The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Big 12 Championships
No. 1 Men's Swimming and Diving wins 34th consecutive conference title
03.02.2013 | Men's Swimming and Diving
March 2, 2013
AUSTIN, Texas -
No. 1 Texas posted six victories and put the finishing touches on its 34th consecutive conference team championship Saturday at the Big 12 Championships.
Texas claimed its 17th Big 12 Conference title with 985 points. TCU took second place with 798 points, and West Virginia placed third with 788 points. Senior Dax Hill was selected as the Men's Swimmer of the Meet, and freshman diver Cory Bowersox was tabbed as the Men's Diver of the Meet. Swimmer Sam Lewis was named as the Men's Newcomer of the Meet. Eddie Reesewas selected as the league's Men's Swimming Coach of the Meet.
Redshirt sophomore diver Will Chandleropened the final session by handily claiming the platform diving title, marking the first conference title of his career. The Waco native took the win with 341.30 points. Notably, Chandler totaled 449.20 points in the preliminary round.
Hill scored his second individual conference title in as many nights and the first of his career in the 100 freestyle, where he was victorious in 42.71, the sixth-fastest time in college swimming. Freshman John Murraycontinued his strong Big 12 meet by taking second in 43.53.
Senior Michael McBroom took down the Big 12 meet record in the 1,650 freestyle and captured the event in 14:33.53, the fastest time in the country this season. The mark fell just shy of his 14:32.86 that won the NCAA title and set the school record two seasons ago. Freshman Sam Lewistook second in 14:54.33, and sophomore Jake Ritter placed third in 15:09.30.
Sophomore Matt Korman took home the first conference title of his young Texas career, as he was victorious in the 200 breaststroke in 1:59.39. Junior Ian Carbonewon the consolation final in 2:01.43.
Sophomore Tripp Cooper added his second conference title in as many nights and captured the 200 butterfly in 1:45.29, good for a NCAA "B" cut. Senior Conor Swanson placed third in 1:46.36. Sophomore Grant Rogerswon the consolation final in 1:48.71.
Texas posted a win in the meet's final event, the 400 freestyle relay, as Murray, senior Austin Surhoff, sophomore Clay Youngquistand Hill finished in 2:52.24, an NCAA automatic-qualifying mark.
Sophomore Kip Darmodypaced the Longhorns by taking second in the 200 backstroke in 1:43.60. Surhoff took third place in 1:43.66.
UT hosts the American Short Course Championships beginning Thursday, March 7 at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.
POST-MEET COMMENTS
Texas senior Dax Hill (Men's Swimmer of the Meet)
On winning the Big 12 Conference Championship: It's awesome. It's always good to get the ball rolling going to the NCAA championships. It's great to see all the guys get their minds right and throw down some great times.
On his individual performance that stood out for him at this meet: My 100 free. It was the same time I did last year. My (first) 25 (yards) time was the fastest I have ever done and my 50 time was what I went my sophomore year.
On what he likes best about the team moving towards the NCAA Championships: Everybody is learning. They are taking it all in and they knew what to work on these next couple weeks before NCAA's. We are all learning from each other.
Senior Michael McBroom
On whether he realized he was in position to break the Big 12 record: I had an idea of how fast I was going to be. I didn't quite go what I wanted to go. I wasn't really thinking about the record. I was thinking about a goal time.
On what was different about this race from what he expected: I got into a lull and I never accelerated and got faster in my paces. I kept the same pace the whole time.
On what he takes from this race heading into the NCAA Championships: I'm excited to race it at NCAAs. It's a good time for now. I'm looking forward to racing it at NCAAs.
On his teammates cheering him on throughout the race: It's cool to see. A lot of times you can tell how you're pacing based on how they are reacting. It's helpful sometimes. It's cool to see them there and cheering me on for 15 minutes.
