The Texas A&M swimming and diving team won its final meet of the regular season, beating SMU at Robson & Lindley Aquatics Center and Barr-McMillion Natatorium on Friday, Jan. 21, in Dallas.
The men’s and women’s teams were in control during the meet, winning multiple events as well as having many top-three finishes across the board. The No. 10 men’s team commanded a strong win with a final score of 176-113 and the No. 19 women’s team dominated, finishing with a 172-108 victory.
The maroon and white opened up the meet with a 1-2 finish in the women’s 200-yard medley relay. Juniors Jordan Buechler, Bobbi Kennett, Olivia Theall and Chloe Stepanek notched first with a time of 1:41.88 while freshman Manita Sathianchokwisan, sophomores Aviv Barzelay, JoAnn Adler and junior Charlotte Longbottom finished as the runner-up with 1:43.68. The men’s team were able to place second in the 200-yard medley relay. Freshman Connor Foote and seniors Ethan Gogulski, Andres Puente and Jace Brown combined for 1:29.60.
The distance events belonged to the Aggies. Freshman Duru Tanriverdi won the women’s 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:12.52. Stepanek notched a first-place victory in the women’s 500-yard freestyle with 4:52.39. The Aggies came away with the top-four spots in the men’s 500-yard freestyle. Freshman Batuhan Filiz placed first with 4:27.54, sophomore Trey Dickey finished as the runner-up with 4:32.02, freshman Maximiliano Vega notched third with 4:36.99 and senior William Coakley rounded up the fourth spot with 4:37.16.
The Aggies had many swimmers notch first-place victories. Buechler won the women’s 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:51.61 and freshman Baylor Nelson won three events, going 1:38.28 in the men’s 200-yard freestyle, 20.58 in the men’s 50-yard freestyle and 1:47.86 in the men’s 200-yard individual medley. Barzelay grabbed first in the women’s 200-yard backstroke with a final time of 1:59.65. Senior Anze Fers Erzen landed a win in the men’s 200-yard butterfly with 1:48.73 and Bratanov won the men’s 100-yard freestyle with 45.26. Longbottom placed first in the women’s 200-yard breaststroke with 2:17.47 and Theall secured first in the women’s 100-yard butterfly with 53.39.
The maroon and white had multiple 1-2 finishes for the men’s and women’s team. Stepanek finished first in the women’s 100-yard backstroke with 56.32 and junior Abigail Ahrens finished as second with 56.36. Gogulski and Foote grabbed first and second-place in the men’s 100-yard backstroke, with times of 49.27 and 49.51, respectively. Junior Thomas Shomper and Fers Erzen earned first and second in the men’s 200-yard backstroke, with times of 1:48.32 and 1:49.12 respectively. Senior Caroline Theil and sophomore Joelle Reddin finished as the top-two swimmers in the women’s 100-yard breaststroke, with Theil placing first with 1:03.86 and Redding grabbing second with 1:04.71. Brown and Foote had a close race in the men’s 100-yard butterfly, with Brown winning the event and Foote finishing as a close second, with times of 49.11 and 49.48, respectively.
The men’s and women’s diving teams dominated both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events. The Aggies claimed the top-three spots in both the men’s and women’s 1-meter. Freshman Joslyn Oakley claimed first in the women’s 1-meter with a score of 290.10, senior Alyssa Clairmont grabbed second with 289.95 and junior Mayson Richards notched third with 281.93. Sophomore Allen Bottego won the men’s 1-meter with 335.63, junior Takuto Endo finished second with 315.53 and sophomore Rhett Hensley rounded the third-place spot with 312.90. Clairmont claimed first again in the women’s 3-meter with 310.28 and Endo won the men’s 3-meter with 360.45.
The diving team will have their final invitational on Feb. 2 – Feb. 4, in Colorado Springs and then both the swimming and diving teams will prepare for SEC Championships that will run from Feb. 14 through Feb. 18, at the Rec Center Natatorium in College Station. The SEC Championships will be available to watch on the SEC ESPN Network.