No. 25 Texas A&M women’s swimming & diving went on the road, taking on the Houston Cougars at CRWC Natatorium on Thursday, Oct. 30, coming out with a decisive 166-133 victory. The farmers came out fighting, with junior Ava Whitaker winning three individual events. Junior Katie Walker and sophomore Macy Lewis also claimed solo victories as the Aggies captured 11 of the 16 events.
Whitaker was the engine for the Maroon and White, sweeping the 100 and 200 butterfly in 52.55 seconds and 1:55.01, respectively, along with a victory in the 100 individual medley in 55.47 seconds. Fifth year Kaitlyn Owens was also huge for the Aggies in Houston, contributing wins in the 100 backstroke and the 50 freestyle in 53.29 and 23.09, respectively.
A&M set the stage for the dominant performance with a first-place finish in the 400 medley relay with the fearsome foursome of Owens, Whitaker, sophomore Ella McQuinn and freshman Eloise Williamson clocking in at 3:36.70. The Maroon and White used the win as a launch point for sweeping the springboard dives, with sophomore Bridget Foster winning the 3-meter with a score of 331.80 and sophomore Julie Moons winning the 1-meter with a score of 292.65.
McQuinn took second in the 100 breaststroke, clocking in at 1:00.72. A second-place finish in the 100 freestyle capped off her third top-3 finish of the day, however, freshman Lillie Sczech and junior Hannah O’Leary weren’t far behind with second-place finishes in the 200 breaststroke and the 500 freestyle in 2:13.61 and 4:53.22, respectively.
The Aggies closed out the event in Houston with a victory in the 200 relay with Owens, McQuinn, Williamson and freshman Reagan Sherrard taking the event by touching in at 1:31.74.
Following the 166-133 victory, A&M will travel to the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center in Austin on Thursday, Nov. 13, to participate in the Texas Diving Invitational.
