SWIMMING NCAA MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIPS : Lit Tower Marks Texas’ Fourth Consecutive Title

Texas adhered to Coach Eddie Reese’s “fast is fun” philosophy, and then the fun began Saturday night. The Longhorns lit The Tower, threw Reese into the pool and watched diving coach Mike Brown go off the 10-meter platform in his clothes in celebration of their fourth consecutive NCAA championship.

In joining USC, Indiana and Michigan as the only teams to win four consecutive titles, Texas outscored Stanford, 476-420, at Texas Swim Center. Florida edged USC for third, 313-312.5, and Tennessee was fifth (249).

“I’ve heard some say winning four in a row is the best thing since they had kids,” Reese said. “It is high on my list, but I’m a purist and the effort made is more important than the results.”

The effort brought seven victories in the 21 events, including four of the five relays, which count double in points. Shaun Jordan won five gold medals, three on relays and one each for the 50- and 100-yard freestyle, the latter in 42.45 seconds--third-fastest ever.

Two American records and a U.S. Open mark were set on the final day, bringing the total to five and two, respectively.

Florida senior Martin Zubero was chosen swimmer of the year for setting both U.S. Open records, one a 1:42.88 in the 200 backstroke.

“Martin is amazing,” said Florida Coach Skip Foster. “He’s just going to get better.”

Zubero held a two-tenths of a second lead over Stanford freshman Derek Weatherford until the final 50 yards, when he burst ahead with a powerful underwater style.

Because Zubero, a dual citizen of the United States and Spain, swims for Spain internationally, Weatherford’s 1:44.39 in the preliminaries earned him an American record.

Tennessee junior Melvin Stewart set the other American mark, a 1:41.78 in the 200 butterfly.

With his victory in the 1,650 freestyle (14:42.06), Iowa’s Artur Wojdat became the first individual triple gold medalist since Matt Biondi in 1987. Wojdat also won the 200 and 500 freestyles.