Coming off a Sept. 29 sweep against Incarnate Word, the Texas A&M women’s swimming and diving team dominated a dual match against South Carolina and Virginia Tech. The Aggies topped the Gamecocks 199-101 and the Hokies 189-106 while placing first in 14 of the 16 events in Columbia, South Carolina.
The Maroon and White began the day at the Carolina Natatorium commanding the lanes with the team of freshman Miranda Grana and seniors Bobbi Kennett, Olivia Theall and Chole Stepanek, who placed first in the 200-meter medley relay with a time of one minutes and 39.58 seconds.
The Aggies took the top three of seven spots in the 1,000 freestyle. Senior Abby Grottle clocked in a time of 10:01.48 with sophomores Hayden Miller and Rachel Love close behind at 10:02.48 and 10:08.53, respectively.
Stepanek made another appearance in the first place spot with a finish of 1:47.47 in the 200 freestyle against South Carolina.
Grana followed with another first place finish in the 100 backstroke, clocking in at 52.49 with South Carolina close behind.
Taking the top two spots in the 100 breaststroke with a slight difference were seniors Charlotte Longbottom at 1:02.55 and Kennett at 1:02.57.
Theall then locked in a time of 1:58.77 in the 200 butterfly for first place. In the 50 and 100 freestyles, Stepanek claimed first ahead of her opponents with a finish of 23.05 for the 50 and 49.75 for the 100.
The Aggies failed to finish in first place for the first time during the 200 individual medley, where South Carolina graduate Duda Sumida finished on top with a time of 2:02.92.
Finishing the day, Virginia Tech took its first top finish during the 400 freestyle relay. A&M finished third with a team composed of Theall, freshman Katie Walker, senior Jordan Buechler and sophomore Hadley Beeson with a time of 3:27.99.
Women’s swimming and diving assistant coach Caroline Maxvil Stanek told 12thMan.com that the day’s finishes will set the pace for upcoming meets.
“The women stepped up on the road today,” Maxvill Stanek said. “We got some great wins, and we also got our hand on the wall in some battles for second through fifth for those points. We still have some details to clean up, but it was a ton of fun to see them step up, set the tone and race.”
The Maroon and White will return to the Rec Center Natatorium to battle the Tennessee Lady Volunteers on Friday, Oct. 27, at 11 a.m.
Emma Neuman is a university studies junior and contributed this piece from the course JOUR 359, Reporting Sports, to The Battalion.