Mountaineers Ready for Big 12 Championship
February 26, 2019 06:04 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving
AUSTIN, Texas – The West Virginia University men's and women's swimming and diving teams travel to the 2019 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championship, from Feb. 27-March 2, in Austin, Texas.
The four-day championship meet at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center is set to begin on Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET, with finals scheduled for 5 p.m. The remaining three days also begin with preliminary sessions at 11 a.m. Thursday's finals session commences at 7 p.m., while Friday and Saturday's finals sessions are set for 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.
FloSports will provide live video coverage of the meet on FloSwimming.com. Fans can also follow along with the Mountaineers by visiting the championship central webpage, which features the meet schedule, live results, ticket information and more.
"We're really excited to showcase our hard work and progression this week," WVU coach Vic Riggs said. "The teams have been very enthusiast in training the past few weeks, which, hopefully, will translate into some great swims. Our plan is to make sure everyone is feeling good and ready to go so they can go out and earn the results they deserve."
Wednesday's events include the 200 medley relay, men's 1-meter diving and the 800 freestyle relay, while Thursday features women's 1-meter diving, 500 freestyle, 200 individual medley, 50 freestyle and the 400 medley relay. Events on Friday include men's and women's 3-meter diving, 100 butterfly, 400 individual medley, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke and the 200 freestyle relay. The meet closes on Saturday with men's and women's platform diving, 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 1,650 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly and the 400 freestyle relay.
The Mountaineers return to Austin after recording a pair of second-place team finishes at the conference meet last season. For the men's squad, its 947.5 points were its most at the Big 12 meet since joining the league in 2012-13, while the women's second-place finish was its best since placing second at the 2013 Big 12 Championship.
Individually, then-junior Jake Armstrong successfully defended his 100 breast championship, becoming WVU's fourth multiple-time Big 12 champion (joining Rachael Burnett, Andrew Marsh and Tim Squires), while then-redshirt junior Tristen Di Sibio won the 200 breast title. In all, WVU combined to win two gold, 16 silver and 12 bronze medals at the meet. Additionally, the two teams broke 14 school records in Austin a year ago.
The Mountaineer men's team finished the regular season with a 4-2 mark in dual meets, including 1-0 in the Big 12. The women went 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the Big 12 in dual-meet action. The men last competed in a 173-122 loss at Penn State on Jan. 18, while the women's team fell to Iowa State, 152-148, on Jan. 26, in Ames.
The host Longhorns are ranked in both College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) TYR Top 25 polls entering the Big 12 meet. The Texas women sit in the No. 2 position, while the men's team, the four-time defending National Champions, are ranked No. 4 in the men's poll.
The Mountaineers also will compete against conference foes TCU, Kansas (women only) and Iowa State (women only).
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUSwimDive on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
The four-day championship meet at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center is set to begin on Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET, with finals scheduled for 5 p.m. The remaining three days also begin with preliminary sessions at 11 a.m. Thursday's finals session commences at 7 p.m., while Friday and Saturday's finals sessions are set for 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.
FloSports will provide live video coverage of the meet on FloSwimming.com. Fans can also follow along with the Mountaineers by visiting the championship central webpage, which features the meet schedule, live results, ticket information and more.
"We're really excited to showcase our hard work and progression this week," WVU coach Vic Riggs said. "The teams have been very enthusiast in training the past few weeks, which, hopefully, will translate into some great swims. Our plan is to make sure everyone is feeling good and ready to go so they can go out and earn the results they deserve."
Wednesday's events include the 200 medley relay, men's 1-meter diving and the 800 freestyle relay, while Thursday features women's 1-meter diving, 500 freestyle, 200 individual medley, 50 freestyle and the 400 medley relay. Events on Friday include men's and women's 3-meter diving, 100 butterfly, 400 individual medley, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke and the 200 freestyle relay. The meet closes on Saturday with men's and women's platform diving, 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 1,650 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly and the 400 freestyle relay.
The Mountaineers return to Austin after recording a pair of second-place team finishes at the conference meet last season. For the men's squad, its 947.5 points were its most at the Big 12 meet since joining the league in 2012-13, while the women's second-place finish was its best since placing second at the 2013 Big 12 Championship.
Individually, then-junior Jake Armstrong successfully defended his 100 breast championship, becoming WVU's fourth multiple-time Big 12 champion (joining Rachael Burnett, Andrew Marsh and Tim Squires), while then-redshirt junior Tristen Di Sibio won the 200 breast title. In all, WVU combined to win two gold, 16 silver and 12 bronze medals at the meet. Additionally, the two teams broke 14 school records in Austin a year ago.
The Mountaineer men's team finished the regular season with a 4-2 mark in dual meets, including 1-0 in the Big 12. The women went 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the Big 12 in dual-meet action. The men last competed in a 173-122 loss at Penn State on Jan. 18, while the women's team fell to Iowa State, 152-148, on Jan. 26, in Ames.
The host Longhorns are ranked in both College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) TYR Top 25 polls entering the Big 12 meet. The Texas women sit in the No. 2 position, while the men's team, the four-time defending National Champions, are ranked No. 4 in the men's poll.
The Mountaineers also will compete against conference foes TCU, Kansas (women only) and Iowa State (women only).
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUSwimDive on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
Breast
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Breast/IM
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