Feb. 24, 2006
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- For the third straight day, defending Big 12 champion Texas is leading both the men's and women's competition at the 2006 Big 12 Swimming & Diving Championships at the Mizzou Aquatic Center.
The Texas men have compiled 731.50 points overall, after winning every swimming event on Friday. Texas A&M is in second place, followed by Missouri in third.
Sophomores Matthew McGinnis and Matthew Lowe led the Longhorn effort tonight by defending their titles in the 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard breaststroke, respectively. McGinnis finished with an NCAA Championships' automatic-qualifying time of 1:34.82 seconds, while Lowe posted a national consideration time in his event.
Garrett Weber-Gale (Texas) claimed two more gold medals in the 100 backstroke and as the anchor leg of the 200 freestyle relay team. The relay team of Tyler O'Halloran, McGinnis, Jeremy Harris and Weber-Gale recorded an NCAA automatic-qualifying time in addition to the conference victory. Overall, Weber-Gale has earned 10 Big 12 crowns in three seasons.
Coming off of his first individual league title, freshman Michael Klueh added another victory after placing first in the 400 individual medley. Fellow teammate David Donaldson was tabbed the 100 butterfly champion to complete the UT sweep in the pool.
In diving action, Eric Sehn (Texas A&M) won his second straight one-meter diving title. The 2005 Big 12 Championships Outstanding Diver of the Meet is 5-0 at league meets, and would complete the sweep again with a win on the platform on Saturday.
On the women's side, UT paces the field with 683.50 points while Texas A&M, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa State fill the remaining spots, respectively.
Friday's action was highlighted by the Aggie women capturing four of the seven finals. A&M was led by freshmen Triin Aljand, Codie Hansen, and Julia Wilkinson , who earned individual titles, including Hansen and Wilkinson surpassing the automatic-qualifying standard. Hansen ended the win streak of three-time champion Kristy Siminski (Texas). Both Aljand and Hansen have three victories at their debut league contest, whileWilkinson has two.
Aljand joined Christine Marshall, Britney Pesek and Rebecca Sturdy on the 200 free relay that defeated Texas, which had won it eight consecutive times prior to Friday's race. The squad turned in a national automatic-qualifying time in the win as well.
Elizabeth Tinnon (Texas) tallied the 11th Big 12 triumph of her career with a win in the 100 breaststroke. It marks the third straight year that Tinnon has won this event. Stephanie Anderson (400 IM) and Mary Yarrison (three-meter dive) also finished first in their events to keep UT in the lead heading into the final day of competition.
The Texas men have won all nine of the previous Big 12 team championships, and the Longhorn women have claimed seven of the nine titles.
The final day of competition will resume Saturday at 10 a.m. with preliminary action , while the finals are scheduled for 6 p.m. The Big 12 team champions will be crowned at the conclusion of the event in addition to the post-meet individual honors voted on by the conference coaches.
For complete results visit the Big 12 web site at big12sports.com.
TEAM STANDINGS
Men
1. Texas: 731.50
2. Texas A&M: 557.50
3. Missouri: 469.00
Women
1. Texas: 683.50
1. Texas A&M: 527.00
3. Kansas: 310.00
4. Missouri: 276.00
5. Iowa State: 236.50
6. Nebraska: 223.00
Attendance: 708
FRIDAY CHAMPIONS
! - Big 12 Championships Meet Record; $ - NCAA Championships Automatic-Qualifying Time; # - NCAA Championships Consideration Time; NCAA Zone Diving Qualifying Score
Men
One-Meter Diving: Eric Sehn, So., Texas A&M - 396.05^
400-Yard IM: Michael Klueh, Fr., Texas - 3:48.49#
100-Yard Butterfly: David Donaldson, Jr., Texas - 47.82#
200-Yard Freestyle: Matthew McGinnis, So., Texas - 1:34.82$
100-Yard Breaststroke: Matthew Lowe, So., Texas - 53.78#
100-Yard Backstroke: Garrett Weber-Gale, Jr, Texas - 47.70#
200-Yard Freestyle Relay: Texas - 1:18.41$
(Tyler O'Halloran, Matthew McGinnis, Jeremy Harris, Garrett Weber-Gale)
Women
400-Yard IM: Stephanie Anderson, Jr., Texas - 4:16.41#
100-Yard Butterfly: Triin Aljand, Fr., Texas A&M - 54.07#
200-Yard Freestyle: Codie Hansen, Fr., Texas A&M - 1:46.93$
100-Yard Breaststroke: Elizabeth Tinnon, Jr., Texas - 1:00.73$
100-Yard Backstroke: Julia Wilkinson, Fr., Texas A&M - 54.46$
Three-meter Diving: Mary Yarrison, So, Texas - 337.50^
200-Yard Freestyle Relay: Texas A&M - 1:30.05$
(Christine Marshall, Britney Pesek, Rebecca Sturdy, Triin Aljand)
Big 12 Men's & Women's Swimming & Diving Championships
Mizzou Aquatics Center - Columbia, Mo.
