Led by a pair of defending national champions, Breeja Larson and Cammile Adams, the No. 3 Texas A&M women’s swimming and diving team will be represented by 16 competitors at this year’s NCAA Championships.
The championship meet will be held Thursday through Saturday at the Minnesota Aquatic Center in Minneapolis, Minn. A total of 322 student athletes – 281 swimmers and 41 divers – will compete in the championships after meeting established minimum time requirements for their respective events.
With 16 qualified swimmers attending the national meet, A&M trails only defending NCAA Champion – and this year’s SEC Champion – Georgia for the highest number of swimmers competing in the three-day meet.
A&M’s 16 invitees top the 15 swimmers from A&M’s 2011 squad as the most in school history to compete at a national meet and marks the eighth-straight season the Aggies have sent double-digit qualifiers to the NCAAs.
Larson and Adams are just two of the six seniors leading an experienced pool of swimmers to Minneapolis. Ten of the 13 swimmers from last year’s fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships will return to compete
this year.
As an Olympic gold medalist, NCAA champion and SEC champion, Larson is no stranger to the national stage. This year’s NCAA Championships will mark Larson’s fourth consecutive trip to the national meet and second time as a defending champion. Following a second-place finish in the 100 breaststroke as a freshman in 2011, Larson has swept the event the past two years.
Under head coach Steve Bultman, A&M has finished in the top 10 of the NCAAs seven straight seasons since 2007, including fourth-place finishes in 2008 and 2013, the team’s best results.