Texas Sweeps Big 12 Monthly Awards

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 13. THE University of Texas men's and women's swimming and diving teams swept the Big 12 Swimmer and Diver of the Month honors, the Big 12 Conference announced on Wednesday.

Freshmen Aaron Peirsol (Irvine, Calif.) and Mark Shattuck (Derby, United Kingdom) were named the men's swimmer and diver of the month, respectively, while sophomore All-American Sarah Wanezek (Brookfield,
Wis.) was tabbed as the top female swimmer and senior All-American diver Summer Mitchell (Troy, Mich.) was selected as co-diver of the month along with Nebraska's Amie Buoy.

Peirsol, the world-record holder in the 200-meter backstroke and a 2000 Olympic silver medalist, made his collegiate debut on Nov. 11 with an impressive start by winning the 100- (48.82) and 200-yard
backstroke (1:45.88), while also swimming on the victorious 200- (1:29.68) and 400-yard medley relay (3:14.84) teams. Peirsol's performances helped propel top-ranked Texas to a 208-143 victory over No. 5 Southern Cal and a 202-138 win against No. 17 Texas A&M.

Shattuck contributed to Texas' 2-0 start in dual meet
competition this season by posting a victory on the one-meter springboard as well as a runner-up finish on the three-meter springboard. On the one-meter, Shattuck posted a score of 312.75 before following that up with a mark of 533.16 on the three-meter
event.

The No. 7-ranked women's team used strong performances from Wanezek and Mitchell to knock off No. 8 Southern Cal, 177-176, while also hanging tight with No. 2 Stanford before falling, 184-169.

Wanezek was dominant in the pool, winning the 50-yard freestyle (23.29) and the 100-yard backstroke (55.83), while also competing on four relay teams that placed first. After wins as a member of the 200- and 400-yard medley relay teams and the 200-yard freestyle relay, Wanezek helped lead the 400-yard freestyle team to a
first-place time of 3:24.57. The win secured the one-point victory for Texas over the Trojans.

In diving, Mitchell made her first home appearance for Texas after sitting out last year due to NCAA transfer rules. Mitchell was neck and neck with NCAA Champion Blythe Hartley of USC before finishing runner-up on the three-meter springboard with a mark of 542.15. The Troy, Mich., native also added a third-place showing on the one-meter springboard with a score of 265.20.

The only athlete to crack the Longhorns' dominance was Nebraska freshman diver, Amie Buoy, who shared top female diving honors with Mitchell after sweeping both the one- and the three-meter springboards on Nov. 8 against Wyoming.

Buoy, who hails from Edmonton, Alberta, earned scores of 252.98 (one meter) and 271.50 (three meter) to lead NU over Wyoming 141-100. The win marked the first Husker dual meet victory for head coach Pablo Morales.

Buoy became the first Husker since Shandra Johnson in Dec. of 1999 to earn Big 12 Swimmer or Diver of the Month accolades. Johnson, along with most of the other members of its high-powered women's team, left Nebraska after the university cynically cut its men's swimming program.

The Big 12 also will reward swimmers and divers on Nov. 27 for their accomplishments during the last two weeks of the month due to a majority of the fall swimming and diving events for Big 12 teams
occuring in November.

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