Friday Quotes
Evan Watters, Mizzou SR on getting Third in Men's 1M diving...
"Always a bridesmaid, never a bride...I came back tonight, just not feeling strong, but still did alright...I n ever expected to do that well at this meet. Last night was really exciting... it's the icing on the cake, it's my last year...I couldn't be happier with where I've ended up."
StephanieAnderson, Texas JR on winning the Women's 400 Individual Medley...
"I feel really good, I'm really excited. It's been a lot of fun today and yesterday, our team's doing really well and I'm glad I can contribute to that...and to part of the team's score. I just want to do what I can for the team."
Michael Klueh, Texas FR on winning the Men's 400 Individual Medley...
"It's a pretty good experience... that's not as fast as I wanted to do, but it's still a pretty good time. The whole conference, so far, has gone a lot better than what I thought I was going to do."
Liz Schoborg, Mizzou SR on getting sixth in the Women's 100 Butterfly...
"It's amazing to have conference at your home pool. We know everything about this place, and it's the comfort of home, I guess, to have it here...especially for my senior year, it's an amazing experience."
Lex Howard Mizzou, on getting sixth in Men's 100 Butterfly...
"I was hurting a little bit because I got the flu, but I was able to pull a pretty good swim out of it. It's fun racing a bunch of good guys. A lot of guys have really stepped it up and I'm proud of them."
Lori Halvorson, Mizzou on getting fourth in Women's 200 Freestyle...
"I was really excited for the race, I was ready to go, I'm happy...For a first year conference, it's pretty exciting."
Matt McGinnis, Texas, on winning Men's 200 Freestyle and nearly breaking the record...
"Well this season's had a lot of ups and downs and it's great to come out with a win in the freestyle because I always thought of it as my best event. It's great being unshaved and doing a time like that. It was really surprising, I wasn't expecting getting that close to the record, so, it's a little disappointing not getting it but at the same time, it's an amazing time."
Elizabeth Tinnon, Texas on winning and setting a new pool record in the Women's 100 Breaststroke...
"It's really exciting for me, to get a win for the team. I've won this (event) three years in row and I'm happy to keep the tradition."
Matt Lowe, Texas on winning the Men's 100 Breaststroke and breaking the record...
"It's always nice to break records...it goes along with swimming fast. It's not something I was going out to do...so I can't complain. (On breaking the record) It's always a stepping stone, there's always more out there and more races to swim. I'm pretty excited with where I'm at and where I'm headed."
Julia Wilkinson, Texas A&M on winning the Women's 100 Backstroke and being only a freshman...
"I'm thrilled...I was just really frustrated after yesterday...I thought I had missed my chance to win a gold medal, so I was proud that I was able to bounce back from that and win tonight. I'm really happy."
Garrett Weber-Gale, Texas on winning and setting a new record in the Men's 100 Backstroke...
"It was fun. ...I used to do the 200 free (style) and so it's really exciting for me to do a new event and I feel like I'm just learning more and more about it every time I swim. It's fun to come out here and do things I'm not used to doing and see how it turns out. It's fun and exciting."
Mary Yarrison, Texas on winning the women's 3M diving...
"It was really great. I just transferred from Arizona...it was really exciting. I feel like I'm getting back into things. It's great that we have such a big, good group of divers. There were five of us were in the event, four were in the finals - it's awesome."