The Texas A&M swimming and diving teams began the 2023 season on Friday, Sept. 29, at a dual meet against the University of Incarnate Word. There were a total of 32 events at this meet with 16 for each team.
Both the men and women’s teams competed in the same events. The first three events of the night were the 200-yard medley relay, the 1,000- free and the 200-yard free.
The women’s team had a strong showing, as they took the top three spots in all of the first events.
The Aggies took four of the top six overall spots in the 200-yard medley relay, and senior Chloe Stepanek finished with the best time on the first place squad with a 22.52 in the 175 and 200-yard free swims. The 1,000-ard free had similar results, with the Maroon and White taking the top three spots of this event as well.
Sophomore Duru Tanriverdi led the way in this event with her total time of 10:13.01. Like in the 200-yard medley relay, the Aggies took four of the top six spots, and senior Abby Grottle finished first for the Aggies in the 200-yard free with a time of 1:50.15.
On the men’s side, the Aggies finished first in the 200- medley relay and the 1,000-yard free. Sophomore Baylor Nelson led the way in the 1000-yard free with a time of 9:12.37, and junior Trey Dickey was right behind him with his 9:12.44 time.
Incarnate Word finished first in the 200-yard free, where senior Fabio Fasolo finished with a time of 1:39.38. A&M placed second and third in the 200 yard free, as seniors Collin Fuchs (1:39.82) and Carter Nelson (1:40.85) nabbed those spots, respectively.
The next event was the 100-yard back, where both the men and women’s team finished top three in their respective matches. Both the men and women’s teams finished first in 12 of the next 14 events after the 100-yard back, including the 100-yard breast, women’s one meter diving, men’s three meter diving, the 100-yard free, the 200-yard back, and the 200-yard breast. Both teams also finished first in the 100-yard fly.
The final event of the meet was the 400-yard free relay, and the men’s team claimed first and third place with respective times of 2:59.27 and 3:01.46. However, the women’s team was unable to claim any of the top three spots in this event.
The meet was a resounding success and a great way to begin 2023 for the Aggies nevertheless, as they totaled 372.5 points; in comparison, the Cardinals tallied just 202.5 points.
The next meet for the Maroon and White will be on the road against South Carolina on Saturday, Oct. 7 at 9:00 a.m. at Carolina Natatorium.