Texas A&M swimming and diving hosted TCU and BYU for this season’s home opener Friday and Saturday at the Rec Center Natatorium and dominated from beginning to end.
The meet began Friday afternoon with the women outscoring the Horned Frogs, 157.5-47.5, and the Cougars, 137-68. The men also knocked down both teams that day with scores of 123.5-81.5 against TCU and 111-94 against BYU.
A&M began the weekend solidifying four of the top five spots in the 500-yard freestyle with help from junior Hayden Miller winning the heat with a time of four minutes and 49.58 seconds along with graduate Chloe Stepanek finishing second with a time of 4:52.51.
Another pair of Aggies got a first-second finish in the 200-yard backstroke with senior Aviv Barzelay securing first place with a time of 2:00.18 while freshman Lizzie Watson was right behind at 2:01.22.
A&M secured the top three spots in the men’s 50-yard freestyle with junior Connor Foote paving the way and finishing first with a time of 20.26. The men’s 500-yard freestyle featured Aggies in four out of the top six spots with Trey Dickey finishing third in 4:33.47.
On Saturday, Dickey added another impressive finish by securing third place in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 9:23.50. The men’s 200-yard medley relay team of Foote, freshmen Chase Swearingen and Travis Gulledge and junior Baylor Nelson finished second with an impressive time of 1:28.91.
On the other side of the water, graduate Else Praasterink claimed first place in both diving events and earned her spot at NCAA Zones for her performances. The Louisville transfer delivered a 313.30 on the 3-meter and 245.05 on the platform.
Also on the 1-meter, graduate Mayson Richards, who had already secured an NCAA Zones spot, finished second with a score of 299.80, followed by Praasterink, who placed third with a score of 273.90.
Graduate Leonardo Garcia secured a first-place finish on the 3-meter with a score of 392.10, with senior Rhett Hensley securing second with a score of 357.65. Garcia secured a spot for NCAA Zones last weekend at the meet against SMU. On the 1-meter, the Aggies swept the podium, with Hensley taking first followed by Garcia and freshman Jaxon Bowshire, respectively.
The meet closed out with both the women’s and men’s 400-yard freestyle relay teams claiming first. The men’s team consisting of Foote, Nelson, graduate Collin Fuchs and sophomore Ben Scholl claimed first place with a time of 2:56.78, while the women’s team featuring Stepanek, graduate Olivia Theall, senior Kaitlyn Owens and graduate Jordan Buechler swam a time of 3:25.59.
The Aggies will return to the Rec Center Natatorium at 3 p.m. Thursday to host Houston in a dual meet.
