Air Force vs. Texas Christian University

FORT WORTH, Texas, November 2. THE TCU men's and women's swimming and diving teams both earned wins against MWC opponent Air Force at the University Recreation Center. The women won by a score of 127-102, while the men won a thriller in the last event by a score of 131-112.

"This was a big day for the Horned Frogs," said TCU head coach Richard Sybesma. "Two years ago their men upset us by one point, so it was great to be able to hang on for the win. We defended our house tonight. Getting two conference wins tonight gives us a big opportunity next weekend against Wyoming."

The women's squad (4-2, 1-1) cruised to their fourth win of the season and first conference victory, taking the top spot in 11 of the 13 events.

Eight different women's swimmers and divers earned wins, highlighted by freshman Nikki Pappas, who earned her first two collegiate victories. Pappas swept the sprint events, winning the 50-free in a time of 25.09 and the 100-free with a clocking of 54.44.

In the distance events, Sarah Bardwell led off with a victory in the 1000-free (10:47.86), followed by Michelle Pottenger in third (10:53.07). The Frogs swept the 500-free, led by Meredith Grubb, who took the top spot in a time of 5:13.67. Stephanie Futscher and Keilah Walker followed in second and third, respectively.

Freshman Jessica Miles earned her third victory of the season, taking the top spot in the 200-free in a time of 1:56.71, followed by Brittney Martinez in third (2:00.01).

The women earned another sweep in the 200-fly, as Futscher dominated the event with a time of 2:06.99, followed by Miles and Pottenger.

Cheryl Townsend, last season's MWC individual champion in the 400-IM, earned her first win of the season in the 200-back on Friday, taking the top spot in a time of 2:07.68, followed by Samantha Smith in second (2:11.54).

Katie Rosen added her second win at a conference meet this season, placing first in the 200-breast with a clocking of 2:25.23. Freshman Heather Heefner followed in third position with a time of 2:34.76.

In the diving events, Nikka Campora won the three-meter with a score of 233.10, and placed third in the one-meter with a score of 206.18.

The Frogs took the top three positions in both relay events on Friday. In the 400-medley relay, the team of Martinez, Rosen, Natalie Melenric and Melanie Cruthirds won in a time of 4:01.84. In the 400-free relay, the squad of Martinez, Pappas, Grubb and Cruthirds took the top spot in a time of 3:39.87.

The TCU men improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the MWC with Friday's win over Air Force, who finished third in the MWC a year ago. Six different swimmers and divers won events, including all three seniors.

The men led off the event with a bang, as the 400-medley relay team of Jonathon Berrettini, Cameron Allred, Edgar Peyro and Josh Bagby edged the Air Force "A" relay team for first place with a time of 3:26.15.

Scott McCracken and Bagby would begin their big day with a one-two finish in the 50-free. McCracken won the event with a season-best time of 20.79, followed by Bagby's time of 21.51.

Freshman Edgar Peyro recorded an impressive performance in the 200-fly, coming from third place in the last lap to take the top spot in a time of 1:57.34. Jason Hauck followed in third with a time of 1:58.31.

One event later, McCracken would secure another vital win in the 100-free in a time of 46.85, only two-hundredths of a second ahead of the next Air Force competitor. McCracken was followed by freshman Jeff Hendricks in third (47.63).

The men recorded another one-two finish in the 200-back, as Berrettini won his fifth event of the season with a time of 1:51.12. Jeff Gettel, a freshman from Plano, Texas, placed in the runner-up position with a time of 1:52.91.

The TCU divers put together another stellar performance that allowed the men to remain in the lead against the Falcons. In the one-meter dive, freshman Kyle Callens won his first collegiate event with a score of 279.60, barely edging out R.J. Hesselberg's second-place score of 279.38. Hesselberg dominated the three-meter event, recording a personal-best score of 347.33, followed by Callens' second-place score of 271.28. Hesselberg's score is also good for second place in TCU school history.

The Frogs entered the 200-breast event with a narrow lead of four points. Allred, a senior from Fort Worth, took first place with a time of 2:06.14 to bump the lead to seven points heading in to the last event.

The 400-free relay team of Berrettini, Hendricks, McCracken and Bagby found themselves trailing heading into the last 50 yards of the event, but Bagby was able to regain the lead to clinch the meet for the Frogs.

Special thanks to Texas Christian University for contributing this report.

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