courtesy UT media relations

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Trailing by two points heading into the final session of action, No. 3 Texas captured all six events and pulled away in the team standings to capture the 2009 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championships Saturday evening at the Mizzou Aquatics Center. It marks the first Big 12 women's swimming and diving championship for Texas since the 2006 season and the first for third-year head coach Kim Brackin. Texas has now claimed nine of the 13 Big 12 Conference meets contested.

Texas took the team title with 893 points, and two-time defending conference champion Texas A&M placed second with 831 points. Missouri placed third with 582 points, and Kansas took fourth with 493 points. Iowa State took fifth with 332 points and Nebraska placed sixth with 298 points.

The Longhorns opened the evening by completing a sweep of the diving events, as senior Jessica Livingston captured her third Big 12 platform diving title with 360.80 points. Freshman Shelby Cullinan took second with 306.10 points, and senior Kathryn Kelly competed in the preliminary round and chipped in a 13th-place finish.

Versatile freshman Kathleen Hersey notched her sixth individual school record in the 200 backstroke, where she was victorious in a new school and conference record time of 1:52.58. That mark eclipsed the previous school record of 1:52.98 set by Whitney Hedgepeth at the 1992 NCAA Championships. Freshman Katie Riefenstahl took second at 1:55.25, and senior Rebecca Orr placed sixth at 1:57.33. Sophomore Abbie Mahoney placed 14th overall at 2:02.31.

Freshman Karlee Bispo scored her second individual conference title in as many nights when she captured the 100 freestyle in 48.03. Senior Hee-Jin Chang took second in 48.51, and sophomore Brie Powers provided a key victory in the consolation final in 49.43. Sophomore Adrienne Woods placed 13th overall in 50.16, and freshman Becca Tomlin won the "C" final in 50.38.

Junior Susana Escobar scored her second consecutive conference title in the 1,650 freestyle, where she was victorious in 16:13.53. Sophomore Ashleigh McCleery placed third in 16:25.65, and sophomore Natalie Sacco took fourth in 16:27.26. Junior Alexi Spann chipped in a second-place finish in the 200 breaststroke in 2:14.92, and sophomore Carlye Ellis placed sixth at 2:16.49.

Freshman Leah Gingrich scored her second conference title when she claimed the 200 butterfly in 1:55.18. Senior Jacqueline Martin-Lacey placed third in 1:58.10, and junior Traci Van Matre took seventh in 1:59.97. Sophomore Katie Hamilton placed 18th in the "C" final in 2:00.17.

Texas finished off the meet with a thrilling victory in the 400 freestyle relay. Bispo led off in 48.40 and gave way to Chang, who followed in 48.54. Riefenstahl picked up the third leg in 49.18, and Hersey anchored in 47.50 to produce a winning relay of 3:13.62.

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