The No. 3 Texas A&M women’s swimming and diving team begins conference play with their season opener against the No. 22 Arkansas Razorbacks in the Arkansas Natatorium Saturday at 10 a.m.
The Aggies placed a school-record fourth in the NCAA Championship last season for the second consecutive time. They also capped the tournament with a school-record of 336 points.
Arkansas (0-1) has already begun SEC action. On Sept. 27, they fell to the Florida Gators 189.5 to 110.6.
A&M finished 8-0-1 in 2013-14, with their tie being against the eventual national champion Georgia Bulldogs. Georgia has won the national title two years in a row.
Arkansas head coach Sean Schimmel has made quick work of his program. In Schimmel’s two seasons with the Razorbacks, his team has broken eight school records.
The Razorbacks are still in the process of rebuilding with their seventh head coach. However, Schimmel has brought them to two straight NCAA Championships and placed 26^th in his first year. That was the seventh highest ranking in school history.
All of A&M’s seniors will compete in the freestyle race. In addition, all seven each have three years of varsity experience under their belts.
The Aggies will miss Cammile Adams, who led the pack at the championship in Minnesota last year before graduating. She successfully defended her 200-yard butterfly title to help A&M finish just behind California.
A&M won a school-record three individual titles in the meet at the University of Minnesota last year. Arkansas qualified seven swimmers in 13 different events, both school-records.
Both teams fell short in Athens, Ga. in the SEC Championship last year. Arkansas finished sixth while the Aggies were second.
Arkansas and A&M will have plenty of rest before their next meets. The Razorbacks will stay at home and play the Missouri Tigers on Oct. 24, while the Aggies will travel to Denton on Oct. 31. A&M will compete against North Texas and Houston on the same day.
Schimmel will try to continually progress his program with an impressive win over A&M, who will attempt to place in the top five for the third straight year.