 200 butterfly, as he finished in 1:43.28. Junior Hill Taylor, a two-time champion at this meet, took second in 1:44.27. Sophomore Matt Donch placed third in 1:45.20.
Five School Records Fall as Aggies Place Second at Big 12 Meet
The Texas A&M women’s swimming & diving team placed second after a valiant four-day effort at the 2009 Big 12 Championships held at the Mizzou Aquatic Center.
A&M scored 831 points while Texas won its first title in three years in the second-closest meet in Big 12 history with a total of 893 points. Host Missouri (582) was third followed by Kansas (493), Iowa State (332), and Nebraska (298).
The Aggies’ youth stepped to the forefront on the final day, earning A&M its top individual finishes as well as two school records. Sophomore Casey Hurrell-Zitelman (San Antonio) fought her way to a second-place finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle in 16:16.78. In doing so, Hurrell-Zitelman took down the oldest school record in the books, pushing past Joan Wojtowicz’s time of 16:17.09.
Hurrell-Zitelman not only grabbed second in the 200 breast but came back after swimming the most grueling event in the sport to place eighth in the very next race, the 200-yard breaststroke. Hurrell-Zitelman clocked a time of 2:22.19. Sophomore Melanie Dodds (Maple Ridge, B.C) finished four spots ahead of Hurrell-Zitelman, hitting the wall in 2:15.57 after setting a lifetime best of 2:15.27 in prelims.
Freshman Rita Medrano (Aguascalientes, Mexico) grabbed second place in the 200-yard butterfly, breaking Christine Marshall’s school record of 1:57.56. Fellow freshman Lauren Clifford also made the 200 fly final, taking fifth in a career-best of 1:59.45.
A&M closed the meet with the second-fastest 400-yard freestyle relay in school history. The group of Codie Hansen (Arlington), Sarah Woods (Birmingham, Ala.), Marissa Jasek (San Antonio), and Christine Marshall (Newport News, Va.) qualified automatically for the NCAA Championships in a time of 3:14.0.
Marshall, Hansen, Woods, and Triin Aljand (Tallinn, Estonia) finished fourth through seventh in the 100-yard freestyle, enabling the Aggies to outscore the Longhorns in the event. Marshall and Hansen both swam career best times of 48.82 and 49.30 during prelims while Woods set a lifetime best of 49.35 in finals.
Sophomore Lindsey King (Beaverton, Ore.) capped the most amazing meet of her career with a third-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke. King, who had never broken two minutes in the 200 back before Saturday, swam a time of 1:55.89 during prelims and improved to 1:55.52 at night. Junior Emily Neal (Plano) placed third in 1:56.59 while freshman Megan Latone (Austin) was seventh in 1:58.39.
Junior Haley Haynes (The Woodlands) equaled her career-best Big 12 finish of fourth place with the most prolific platform performance of her career. Haynes destroyed her previous lifetime-best of 220.50 by totaling up a school record score of 272.30 during the championship final.
One of the highlights of the entire meet came from junior Alia Atkinson (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) during both the preliminary and finals of the 200-yard breaststroke. Atkinson, who flew to Columbia, Mo., on Friday after attending the memorial service for her brother on Thursday evening, broke both A&M school records in the breaststroke in one day. Atkinson mauled the field in the 200 breast during the morning session, swimming the fastest time of anyone all day long at 2:08.59. At night, Atkinson used the first 100 yards of the 200 breaststroke ‘C’ final to swim the fastest 100-yard breast in A&M history. Atkinson broke the one-minute barrier for the first time ever, marking the halfway point of the race in 59.82. After setting the 100 breast record, Atkinson cruised in to a C final win in 2:17.17.
Kansas Swimming and Diving Places Fourth At the 2009 Big 12 Championships
Kansas swimming and diving finished in fourth place at the 2009 Big Championships at the Mizzou Aquatics Center. Leading the Jayhawks on the final day of competition was senior Maria Mayrovich.
Throughout the Big 12 Championships there was a back-and-forth battle for the top spot between Texas and Texas A&M. In the end, Texas won out, finishing in first place with 893 points. Texas A&M placed second with 831 points. Host-school Missouri finished third with 582 points. Kansas place fourth with 493 points. Iowa State and Nebraska also battled for fifth place, but Iowa State outpaced Nebraska by 34 points.
