The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Big 12 Championships
No. 6 Women's Swimming and Diving wins second straight Big 12 title
03.01.2014 | Women's Swimming and Diving
Longhorns win all seven events on the final night of competition.
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 6 Texas swept all seven events and finished off their second consecutive conference title Saturday evening at the Big 12 Championships.
The Longhorns claimed the team crown with 1,109.5 points, and Kansas finished as the runner-up with 617 points. Iowa State took third with 541.5 points, and TCU finished fourth with 525 points. West Virginia took fifth place with 480 points. Texas has won 12 of the 18 Big 12 Championships contested.
Diving coach Matt Scoggin was selected as the Women's Diving Coach of the Meet, and senior Maren Taylor was named the Women's Diver of the Meet. Swimmer Madisyn Cox was selected as the Women's Newcomer of the Meet.
Freshman Tasija Karosas opened the final night by winning her first Big 12 crown in the 200-yard backstroke in a personal best of 1 minute, 53.49 seconds, less than a second under the automatic cut of 1:52.71. Freshman Rebecca Baxley added a fifth-place time of 1:59.31.
Senior Ellen Lobb picked up her first league crown in the 100 freestyle to go with her three consecutive Big 12 titles in the 50 freestyle. Lobb edged classmate Samantha Tucker by one one-hundredth of a second and took the win in 48.83. Tucker claimed second at 48.84 while classmate Alex Hooper placed third in 49.17, one night after winning her first Big 12 individual title in the 200 freestyle.
Junior Kelsey LeNeave collected the 1,650 freestyle title to go with her 500 freestyle title from two nights ago. LeNeave took the win in 16:19.62.
Junior Gretchen Jaques logged a personal best in the 200 breaststroke and scored her second breaststroke win in as many nights, as she won at the 200-yard distance in 2:09.86. Cox also posted a personal best and placed second in 2:10.33. Junior Skylar Smith took fifth place in 2:14.23, and freshman Jordan Surhoff added a seventh-place time of 2:15.90.
Senior Victoria Cassidy won her first career Big 12 title and claimed the 200 butterfly in a season-best mark of 1:58.38. Freshman Murphy Bromberg earned her first Big 12 crown and won the platform diving event with 386.70 points. Bromberg won the platform title at the USA Diving Winter National Championships in December. Junior Emma Ivory-Ganja, an All-American on platform last year, finished as the runner-up with 350.60 points. Sophomore Kristina Hoffmann placed third with 262.65 points.
Texas capped the meet with a win in the 400 freestyle relay, as Lobb, Hooper, Jaques and Tucker were victorious in 3:15.17.
POST-MEET COMMENTS
Texas head coach Carol Capitani
On her overall impressions of the meet: I am really proud of our team. It was a total team effort. We had seniors step up big time and we had our junior class step up big time. We only have one sophomore but our freshman class did an incredible job. I'm really proud of all of them. We had some big time swims from just about everybody on the team. You're disappointed when every single thing isn't perfect but I think that's where lessons are learned. That's where we're going to move forward and be better.
I am really disappointed that Lily Moldenhauer didn't win Big 12 Swimmer of the Meet. She set two Big 12 records previously held by Kathleen Hersey, an Olympian. I can't vote for my own swimmer but there were four other coaches who voted against her. It's disappointing that they can't recognize big-time swimming and swimming at the highest level because that's what Lily did this weekend and that's what I think the Big 12 Conference should be about.
On Victoria Cassidy and Alex Hooper winning individual conference titles: That was so much fun. I think that anytime someone can upset the apple cart that it will only make our team better. I know Sam wanted to walk away a Big 12 champion in the 100 and 200, but it's a testament to how hard everyone works together and she has helped pull Alex along all year. The competition day in and day out has helped get our team get to where it is right now. That's what we need and we need more people to pull off upsets like that.
