The No. 12 Texas A&M men’s swimming and diving team wrapped up its season at NCAA Championships that took place from March 22-25 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The maroon and white finished 14th in the meet, totaling 80 points.
The team opened up championships with a 14th-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay. Composed of freshman Connor Foote, seniors Ethan Gogulski, Andres Puente and Kaloyan Bratanov, the relay team went 1:23.03, setting a new program record as well as garnering Honorable Mention All-American honors.
Puente opened up the last day with a new school record time of 1:50.86 in prelims in the 200-yard breaststroke. He earned All-American honors in finals with a 8th-place finish with a time of 1:51.66.
The 800-yard freestyle relay team also earned Honorable Mention All-American honors. With a 16th-place finish, freshman Baylor Nelson, junior Collin Fuchs, Foote and Bratanov combined for a time of 6:16.32.
Nelson impressed in his NCAA Championship debut. His time of 1:40.88 in the 200-yard individual medley was the fastest freshman time in the country and garnered both a 7th-place finish and All-American honors.
Junior Victor Povzner and sophomore Allen Bottego contributed points for the Aggies in the 1-meter diving. Povzner placed sixth with a score of 390 and Bottego finished 8th with 330.50, earning both divers All-American honors.
Nelson continued his debut with a 10th-place finish in the 400-yard individual medley. His 3:38.11 marks his career-best in the event and earned him Honorable All-American honors. He is the first swimmer in A&M history to garner two individual top-10 finishes his freshman year.
Foote also impressed in his debut, placing 15th in the 100-yard butterfly. Going for a career-best time of 45.41, he got his first individual All-American distinction.
Povzner earned his second All-American honors in the meet with 13th-place in the 3-meter diving, totaling a score of 398.05.
The 400-yard medley relay team accumulated All-Americans, with Gogulski, Puente, Foote and Bratanov combining for 3:04.31 and 13th-place finish.
Sophomore diver Rhett Hensley closed out the final diving event, platform diving, with a 5th-place finish in the consolation final. His score of 345.55 earned him Honorable Mention All-American honors.
Coach Jay Holmes said that he was proud of the team, especially for his seniors.
“This was a typical NCAA meet, every point mattered and nothing was easy, just as a National Championship meet should be,” Holmes told 12thMan.com. “While we certainly will always want more than top-15, our staff is really proud of our guys, their effort and purpose. I want to specifically mention our seniors. That class is special. Our future will for sure be better because they were all here and created such a positive culture for our team.”