No. 2 Texas A&M Aggies Down Houston Cougars

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, January 17. THE Texas A&M Aggies took care of business against intra-state rivals Houston during a mid-week dual meet at the A&M Student Recreation Natatorium. The No. 2 Aggies topped Houston, 159-125.

Texas A&M Release
The Texas A&M women’s swimming and diving team made short work of Houston in a dual meet in the A&M Student Recreation Natatorium Thursday. The No. 2 Aggies won the meet with a final score of 159-125 to improve to 6-0-1 this season.

With a performance similar to Saturday’s smack down of SMU, the women’s squad finished first in 15 of 16 events and took at least two of the top three spots in every event.

“It was a good solid win for a Thursday afternoon meet,” said head coach Steve Bultman. “We had great racing and had got to swim some off events with some girls swimming different events and doing a really good job.”

The 200 medley relay team of junior Kelli Benjamin, senior Breeja Larson, senior Paige Miller, and junior Sammie Bosma got the meet started with a first place finish in 1:41.60 to establish the lead early.

Aggies with multiple wins include sophomore Claire Brandt with wins in the 200 free (1:51.54) and 100 free (51.66). Adding to her relay contribution, Bosma also grabbed wins in the 100 back (56.52) and the 100 fly (55.74).

There were several freshmen bringing wins for the Aggies. In the 1000 free, freshman Cayla Jetter tallied her first collegiate win hitting the wall in 10:22.32. Also taking her first win at A&M was freshman Frankie Jonker in the 100 breast finishing in a time of 1:02.95. Freshman Sycerika McMahon took first in the 200 fly in 2:02.29.

Senior Cammile Adams hit the wall first in the 200 back in a time of 2:02.84. Senior Breeja Larson took first place in the 200 breast with a 2:11.01 swim. Junior Liliana Ibañez won the 500 free in 4:56.43 and senior Caroline McElhany won the 200 IM in 2:04.96.

From the springboards, freshman Courtney Hattie won the 3-meter competition with a final score of 287.25 followed by a third place finish by senior Jessie Macaulay. On the 1-meter boards, Hattie took first again with a final of 292.65 with freshman Zoe Alaniz taking third with 271.58.

With excitement until the final moments, the A&M ‘D’ relay managed an outside smoke, taking the win from lane eight in the 200 free relay. The squad of Benjamin, sophomore Meredith Oliver, Larson, and sophomore Ashley McGregor hit the wall in 1:34.66 to close out the meet.

The Aggies will turn around and hit the road for the last SEC dual meet of the season against LSU. The meet will take place in Baton Rouge and is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Houston Release
The University of Houston Swimming and Diving team dropped a 159-125 decision to No. 2 Texas A&M in dual meet action Thursday afternoon.

“Today we stepped up and raced with the kind of grit and determination we want to embody while competing,” said head swimming coach Rich Murphy. “I thank the young women on our team for an outstanding effort.”

Houston senior Krystan Morrell took home a win in the 50 free with a time of 24.23. The Cougars also took home first place in the 200-yard free relay with a time of 1:37.10. Morrell along with Lindsay Schultz, Taylor Gregory and Dora Bednjanec helped lead Houston to first in the event.

For the first time in 25 years, the Houston divers headed to a competition without head diving coach Jane Figueiredo at the helm. Newly announced interim diving coach Yulia Pakhalina saw quick success for her group on her first day on the job as freshman Taylor Olanski scored 271.80 to take runner up in the 3M and sophomore Danielle Shedd also earning second in the 1M (284.25). Both finished behind each other in the events giving Houston second and third place showings in the two diving events.

The Cougars faced some stiff competition as the No. 2 Aggies improved to 6-0-1 in dual meets this season with the only blemish on the Aggies’ record being a 150-150 tie against No. 4 Georgia. Houston dropped to 3-3 on the season with their last two losses coming against Top-15 opponents (No. 15 Louisville).

“Today we had the opportunity to go against a perennial top-5 team in Texas A&M,” said Murphy. “I have a lot of admiration for where their program is at on a national level, and for how they compete on the international stage.”

“I thank the young women on our team for an outstanding effort and I believe we took a step forward as a program today. I want to congratulate Krystan Morrell on her win in the 50 free and Taylor Olanski on her second place finish in 3-meter diving, and Danielle Shedd on her second place finish in 1-meter diving. I also appreciate the assertiveness with which Maya Owens competed with this afternoon. Finally, I’d like to thank our fans who made the trip to College Station for the meet.”

Results For: Texas A&M vs. Houston

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use