The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Big 12 Swimming Championships
No. 8 Women’s Swimming sweeps pair of relays on first day of Big 12 Championship
02.24.2021 | Women's Swimming and Diving
The Longhorns set a Big 12 Championship meet and school record in the 200-yard medley relay.
AUSTIN, Texas — The No. 8 University of Texas Women's Swimming team swept the 200-yard medley relay and the 800-yard freestyle relay titles to highlight Wednesday's first day of the Big 12 Championship at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center. Texas enters Thursday's second day of action with 80 points and is followed in the team standings by Kansas (68), Iowa State (60), TCU (60) and West Virginia (60).
The quartet of junior Julia Cook, freshman Anna Elendt, freshman Olivia Bray and freshman Grace Cooper set a Big 12 Championship meet and school record en route to winning the 200-yard medley relay in a time of 1:34.82. Sophomore Kelly Pash, senior Evie Pfeifer, Bray and Cook captured the 800-yard freestyle relay in a time of 6:58.42, posting the No. 2 time in the country this year and narrowly missing the Big 12 Championship meet record (6:58.37).
Pash's leadoff leg in the 800 free relay of 1:42.70 set a Big 12 Championship meet and school record for the 200-yard freestyle.
Meet Highlights
- The Texas 'A' team of junior Julia Cook, freshman Anna Elendt, freshman Olivia Bray and freshman Grace Cooper opened the meet by winning the 200-yard medley relay in a Big 12 Championship meet and school-record time of 1:34.82. The time broke the previous mark of 1:35.39 set by Tasija Karosas, Madisyn Cox, Remedy Rule and Rebecca Millard on Feb. 22, 2017. It also marked the No. 4 time in the nation this season.
- The Texas 'A' quartet of sophomore Kelly Pash, senior Evie Pfeifer, freshman Olivia Bray and junior Julia Cook captured the title in the 800-yard freestyle relay with a time of 6:58.42. The performance marked the No. 2 time in the country this year. The Longhorns narrowly missed the Big 12 Championship record of 6:58.37 (Texas in 2009).
- During the 800 free relay, sophomore Kelly Pash's leadoff leg of 1:42.70 set a Big 12 Championship meet and school record for the 200-yard freestyle. Her mark topped the previous school record of 1:42.78 set by Karlee Bispo on March 17, 2012 and the previous Big 12 Championship meet mark of 1:43.43 by Bispo in 2011.
The Longhorns resume competition at the Big 12 Conference Swimming Championships on Thursday, Feb. 25 through Saturday, Feb. 27 at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center. Prelims start at 9 a.m. CT, and the finals sessions are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. CT on each day. Due to health and safety protocols, both events are closed to the public.
All finals sessions will be streamed live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
Players Mentioned
