In the two rivals’ first meeting since 2012, the Texas A&M men’s swimming and diving team kicks off the season in Austin against the No. 6 Texas Longhorns Friday at 6 p.m. in the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.
“We have a long history with Texas and it’s a tremendous rivalry,” A&M head coach Jay Holmes said. “It’s great opportunity to see where we are in our training and what we need to work on. We’ll know a lot more about this year’s team after swimming against the Longhorns.”
A&M said goodbye to 10 seniors last year and they will feature just three for the 2014-15 season. Texas returns 14 All-Americans from a team who finished second at the NCAA Championship in Austin last year.
The Aggies sought their 19^th straight Top 25 finish at the meet in Austin last year, but finished 44th in the contest. A&M brought nine swimmers, including seniors Simon Frank, Henrik Lindau, Paul-Marc Schweitzer and Kyle Troskot.
While A&M complied a 2-3 record in the 2013-14 season, the Longhorns finished 5-1 and tacked on their 35^th straight conference title.
“The way we finished our season last year didn’t set well with the team or the coaches,” Holmes said. “We’ve had to live with that bad taste in our mouths for a year now and it will be nice to get back in the pool so we can do something about it. I like what I’m seeing from this team and I’m anxious to see them race.”
Texas is lead by head coach Eddie Reese, who is entering his 37^th season with the Longhorns. He is the only head coach to win national titles in four different decades.
Holmes has been at the helm for the Aggies for 10 seasons, and was an assistant for 18 years before that at A&M. He was a part of A&M’s 18 straight Top 25 finishes.
A&M will have conference meets against Tennessee, Alabama and LSU all at home this season. The Aggies finished 7^th at the SEC Championship last year.
Nearly half of the A&M squad is composed of freshman, but Aggies also return seniors Hayden Duplechain, Ford McLiney and Luke Shaw.
Texas brings 20 upperclassmen to the table, and looks to claim its 11^th national title this season.
Texas junior diver Cory Bowersox has earned two All-America honors. The Longhorns also have fellow junior John Murray, who registered the best free relay split time at the NCAA championship meet last year.
In their last meeting on Feb. 4, 2012, the Longhorns defeated the Aggies by a count of 133.5 to 102.5 in College Station.