Photo by Robert O'Brien
Freshman Kaitlyn Owens midair as she acts as the anchor for the Women's 200 Yard Freestyle Relay.
Up against behemoth programs such as Virginia and Texas, as well as a plethora of Olympic gold medalists and world record holders, No. 20 Texas A&M women’s swimming & diving found some footing at the NCAA Division I Championships, finishing 26th overall with 22 points.
The Aggies opened strong, collecting their first All-American accolades in the 200-yard medley relay with the combined effort of senior Kaitlyn Owens, fifth-years Bobbi Kennett and Olivia Theall and graduate Chloe Stepanek. They finished in the top 15 with the second-fastest time in program history, clocking in 1:35.33.
Closing out the first day of competition, the 800-yard freestyle relay team of sophomore Katie Walker, junior Hayden Miller, graduate Jordan Buechler and Stepanek took 22nd, finishing at 8:04.64.
On Day 2, the relay events continued to be A&M’s strong point as the 200-yard freestyle squad of freshman Kailey Kennedy, Owens, Theall and Stepanek finished 24th with a time of 1:28.95.
The third day of the championships garnered positive points for the Aggies, headlined by Stepanek as she earned both a place in the 200-yard freestyle and her 15th All-America honor, posting a time of 1:44.45, good for a 16th place finish. The same relay team from the first day earned their second All-America accolades, this time in the 400-yard medley relay. The quartet earned a top 15 finish with a season-best 3:30.23.
Graduate Else Praasterink picked up A&M’s second individual award on Day 4, picking up her fifth All-America honor with an eighth-place score of 278.00 on the platform final. The Maroon and White finished strong, clocking a season-best time of 3:14.63 in the 400-yard freestyle relay as freshman Ella McQuinn, Owens, Theall and Stepanek earned a 24th place finish.
Virginia went on to capture its fifth-straight title as records were broken and history books rewritten, headlined by Olympian Gretchen Walsh. However, none were as big as her performance in the 100-yard butterfly as she became the first ever woman to swim under 47 seconds, clocking it at a blazing 46.97.