Qualifiers
Two Aggie women secured their ticket to the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships at the Zone D Diving Championships qualifying meet held March 7-9 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Day 1 of the competition landed senior Alyssa Clairmont and freshman Joslyn Oakley qualifying scores in the 3-meter final. Oakley finished fifth (664.35) and Clairmont eighth (650.65).
On Day 2, both divers notched qualifying scores in the 1-meter final. Clairmont placed eighth with an automatic qualifying score of 585.85 while Oakley’s qualifying score of 562.85 was enough to finish 11th.
Clairmont’s top-12 score of 489.65 qualified on platform to place ninth on the final day of the meet. It is the second straight season Clairmont has qualified in all three dives.
Clairmont and Oakley will compete in the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships March 15-18 at the Jones Aquatic Center in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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NCAA Championship
The Texas A&M women’s swimming & diving team finished out the NCAA Championships in 25th place with a total of 26 points in Knoxville, Tennessee, on March 15-18. University of Virginia took home first place with 424.5 points, followed by University of Texas at Austin (298.5), Stanford University (277), University of Louisville (234) and North Carolina State University (229).
Seniors Jordan Buechler and Andrea Perttula, and juniors Olivia Theall and Bobbi Kennett kicked off the competition in the 200-yard medley final finishing 23rd with a recorded 1:38.26.
In the 800-yard freestyle relay of Buechler, juniors Chloe Stepanek and Abby Grottle and freshman Giulia Goerigk placed 17th with a time of 7:05.63, which was 2.61 seconds faster than their previous season best.
On Day 2, senior Alyssa Clairmont and freshman Joslyn Oakley earned Honorable Mention All-America awards for their performances in the 1-meter consolation final placing in the top 16.
Clairmont scored a 289.95 to place 13th, and Oakley was close-by with a score of 284.20 to finish 14th.
Goerigk recorded a personal-best in the 500-yard freestyle prelim with a 4:45.09 followed by Grottle with 4:46.25.
Kennett recorded a 1:59.92 in the 200-yard IM prelims. In the 50-yard freestyle prelims, Stepanek clocked in a 22.41 with Theall just behind her at 22.72.
Theall, Stepanek, Buechler and Kennett closed out the day with a season-best time of 1:28.90 in the 200-yard freestyle to place 17th.
On Day 3 of the competition, Stepanek received her fifth career individual All-America honor after finishing seventh in the 200-yard freestyle championship with a time of 1:43.76. The honor made Stepanek an eight-time All-American.
Oakley earned her second Honorable Mention All-America award of the week after placing 15th with a score of 294.38 in the 3-meter prelim.
Buechler, Kennett, Theall and Stepanek also received Honorable Mention All-America honors, tying for 16th with a time of 3:32.29 in the 400-yard medley relay.
In the 400 IM prelims, Goerigk placed 18th with a time of 4:10.22, and Grottle finished in the same race with a time of 4:15.89.
Theall registered a 51.25 in the 100-yard butterfly. In the 100-yard breaststroke, Kennett recorded a 59.60 to finish in the top 25, and Pertulla followed right behind her at 1:00.00.
Sophomore Aviv Barzelay recorded a season-best of 53.45 in the 100-yard backstroke prelims to close out the day.
The last day of competition brought Stepanek her ninth overall All-America accolade when she placed 13th in the 100-yard freestyle consolation final recording a 48.06.
In the 200-yard backstroke prelims, Barzelay finished in the top-25 with a 1:53:35. Theall placed 18th in the 200-yard butterfly prelims with a time of 1:55.25. Kennett clocked a 49.44 in the 100-yard freestyle prelim.
Goerigk swam in 200-yard breaststroke prelims and posted a time of 2:13:05. Clairmont secured a score of 223.10 to place 29th in the platform prelim. To finish off the competition, Kennett, Stepanek, Buechler and Theall notched a 3:15.49 to secure a top-20 finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Follow the women’s swimming & diving team on @AggieSwimDive on Twitter and Instagram.
Madison Fay is a tourism management senior and Cory Richardson is an agricultural communications and journalism sophomore and contributed this article from course JOUR 359, Reporting Sports, to The Battalion.