The No. 14-ranked Texas A&M men’s swimming and diving team lost a tough double-dual meet matchup against the No. 2-ranked Texas Longhorns and the No. 8-ranked Indiana Hoosiers by a score of 220-80 on Friday at the Jamail Texas Swim Center in Austin on Friday, Oct. 21.
The maroon and white opened up the day with a fifth-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay as freshman Connor Foote and seniors Ethan Gogulski, Jace Brown and Andres Puente combined for a time of 1:28.64.
Seniors William Coakley and Puente contributed as top Aggie finishers, Coakley with 9:24.05 in the 1,000-yard freestyle and Puente with 54.42 in the 100-yard breaststroke. Puente was also able to provide a fourth-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke, going 1:57.45.
Senior Kaloyan Bratanov had solid swims, placing fourth in the 200-yard freestyle with 1:38.00, and he was the top Aggie finisher in the 100-yard freestyle with 44.83.
Gogulski and junior Thomas Shomper continue to build on quality swims in the 100-yard backstroke as they finished as the top two Aggie finishers with Gogulski going 49.48 and Shomper right behind him with a time of 49.58.
The Aggies also saw top-five finishes in the 200-yard butterfly with seniors Anze Fers Erzen and Brown going 1:46.64 and 1:47.59, respectively. Brown also saw a top-five finish in the 100-yard butterfly with 48.03.
Baylor Nelson continues to impress in his freshman year, placing top-five in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:48.94. The Aggies also saw a 5-6-7 finish in the 200-yard backstroke with Shomper going 1:48.19, Nelson with 1:48.26 and sophomore Tyler Hulet finishing with 1:48.49.
Sophomore diver Allen Bottego was able to add big scores placing second in both the 1-meter and 3-meter, with scores of 321.60 and 398.80.
A&M finished off the meet with a fifth-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay with freshman McKennzey McDonald and juniors Carter Nelson, Kraig Bray and David Oderinde combining for 2:59.17.
The maroon and white will host their first home meet at the Student Rec Natatorium when the No. 12-ranked Kentucky Wildcats come to College Station on Friday, Nov. 4 at 3 p.m.
For more information and updates, visit 12thMan.com and follow the team @AggieSwimDive on Twitter and Instagram.
Justin Chen is a general studies junior and contributed this piece from the course JOUR 359, Reporting Sports, to The Battalion.