The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Big 12 Championships
No. 2 Women’s Swimming and Diving dominates day two of Big 12 Championships
02.24.2022 | Women's Swimming and Diving
Texas swept all five events and established a program, meet and pool record in the 400 medley relay.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – No. 2 Texas Women's Swimming and Diving collected five first-place results on day two of the 2022 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championships at The Aquatic Center at Mylan Park on Thursday, highlighted by record-breaking performance in the 400 medley relay. The Longhorns have won all seven events through the first two days of competition.
The relay squad of sophomores Olivia Bray, Anna Elendt and Emma Sticklen, and junior Kelly Pash won the 400 medley relay with a program-best time of 3:26.32, a mark that shattered the previous pool record by more than five seconds and topped the meet record by just shy of two seconds. The win was the 10th-straight in the event at the conference championships and the 20th overall.
The record capped off a night that began with freshman Erica Sullivan winning the 500 free, touching the wall at 4:39.46, the seventh-fastest time in UT history.
In the 200 IM, junior Kelly Pash defended her conference title, winning the event for the third-straight year with a pool record time of 1:55.31. Pash is the third Longhorn to win the event at least three times and the first since Marisyn Cox won it four consecutive time from 2014-17.
Sophomore Grace Cooper also defended her conference crown, collecting the victory in the 50 free with a mark of 22.29.
On the 1-meter springboard, freshman Hailey Hernandez collected her first career conference title, winning the event with a personal-best score of 360.80 points.
TEAM STANDINGS
1. TEXAS – 402
2. Kansas – 220
3. TCU – 184
4. West Virginia – 172
5. Iowa State – 134
HIGHLIGHTS
- Texas claimed the top-four spots in the 500 free with senior Evie Pfeifer (4:39.92) finishing runner-up to Sullivan, while freshman Olivia McMurray (4:46.49) and junior Mary Smutny (4:47.66) placed third and fourth, respectively.
- UT swept the top-three spots in the 200 IM, with Bray winning the silver in 1:56.13 and Sticklen collecting the bronze in 1:56.69. Bray's mark was the fifth-fastest in program history, while Sticklen's time was the seventh-fastest.
- Texas also took the first through fourth spots in the 50 free with Cooper followed by juniors Bridget Semenuk (22.45) and Kyla Leibel (22.74) in second and third, respectively, and senior Julia Cook (22.78) placing fourth.
- Sophomore Bridget O'Neil won bronze on the 1-meter (330.65) and juniors Janie Boyle (310.05) and Jordan Skilken (302.60) took fourth and fifth, respectively, to give the Longhorns four of the top-five spots.
- The Longhorns have won 14 consecutive 50 free titles, 12-straight 200 IM championships, 10 consecutive 1-meter springboard competitions and nine-straight 500 free titles.
FRIDAY EVENTS
Prelims - 9:00 a.m. CT
100 fly
400 IM
200 free
100 breast
100 back
200 free relay
3-meter springboard (10:15 a.m. CT)
Finals - 4:15 p.m. CT
3-meter springboard
100 fly
400 IM
200 free
100 breast
100 back
200 free relay
2022 Big 12 Championship Meet Records Set
200 medley relay: Julia Cook, Anna Elendt, Olivia Bray, Emma Sticklen – 1:34.04*
400 medley relay: Olivia Bray, Anna Elendt, Emma Sticklen, Kelly Pash – 3:26.32*
*All-Time Big 12 record
2022 Big 12 Championship Event Winners
200 medley relay: Julia Cook, Anna Elendt, Olivia Bray, Emma Sticklen – 1:34.04
800 free relay: Kelly Pash, Kyla Leibel, Olivia Bray, Julia Cook – 7:01.74
500 free: Erica Sullivan – 4:39.46
1-meter springboard: Hailey Hernandez – 360.80
200 IM: Kelly Pash – 1:55.31
50 free: Grace Cooper – 22.38
400 medley relay: Olivia Bray, Anna Elendt, Emma Sticklen, Kelly Pash – 3:26.32
Players Mentioned
