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WHAT: 2007 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships

WHERE: University Aquatics Center - Minneapolis, Minn.

WHEN: Thursday March 15 - Saturday, March 17

Longhorns In the Hunt for 10th NCAA Title
Big 12 Champion Texas heads to Minneapolis, Minn., this weekend in search of its 10th NCAA team championship and the program's first since 2002. Thirteen swimmers - 10 All-Americans and three newcomers - and two divers will represent the Longhorns at the 2007 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. Senior Garrett Weber-Gale returns to defend his 2006 NCAA 100-yard freestyle crown.

Texas' NCAA Qualifiers
Ricky Berens - 100, 200 fly, 800 free relay, medley relays
Jeremy Harris - 200 free relay
Michael Klueh - 400 IM, 500 free, 1,650 free, 800 free relay
Matt Lowe - 100, 200 breaststroke, 200 free relay, 400 medley relay
Caleb McDermott - 200 IM, 400 IM, 200 back
Matt McGinnis - 200, 500 free, 400 & 800 free relays
Tyler O'Halloran - 200 free relay, 100 & 200 breast, 200 medley relay
Daniel Rohleder - 400 medley relay, 100 & 200 back, 100 fly
Tommy Sacco - 100 & 200 back, 400 medley relay
Brian Smith - 1m, 3m & platform diving
Hill Taylor - 100 & 200 back, 200 medley relay
Ryan Verlatti - 400 free relay
Dave Walters - 200 & 500 free, 400 & 800 free relays
Garrett Weber-Gale - 50 & 100 free, 200 & 400 free relays, 200 & 400 medley relays
Mike Wong - 1m, 3m & platform diving

Texas Wins 11th Straight Big 12 Title, 28th Consecutive Conference Crown
Texas completed a stellar four-day meet with a Big 12 record 1,114 points to win its 11th consecutive Big 12 Conference title and 28th consecutive Big 12 Conference title on Feb. 17 at Texas A&M's Student Recreation Center Natatorium.

Sophomore Michael Klueh was selected as the Big 12 Men's Swimmer of the Meet, and for good reason, as he set new meet records in the 400 IM (3:45.89) and the 1,650 freestyle (14:42.69). Freshman Ricky Berens, who claimed his first conference title in the 100 butterfly (46.97), was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Meet. To no surprise, head coach Eddie Reese was named the Big 12 Coach of the Meet.

The Longhorns won conference titles in all five relays and nearly set a new American record in one of them, the 800 freestyle relay. Freshman Dave Walters, Klueh, Berens and junior Matt McGinnis clocked 6:18.43, falling just shy of the American record time of 6:18.00 produced by Scott Goldblatt, Nate Dusing, Chris Kemp and Jamie Rauch at the 2001 NCAA Championships.

Led by Klueh's three individual titles (500, 1,650 free, 400 IM), Texas claimed 11 of 13 individual swimming events. McGinnis also added a meet record, setting a new league mark in the 200 freestyle at 1:34.37.

Divers Wong, Smith Qualify for NCAA Championships
Freshman diver Mike Wong and junior diver Brian Smith earned bids for participation at the NCAA Championships at the NCAA Zone "D" Diving Meet held March 2-4 in Austin.

Wong and Smith were assured a pair of NCAA bids just by competing in the meet, given that seven NCAA bids were available and only seven male divers competed in the meet. However, the diving duo would have qualified for the NCAA Championships anyway with their finishes at the Zone meet.

Wong took third in the one-meter event to earn his NCAA berth, and Smith captured the platform title.

Klueh Looking to Fill Void in Texas Title History
Texas boasts 90 NCAA individual championships in its illustrious swimming history, but the Longhorns have yet to bring NCAA titles in the 500- and 1,650-yard freestyle and the 400 IM back to Austin.

Enter sophomore Michael Klueh, who heads to Minneapolis as a top-five seed in all three events. Klueh ranks second nationally in the 500 freestyle at 4:15.57 and second in the 1,650 freestyle at 14:42.69. He enters the meet as the fourth seed in the 400 IM at 3:45.93.

