The Texas A&M men’s swimming and diving team finished second on Saturday, Oct. 8, with a total of 306 points in a pool of six teams at the SMU Classic in Dallas.
The maroon and white had several notable performances during the Oct. 7-8 meet, including a first-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay, with a time of 1:18.66. The relay consisted of freshmen Connor Foote and Baylor Nelson, junior Ethan Gogulski and senior Kaloyan Bratanov.
Foote, Gogulski, senior Andres Puente and Bratanov also placed first in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:25.45. Foote led the way with the second fastest 50-yard butterfly split time in program history at 20.23.
Puente had a first-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke, with a time of 1:54.68, as well as a third-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke, with a time of 52.87.
Nelson had an impressive collegiate debut, placing second in the 200-yard individual medley, or IM, with a time of 1:43.32, as well as having the third-fastest time in the 200-yard freestyle, with a time of 1:34.76. His 200-yard IM time is now the fifth-fastest in program history.
The Aggies also made their mark in the 200-yard backstroke, with Gogulski placing second with a time of 1:42.84 and Thomas Shomper having the third-fastest time, with 1:42.96. Senior Anze Fers Erzen scored a second-place finish in the 400-yard IM, with a time of 3:44.42, as well as a third-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle, with a time of 4:24.34.
Sophomore Rhett Hensley also helped the maroon and white with eleven points in the 3-meter dive, with a score of 316.10 and 10 points in the 1-meter diving, with a score of 306.90.
The Aggies are back in action Friday, Oct. 21, against Indiana and Texas in Austin.
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.