The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA Championships
03.28.2014 | Men's Swimming and Diving
Michael Hixon becomes the first Texas freshman to sweep the springboard diving events at the NCAA Championships.
AUSTIN, Texas - Michael Hixon's second straight NCAA diving title and school records in the 200-yard medley relay and the 400 individual medley headlined another productive session for the Longhorns Friday on day two of the NCAA Championships at UT's Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.
Hixon, a freshman from Amherst, Mass., stood in fifth place through four of six rounds of the three-meter diving finals. On his fifth-round dive, Hixon vaulted into first place with a reverse, two-and-a-half somersault with one-and-a-half twists for 79.20 points. Hixon totaled a meet-best 90.10 points on his final dive, an inward three-and-a-half somersault, and finished 457.20 points.
Hixon is the first Texas diver to sweep the springboard events at the NCAA Championships since four-time U.S. Olympian Troy Dumais in 2002. It marked the sixth time a Longhorn had swept the springboards at the NCAA Championships. On Thursday, Hixon became the first Texas freshman to win at the NCAA meet since Drew Livingston in 2009.
Texas posted five top-six individual finishes and two top-five relays while maintaining a narrow lead in the team standings with 318.5 points. California follows closely behind with 312.5 points. Florida sits in third with 279 points, and Michigan holds fourth place with 225 points.
The Longhorns started out the day by taking second place in the 200-yard medley relay. Kip Darmody, John Murray, Jack Conger and Caleb Weir clocked 1 minute, 23.30 seconds for second place and a school record. The relay eclipsed the previous school mark of 1:23.97 set at the 2009 NCAA Championships. Darmody led off in 20.88 seconds before Murray split 23.45 on the backstroke leg. Conger picked up the butterfly in 20.01 while Weir anchored in 18.96.
Will Licon's time of 3:40.84 was good for a fifth place finish in the 400-yard individual medley. His swim topped Austin Surhoff's school mark of 3:40.93 from the NCAA Championships a year ago.
Tripp Cooper, Jack Conger and Will Glass finished fifth, sixth and seventh place in the 100-yard butterfly. Cooper touched in 45.46, good for No. 4 all-time at Texas, and Conger followed in 45.61. Glass touched the wall in 45.98. Matt Ellis competed in the consolation final and took 13th overall in 46.43.
Junior Clay Youngquist's 1:33.66 in the 200-yard freestyle was good for sixth place and another 13 points for the Longhorns. Darmody reached the awards podium with a third-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke, finishing in 45.03, good for the second-fastest swim in school history.
Texas capped off day two with a fifth place finish in the 800-yard freestyle relay. Conger, Sam Lewis, Darmody and Youngquist finished in 6:16.72, eighth best in Texas history.
The day three preliminary session at the NCAA Championships begins Saturday at 11 a.m. CT. Live video will be available at TexasSports.com.