Texas Completes First Perfect Dual-Meet Season Since 2000
Texas' 129-106 victory over Texas A&M on Jan. 27 in Austin put the finishing touches on the Longhorns' first undefeated dual-meet season (8-0) since 2000, when the Horns won their seventh NCAA championship. Texas opened its dual-meet season on Friday, Nov. 3 after winning the annual Big 12 Relays in Lincoln, Neb. The Longhorns tallied a 204-165 victory over No. 4 California and a 210-149 win over No. 12 Indiana in Austin.

Texas hit the road on Friday, Nov. 10 for what proved to be a tightly-contested meet between the then third-ranked Longhorns and the 10th-ranked Florida Gators. With the score knotted at 113 heading into the meet's final event, the 400 freestyle relay, the Longhorns pulled away to the team victory behind a solid effort from junior Chris Seitz, junior Caleb McDermott, sophomore Michael Klueh and junior Matt McGinnis, finishing in 2:59.91. McGinnis and Klueh added two individual victories apiece for the Longhorns.

The top-ranked Longhorns collected nine victories en route to a 130-113 victory over four-time defending NCAA Champion Auburn on Jan. 11 at Auburn's James E. Martin Aquatic Center. Six Longhorns scored individual victories on Jan. 13 in top-ranked the Horns' 161-135 victory over No. 9 Georgia at UGA's Gabrielsen Natatorium to complete a successful weekend road swing to push its dual-meet record to 5-0.

Texas extended its dual-meet record to a perfect 7-0 on Jan. 20 when it finished off a stellar two-day meet with victories over No. 5 Arizona and SMU. The Longhorns knocked off Arizona by a 188-165 margin and defeated SMU by a 153-96 count. UT picked up two victories apiece from junior swimmer Caleb McDermott and diver Mike Wong in the wins.

The only blemish on the Longhorns' schedule came at the Texas Invitational where UT took second place with 696.50 points. Arizona captured the Invitational with 787 points.

Impact Freshmen
Texas has benefited from the emergence of highly-regarded freshmen Ricky Berens, Dave Walters and Hill Taylor.

Berens, the 2006 Swimming World National High School Swimmer of the Year, was selected as the CollegeSwimming.com National Men's Collegiate Swimmer of the Week on Tuesday, Nov. 7 after winning all three of his individual events and recording three NCAA provisional-qualifying cuts against California and Indiana.

Berens clocked 1:44.54 in the 200 butterfly at the Texas Invitational, making him the third-fastest Longhorn ever in the event. He added a time of 46.93 in the 100 butterfly at the Texas Invitational to land his second NCAA automatic-qualifying mark. With three years of eligibility remaining, Berens figures to threaten Ian Crocker's school mark in the 100 butterfly (44.72) and Rainer Kendrick's UT record in the 200 butterfly (1:43.02). Berens will represent Team USA at the 2007 Pan American Games later this summer.

Walters, who will join teammate Garrett Weber-Gale at the 2007 FINA World Championships next month in Australia, has added depth to a brilliant Longhorn freestyle corps. He took first in his 500-freestyle heat with a NCAA provisional-qualifying time of 4:24.68 at the Texas Invitational. Walters also holds a NCAA "B" cut time of 1:37.63 in the 200 freestyle.

Taylor came on strong at the Big 12 Championships, where he earned a NCAA automatic bid in the 100 backstroke with a 47.41 swim in the preliminary round. The Birmingham, Ala., native adds depth to a solid backstroke corps and bolsters UT's outstanding medley relays.

Three for Free
The trio of Michael Klueh, Matt McGinnis and Garrett Weber-Gale has left little for the Longhorns' competition by dominating the freestyle events and picking up top-end points in nearly every meet. The Longhorns collected 19 individual freestyle victories from the three during the season with Klueh chipping in six wins (three in the 500, 2 in the 1000, 1 in the 1,650), McGinnis leading with eight (three in the 100 and five in the 200) and Weber-Gale adding five (two each in the 50 and 100 and one in the 500). With several capable contributors like Tyler O'Halloran, Matt Lowe, Ricky Berens and Dave Walters, UT will fare well in the freestyle relays at the NCAA meet.

