 "Photo: Jon Eilts")
 "Photo: Jon Eilts")
The Texas A&M men's and women's swimming and diving teams will compete in the four-day Big 12 Championship meet starting Wednesday in Columbia, Mo.
The meet will showcase men's teams from three schools: A&M, No. 3 Texas and Missouri. In the 12 years of the Big 12 Conference, Texas has taken every title at the Championship meet.
At the 2008 championships, A&M finished second, three points ahead of Missouri, advancing eight swimmers to the NCAA championships.
Despite a tough finish this season, the Aggies are returning junior swimmer Nikita Denisyako for the meet. Denisyako helped lead A&M to its 2008 second place Big 12 finish by setting two school records, in both the 200 yard backstroke and 200 yard individual medley.
The Russian native was placed on probation from the team by the NCAA at the start of the 2008-2009 season because of what he said was credit hour problems. The men's team appealed the decision twice, receiving an approval for Denisyako's reinstatement this week.
"I'm pretty excited that the NCAA will let me swim for the Big 12 [Championships]," Denisyako said. "I'll be swimming as fast as I can, and I'm counting on a decent swim from me."
Head Coach Jay Holmes said having Nikita back is a huge boost for the team.
"We're thrilled to have him back, we've definitely been missing him," Holmes said. "We're a different team whenever he's with us."
The men's team used a practice schedule under Holmes that focused the 2008-2009 season on performing in top condition at the conference championships. In the past, this workload has resulted in struggles in the early season.
"Our guys understand this whole process," Holmes said. "We all saw what happened last year, it's time to be good."
The diving squad will also be competing, led by senior Canadian diver Eric Sehn. Sehn, who took a year off of collegiate swimming in 2007-2008, swept all three Big 12 diving titles in 2005-2007.
Joining Sehn for the meet will be fellow Canadian teammate Cam McLean. McLean recently competed at the Canadian Winter Senior National Championships, earning a spot on the Canadian national team.
"Diving is going to be a key to what we do here, there's no doubt about that," Holmes said. "We will be a different diving team than we were last year."
The No. 8 women's team will be defending its Big 12 title for the second year in a row from a No. 3 Texas team who defeated the Aggies 169-131 in College Station Jan. 23.
Though the Aggie squad has finished in first place two years consecutively, it will be entering the meet without four of its top competitors.
Since the start of the 2008-2009 season, A&M has competed without two of its seniors, Kristen Heiss and Julia Wilkinson, both of who redshirted their senior seasons because of shoulder surgery.
Also missing from the Aggie roster is Australian newcomer diver Jaele Patrick. Patrick, who joined the team in December, has already been named Big 12 diver of the week twice in her brief A&M career. She will be competing at the Australian National Championships this week.
The Aggies will be minus the skills of junior breaststroke specialist Alia Atkinson. Atkinson, a two-time defending Big 12 champion, lost her only brother in a plane crash Tuesday, and will be at his memorial service Thursday.
"Obviously, [Alia] will be missed a great deal, she's a two-time defending champion," said Head Coach Steve Bultman. "That's a big loss, but she's had a huge loss herself. She needs to be with her family, that's got to come first."
Despite suffering roster holes, the team will be returning multiple Big 12 champions, including seniors Triin Aljand and Christine Marshall. Aljand has won first place in the 50 yard freestyle at the championship meet three years in a row, while Marshall is the first Aggie to make the U.S. National Swim Team.
"We have a great group of girls, they're mentally tough, and we're going to go up there and race," Bultman said. "You go up there in the condition that you're in individually and as a team, and you step up and get after it."
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