#2 Texas Cruises Past Aggies, 167-116

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Feb. 6. THE second-ranked University of Texas men's swimming and diving team won the first seven events in its dual meet with Texas A&M University of Friday afternoon en route to a 167-117 victory at Texas A&M Natatorium.

The win improves the Longhorns to 5-1 on the season as four victories have come against Top 10 opponents and all five have been over teams ranked in the Top 25.

Texas posted the top finish in every event until Texas A&M finally scored first-place finishes on the one-meter springboard and the 100-yard freestyle. The Longhorns then came back with four more victories before swimming the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, as an exhibition.

The first of seven victories to open the meet came in the 200-yard medley relay. The team of juniors Andrew Davidson (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) and Daniel DiToro (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and seniors Brendan Hansen (Haverford, Pa.) and Tony Diers (Houston, Texas) combined to pace the field with a time of 1:27.60.

Freshman Blake Copple (Boise, Idaho) followed with the top time in the 1,000-yard freestyle at 9:19.41 for his first college dual-meet victory and sophomore Aaron Peirsol (Irvine, Calif.), the 2003 NCAA Swimmer of the Year, followed with the top showing in the 200-yard freestyle with a mark of 1:37.54.

Texas added its fourth and fifth consecutive victories when Davidson and Hansen came two-time winners on the day. After leading off on the victorious 200-yard medley relay, Davidson came back to post the top time in the 100-yard backstroke with a mark of 47.72.

Hansen then cruised to a mark of 53.82 in the 100-yard breaststroke,
well over a second faster than Texas A&M's Alfredo Jacobo.

Junior Nathan O'Brien (Sammamish, Wash.) and senior world record holder Ian Crocker (Portland, Maine) concluded Texas' string of seven straight wins with victories in the 200-yard butterfly and the 50-yard freestyle, respectively. O'Brien beat out teammate Wade Kelley (Marietta, Ga.) for first in the 200-yard butterfly, 1:47.70 to 1:48.05, while Crocker finished the 50-yard freestyle in 19.41.

O'Brien, Copple and Davidson all added victories later in the meet, while sophomore Christian Schurr (Austin, Texas) also joined the winners circle for his performance in the 200-yard breaststroke. O'Brien's second victory came in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:46.80, while Copple and Davidson added wins in the 500-yard freestyle (4:29.51) and the 100-yard butterfly (48.58), respectively.

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