Big 12 Honors Three Longhorns
Two Texas swimmers and one diver were selected as athletes of the week on four occasions throughout the season. The aforementioned Matt McGinnis was named the Big 12 Men's Swimmer of the Week on Nov. 29, 2006 and again on Jan. 24. Michael Klueh garnered similar honors on Dec. 13, 2006. Freshman diver Mike Wong was selected as the Big 12 Men's Diver of the Week on Nov. 8 after capturing the one-meter event against California and Indiana.

Reese to Coach Team USA at 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing
USA Swimming selected UT head coach Eddie Reese last September to coach the Team USA men's swimming team at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. The appointment marked Reese's third head-coaching assignment with USA Swimming at the Olympic Games.

In 2004, Reese helped the Americans win 18 medals at the Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. The nine gold medals produced by Reese's men's swimming team accounted for one-fourth of the United States' 36 gold medals won during the 2004 Games. Five of Reese's former Longhorn swimmers - Gary Hall, Jr., Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Ian Crocker and Neil Walker - won medals for Team USA in Athens. Hall won gold in the 50 freestyle, and Peirsol captured the gold in the 100- and 200-backstroke events. Peirsol, Hansen and Crocker comprised three-fourths of Team USA's gold medal-winning 4x100-medley relay team.

Reese led Team USA to 13 medals, including six golds, at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.

Longhorn Student-Athletes, Coaches Await International Competition
The NCAA Championships will bring the end of the collegiate swimming and diving season, but international competitions will only just be getting started. Head coach Eddie Reese, senior Garrett Weber-Gale and freshman Dave Walters will immediately depart for Melbourne, Australia following the NCAA Championships to take part in the 2007 FINA World Championships slated for March 18-April 1. Reese will serve as an assistant coach for the USA men's swimming team, while Weber-Gale will compete in the 400-meter freestyle relay and Walters will take part in the 800-meter freestyle relay.

Former Longhorns Ian Crocker (100 butterfly), Brendan Hansen (100 and 200 breaststroke) and Aaron Peirsol (100 and 200 backstroke) also will compete, as will former UT diver Troy Dumais (three-meter springboard, three-meter synchronized). Later this summer, Michael Klueh (400 and 1500 free, 800 free relay), Matt Lowe (100 breaststroke), Matt McGinnis 400- and 800-free relays) and Tyler O'Halloran (100 breaststroke) will compete in the World University Games. Freshman Ricky Berens (100 butterfly) will be joined by UT assistant coach Kris Kubik, who will serve as a USA men's assistant coach at the Pan American Games.

O'Halloran Honored by State Farm
In conjunction with the State Farm Lone Star Showdown series between The University of Texas and Texas A&M University, State Farm honored UT senior swimmer Tyler O'Halloran as its Scholar-Athlete of the Meet prior to the Texas-Texas A&M men's swimming and diving meet on Saturday, Jan. 27. A journalism major, O'Halloran is a member of the Academic All-Big 12 team and the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll. State Farm donated $250 in O'Halloran's name to the UT Athletics General Scholarship Fund. Other Texas student-athletes who have received the State Farm Scholar-Athlete honor to date include senior Neil Tweedie (football), junior Michelle Moriarty (volleyball), senior Karen Haight (soccer) and redshirt freshman Earnesia Williams (women's basketball).

Rohleder Selected to Big 12 Winter Sports Good Works Team
The Big 12 Conference selected UT junior Daniel Rohleder to its inaugural Winter Sports Good Works Team on Friday, Feb. 11. Rohleder was selected by The University of Texas as its nominee for the 12-member team. The squad features student-athletes from men's and women's basketball, gymnastics and swimming and diving teams throughout the Big 12 Conference. Each Big 12 Conference member institution selected one student-athlete for the Big 12 Winter Sports Good Works Team based on his or her community service, exceptional academic standing and participation in a sport sanctioned by the Big 12 Conference.

Texas' NCAA Championship History under Eddie Reese