Sophomore Iuliia Kuzhil led a group of Jayhawks in the 200 yard backstroke, finishing eighth with a time of 1:58.42. Freshman Abigail Anderson and junior Carrah Haley finished 10th and 11th, respectively, while junior Mel Heyrman came in 16th. The four performances earned 26 points for the Kansas team total.
Mayrovich made a strong showing in the 100 yard freestyle as she came in third-place with a time of 48.77 for 16 points and freshman Shannon Garlie represented the Jayhawks in the 1650 freestyle, coming in sixth with a time of 16:47.23 to tally 13 points for the team effort.
Joy Bunting, Danielle Herrman and Rhynn Malloy combined for 12 points with their 12th, 13th and 14th place finishes in the 200 yard breaststroke while performances in the 200 yard butterfly by Stephanie Payne (8th), Brittany Potter (11th) and Alyssa Potter (14th) gained 20 points for KU.
In the platform diving competition, Erin Mertz took sixth place (222.75), good for 13 points, while Hannah McMacken and Meghan Proehl took eighth and ninth, respectively. Rounding out the day's action for Kansas was the 400 yard freestyle relay in which KU finished third in a time of 3:19.18.
ISU Finishes Fifth at Big 12 Championships
The Iowa State swimming and diving team once again got a boost from their breaststrokers and divers for point hauls. The Cyclones finished fifth with 334 points. Texas edged out Texas A&M for its first title in three seasons with 893 points.
The Cyclone divers sent two to the platform finals with Tien Tran and Kali Fryklund making it to the evening session. Fryklund (200.85) edged out Kansas’s Meghan Proehl (200.25) for the eighth and final spot in the finals. Tran posted a career best score of 246.20 in the prelims. In the finals, Tran finished fifth with a new career-high score of 249.35 and a fifth-place finish for All-Big 12 honors on platform. Tran, along with Texas divers Jessica Livingston and Shelby Cullinan and Missouri’s Kendra Melnychuk, were the only women’s divers to earn All-Big 12 on all three boards.
“That is a great accomplishment,” said diving coach Jeff Warrick. “This is the first time she qualified in all three finals. It was a fantastic weekend for her and she set her best in the finals.”
Fryklund just missed out on All-Big 12 honors, finishing seventh in the finals (211.75).
“I was so happy for her,” said Warrick. “That was a great way for her to go out and end her Big 12 career on. She is well-deserved of that and she did a fantastic job.”
Senior Marni Benson finished with her third school record of the meet with a 2:15.82 in the 200 breaststroke prelims. Benson went on to lower that time in the finals with a time of 2:15.64 and a fifth-place finish giving her All-Big 12 honors. Jeli Nixt, Lindsey Frodyma and Krista Moyer also collected points for the Cyclones with Nixt finishing 11th (2:17.49), Frodyma in 15th (2:23.62) and Moyer rounding out the group in 16th (2:24.16).
“Marni Benson broke her school record in prelims and broke it again in finals so we are real proud of her,” said head coach Duane Sorenson. “Jeli swam under her personal best in the consolation heat tonight, really put one together. Krista Moyer swam a lifetime best and so did Lindsey Frodyma so we are real proud of them.”
ISU earned points in the 1650 freestyle from Jenny Vondenkamp, Megan Thompson and Taylor Vieau. Vondenkamp took seventh place and her time of 16:50.31 now ranks her third in school history, Megan Thompson touched the wall in 12th place (17:00.79) and Taylor Vieau collected a point with her 16th place finish (17:20.84).
“Our milers have worked really hard all year and it was nice to see them come through today,” said Sorenson. “Jenny placing in the top-seven was very unexpected for herself and her coaches. Megan did an outstanding job by dropping her time by 22 seconds.”
Lindsay Wegner became just the third Cyclone to ever go under the two minute mark with her 200 backstroke time of 1:59.90. That earned her a 12th-place finish in the consolation final. Lindsey Behrens moved up to fourth all-time in the 100 free with her 50.73 in the bonus final of the 100 freestyle.
“Wegs had a senior swim,” said Sorenson. “She put it all out there and broke two minutes which is huge for her.”
The Iowa State swimmers will compete in the Last Chance Meet on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. Tran and Fryklund’s season will continue March 13-15 with the NCAA Zone Diving Qualification Meet in Columbia, Mo. for a chance to go to the NCAA Championships.
