Streamlined News: Feb. 23, 2012

PHOENIX, Arizona, February 23. SOME great racing took place last night across the country at various conference championships. Let's start at the women's Pac 12 meet, where the California Golden Bears are holding on to a 16-point lead over Stanford. Only the 200 medley and 800 free relays were swum yesterday, and Berkeley won both of them. Not all of Arizona's swimmers are shaved for this meet, since they got their NCAA cuts in December, so don't expect the Wildcats to be much of a factor here. USC is staying in the title hunt, though. Senior Katinka Hosszu put up a 1:43.15 leadoff leg on the 800 free relay, but can she repeat that at NCAAs about 90 minutes after the final of the 400 IM?

Over at the Big 12 championships, the Texas men have a big lead as expected, and it's the Texas A&M women who hold the lead after day one. A&M is looking to end their time in the Big 12 with a team title before moving on to the Southeastern Conference next year. The Aggies are just two points ahead of Texas going into today's competition.

Virginia Tech's men's team has a solid lead at the Atlantic Coast Conference, thanks to a big win in the 200 medley relay and a top five finish in the 800 free relay. The Hokies also have diving points that will be put into the point totals throughout the meet, and that could make this a great battle for the team title with North Carolina and Virginia.

The Big 10 men's meet has Michigan in the lead after winning both relays yesterday. The Wolverines are favored to win their second consecutive conference title with Ohio State sitting in second place so far.

FINA world cup diving continues in London, with the United States still unable to win any medals. Chris Colwill couldn't score high on his final dive, slipping him into ninth place overall as China continued its dominance with another 1-2 sweep. The duo of David Boudia and Nick McCrory stand in fourth after prelims of the synchro platform and will be looking to give the United States a roster spot in that event for the Olympics. A top eight finish in tonight's final will likely accomplish that.

Leigh Nugent will be the Australian swimming national head coach through the 2016 Olympics, according to a story in the Australian paper The Age. Nugent said he's not feeling less pressure to have Australia perform well in London now that he knows his job is secure, adding that it allows him to focus on preparation for London. Nugent became national team director in January 2010.

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