Women's Swimming and Diving sweeps Big 12 postseason awards
April 6, 2009
IRVING, Texas – Texas’ exceptional performances at the recent NCAA Championships produced a sweep of the league’s postseason awards handed out Monday by the Big 12 Conference. The league announced UT freshman Kathleen Hersey as its Women’s Swimmer of the Year and its Women’s Swimming and Diving Newcomer of the Year. Senior Jessica Livingston was tabbed as the Big 12 Conference Women’s Diver of the Year, and head swimming and diving coach Kim Brackin was selected as the Big 12 Conference Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year. Diving coach Matt Scoggin was named as the league’s Women’s Diving Coach of the Year. Hersey (Roswell, Ga.) secured three top-three individual finishes and helped two relays to third-place finishes at the NCAA Championships. The Beijing Olympian placed second in the 200-yard individual medley (1:53.33) and the 200 butterfly (1:51.18) and third in the 400 IM (4:01.91) at the NCAA Championships. She anchored UT’s 400 and 800 freestyle relays that placed third at the NCAA meet. Hersey set six new individual school records and five individual Big 12 Conference records during her stellar freshman campaign. Hersey co-owns four school relay records and two Big 12 relay marks. Hersey becomes the fourth Longhorn to be named the Big 12’s women’s swimmer of the year and the first since Elizabeth Wycliffe in 2006. She is the fifth Longhorn to be selected as the women’s swimming and diving newcomer of the year. Hersey becomes the first Big 12 women’s swimmer to earn the women’s swimmer of the year and women’s newcomer of the year honors in the eight years that both awards have been distributed.
Livingston (The Woodlands, Texas) secured her third selection as the league’s women’s diver of the year after previously earning the nod in 2006 and 2007. The 2007 NCAA platform diving champion, Livingston placed second in the platform event and fourth in the three-meter event last month at the NCAA Championships. Brackin earned her first selection as the Big 12’s women’s swimming coach of the year after leading a formidable team that broke 14 school records and registered UT’s highest finish at the NCAA Championships (fifth place) since 2001. Under Brackin, Texas landed five top-five individual finishes and three top-five relay finishes at the NCAA Championships. Scoggin earned his fifth selection as the Big 12 women’s diving coach of the year. Scoggin’s divers played instrumental roles in UT’s fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships and its victory in February at the Big 12 Championships. The Texas women’s divers racked up 74 points with five top-six finishes at the NCAA Championships after sweeping all three events at the Big 12 Championships. |
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