Texas Remains in First Place, M-W, at the 2005 Big 12 Championships

COLLEGE STATION, TX, February 26. FOR the third straight day, defending Big 12 champion Texas is leading both the men's and women's competition after the third of four days at the 2005 Big 12 Swimming & Diving Championships at the Student Recreation Center Natatorium on the Texas A&M campus, reported conference sources.

The Texas men have compiled 718 points overall, after winning every swimming event Friday. The host Aggies are in second place (543), followed by Missouri in third (511).

On the women's side, Texas also took home top honors in each race of the swimming portion of the finals. UT paces the field with 624 points while Texas A&M (531), Kansas (328), Nebraska (294), Missouri (267), Iowa State (213) fill the remaining spots.

Longhorn sophomore Elizabeth Tinnon recorded the lone Big 12 Championships meet record of the day, and the second of the event thus far.
The Bowling Green, Ky., native broke the meet record, which she set in 2004, in the 100-yard breaststroke. Tinnon swam the race in a time of 1:00.14 for the victory.

"I'm really excited," Tinnon said. "It gives me a lot of confidence heading into the NCAA Championships in a few weeks. I was hoping to break my record while getting a win for the team too."

Tinnon's teammate senior Sarah Wanezek collected the 17th and 18th conference titles of her career in the 100-yard butterfly (53.42) and as the anchor leg on the 200-yard freestyle relay (21.96 split / 1:30.28). Both performances qualify for nationals. The 2003 and 2004 Big 12 Women's Swimmer of the Meet and Year won the 100 butterfly for the third year in a row and was a relay member on the victorious squad for the second time in a row.

Other swimmers who defended their individual titles on Day Three include Texas' Wade Kelley (400 IM – 2004, 2005), Alisa Schuknecht (400 IM – 2002, 2005), and Kristy Siminski (200 free – 2004, 2005).

Seniors Daniel DiToro (100 butterfly) and Andrew Davidson (100 backstroke) and Longhorn freshmen Matt Lowe (100 breaststroke), Matt McGinnis (200 free), and Hayley McGregory (100 backstroke) won the first league crowns in their respective events.

UT ended the night by capturing both 200 free relay contests.

Texas A&M's Rosie Whiting and Eric Sehn swept both the men's and women's diving events for the second day in a row. Whiting, a junior, won the second conference diving title of her career, in as many days. She tallied a score of 285.20 to claim the competition. It marked the second straight year that an Aggie student-athlete has claimed the women's one-and three-meter diving events. Sehn, a freshman who hails from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, posted a score of 574.75 for the win on the three-meter springboard.

"I think it helped that I competed internationally before coming to A&M," said Sehn. "It has allowed me to keep my composure and be successful in my first Big 12 meet."

Both Sehn and Whiting will aim for a clean sweep of Big 12 Championships' diving when they take to the platform Saturday.

The final day of competition was resumes today. The Big 12 team champions will be crowned at the conclusion of the event in addition to the post-meet individual honors voted on by the conference coaches.

TEAM STANDINGS

Men
1. Texas – 718
2. Texas A&M – 543
3. Missouri – 511

Women
1. Texas – 624
1. Texas A&M – 531
3. Kansas – 328
4. Nebraska – 294
5. Missouri – 267
6. Iowa State – 213

Attendance: 1,003

FRIDAY CHAMPIONS

! – Big 12 Championships Meet Record; $ – NCAA Championships Automatic-Qualifying Time; # – NCAA Championships Consideration Time

Men
400-Yard IM: Wade Kelley, Jr., Texas – $3:49.55
100-Yard Butterfly: Daniel DiToro, Sr., Texas – $47.05
200-Yard Freestyle: Matt McGinnis, Fr., Texas – $1:35.63
100-Yard Breaststroke: Matt Lowe, Fr., Texas – $53.16
100-Yard Backstroke: Andrew Davidson, Sr., Texas – $47.34
Three-meter Diving: Eric Sehn, Fr., Texas A&M – 574.75
200-Yard Freestyle Relay: Texas – #1:18.50
(Austin McAnally, Tyler O'Halloran, Daniel DiToro, Garrett Weber-Gale)

Women
One-meter Diving: Rosie Whiting, Jr., Texas A&M – 285.20
400-Yard IM: Alisa Schuknecht, Sr.,Texas – $4:15.00
100-Yard Butterfly: Sarah Wanezek, Sr., Texas – $53.42
200-Yard Freestyle: Kristy Siminski, Jr., Texas – $1:47.11
100-Yard Breaststroke: Elizabeth Tinnon, So., Texas – !$1:00.14
100-Yard Backstroke: Hayley McGregory, Fr., Texas – $53.97
200-Yard Freestyle Relay: Texas – $1:30.28

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