Texas Aggies Sweep LSU

BATON ROUGE, La.¯The nationally-ranked Texas A&M Tigers spanked the LSU Tigers, as both Aggie teams triumphed in meets today in Baton Rouge.

Women's Meet
The 14th-ranked Texas A&M women's swimming & diving team produced an impressive number of one-two finishes en route to a convincing 156-132 win over the LSU Tigers at the LSU Natatorium.

The Aggies earned seven 1-2 finishes, including four of the 1-2-3 variety, in one of their strongest performances of the 2003-04 season. A&M won 13 of the 16 events overall, dropping only the 500 and 1,000 freestyles and the one-meter diving event.

Junior Courtney Patterson swept both backstroke events and added another win in the 200 IM (2:07.08) for the Aggies on Friday. Patterson, the A&M school record holder in the 100-yard back, won that same race in 56.84 while finishing first in the 200 back in 2:04.49.

Sophomore Katy Lieb keyed a 1-2-3-4 Aggie finish in the 200-yard freestyle, the third event of the meet, to break the meet open for A&M. Lieb turned in a lifetime-best and NCAA consideration time of 1:50.66 for the win.

The Aggies produced another strong finish in the 200 butterfly, finishing 1-2-3. Freshman Jenna Wheeler took control in the second half of the race to take the top spot (2:03.07) ahead of teammates Katy Lietzau and Christina Thompson.

A&M kept pouring it on one event later by earning a second consecutive 1-2-3 finish. Junior Danielle Townsend won the 50-yard freestyle in 23.78 while Michelle Bird (23.87) and Ewelina Zwierzykowski (24.15) finished second and third. Townsend led a second 1-2-3-4 finish at the meet, in the 100 free, by clocking a winning time of 50.65 in the 100 free.

Sophomore Britney Pesek and freshman Michelle Kohutek earned wins for the Aggies in the breaststroke events. Pesek won at the 10-yard distance (1:05.40) while Kohutek was tops at 200 yards (2:21.63).

Freshman Rebecca Sturdy recovered from a false start in the 100-yard backstroke to claim top honors in the 100-yard butterfly (56.55). Sophomore Alida DiPlacido finished in first on the three-meter springboard after posting a score of 304.88.

Both A&M relay squads captured wins on Friday. The Aggie 200 medley relay team of Patterson, Britney Pesek, Rebecca Sturdy and Townsend won in 1:43.88 while the foursome of Michelle Bird, Britney Pesek, Danielle Townsend and Rebecca Sturdy clocked a time of 1:34.77.

Men's Meet
The 14th-ranked Texas A&M men's swimming & diving team had an easier time of it, overcoming a ragged start to outdistance Louisiana State 181-119.

The Aggies began the meet with what appeared to be a come-from-behind, photo finish win over the Tigers in the 200-yard medley relay, however A&M was disqualified for a false start.

LSU proceeded to win the next three events before junior Alfredo Jacobo broke the streak with a win in the 100-yard breaststroke. Jacobo cruised to an easy win in 56.58 to start a seven-event win streak for the Aggies. Jacobo later captured the 200 breast in 2:04.50 to run his own personal win streak to six straight in the breaststroke.

Facing the unexpected deficit, A&M grabbed additional momentum with a 1-2-3 finish in the 200-yard butterfly. Senior Scott Hansen (1:50.40) finished ahead of teammates Devin Saez and Joel Travnicek for the top spot. Junior Ross Collins then handed the Aggies a third consecutive win by taking the 50-yard freestyle in 20.78.

The Aggies redeemed themselves for the initial relay faux pas by setting a seasonal-best mark of 1:19.77 in the 200 free relay to close the meet. A&M used a lifetime-best 20.53 relay leadoff by Collins to swim the fourth-fastest time in the nation this season.

Senior Josh Hill lowered his lifetime-best and NCAA consideration time in the 200 back with a win in 1:46.67. Hill also added a win in the 200 individual medley, the final solo event of the meet. Hill won the 200 IM in a time of 1:52.86.

The Aggie divers did their part in contributing to the team win over the Tigers. Senior Adam Morgan earned first place on one-meter springboard (310.65) while sophomore Christian Picard osted the best three-meter score of his A&M career (345.60). Following the diving break, senior Matt Rose claimed a win in the 100-yard freestyle (45.63).

The Aggies will travel to Monroe, La., tonight for an 11 a.m. showdown against the Louisiana-Monroe Indians on Saturday at Lake C. Oxford Natatorium.

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