Texas A&M, LSU Split In SEC Matchup

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, January 18. THE Texas A&M women and Louisiana State men emerged victorious Saturday afternoon after a Southeastern Conference matchup between the two schools. The Aggies came out ahead on the women’s side, 168-127, while the LSU men edged A&M, 157.5-142.5.

Texas A&M Women’s Press Release

It was a sweet homecoming for Texas A&M head coach Steve Bultman as his No. 2-ranked Aggies cruised to a 168-127 victory over the LSU Tigers on Saturday at the LSU Natatorium.

A 1970 graduate of LSU and a Tiger swimming letterman, Bultman saw his team continue to build for upcoming Championship season improve to 7-0-1 overall and 3-0-1 vs. Southeastern Conference opponents by winning 11 of 16 possible events against the Tigers on Senior Day.

Texas A&M will host its own Senior Day on Feb. 1 when the Aggies play host to North Texas (start time TBD). The Aggies’ senior class of 2014 is one of the most decorated classes in school history and includes multiple Olympians, NCAA Champions, national champions and conference champions.

“We got about two weeks until our Senior Day and this year’s senior class has outstanding individuals,” Bultman said. “It will be the last time they will be swimming in front of the home crowd as NCAA athletes so I encourage a big crowd to come out and see them compete for the last time in Aggieland.”

Against the Tigers, the Aggies swept both relays with the foursome of senior Paige Miller, sophomore Ashley McGregor, senior Cammile Adams and junior Sammie Bosma taking the 400-yard medley relay in 3:43.20 and the group of Bosma, senior Caroline McElhany, sophomore Katherine Huff and senior Erica Dittmer closing the meet with a 1:33.11 win in the 200 free relay.

The stout Aggies grabbed the top two spots in seven races and got a pair of individual wins from two swimmers. Posting double wins for the Aggies were Bosma and McGregor. Bosma swept the 50 free (22.94) and the 100 free (50.08), while McGregor took the 100 breaststroke (1:03.03) and the 200 breast (2:14.02).

Also taking individual wins were senior Sarah Henry in the 1,000 free in 9:43.18, Miller in the 100 backstroke in 54.20, sophomore Claire Brandt in the 200 back in 1:59.26, Adams in the 500 free in 4:52.16 and Dittmer in 200 IM in 1:59.96.

Texas A&M Men’s Press Release

The Texas A&M men’s swimming and diving team was edged out by the LSU Tigers Saturday as the Aggies swam their last conference dual of the season. The 157.5-142.5 final was decided in the last few events with the Tigers coming out on top.

“It was a great meet for swimming fans,” said head coach Jay Holmes after the tight competition. “There was a lot of back and forth and some great racing, especially with the history between the two teams.”

More than pulling his weight, senior Omar Enriquez brought two huge wins for the team. Enriquez won the 1000 free in 9:15.92 and the 500 free in 4:29.96. He went on to take second in the 200 fly (1:48.84) even though he wasn’t originally planning to swim the event.

Stepping up for the team, several men made a big impact on the meet. Senior Kyle Troskot kept his 50 freestyle streak alive with a win today in 20.29. Troskot also came through with a 100 free win in 45.01. Senior Paul-Marc Schweitzer helped to keep the Aggies in close competition with a big win in the 200 free hitting the wall in 1:39.80. Sophomore Alexandros Theocharidis had a great swim in the 100 back, winning in a time of 49.64.

On the 1-meter boards, senior Adam Ruiz brought in crucial points with a first place score of 338.78, followed closely by junior Ford McLiney who finished second with 329.55. McLiney also brought a second place finish in the 3-meter with a final score of 389.48.

“Adam Ruiz was on fire,” Holmes added. “And with Ford coming in second, we really needed that win. They both did a really good job.”

The men’s squad depth in the 50 freestyle helped to make for an easy win in the 200 free relay. The foursome of senior Henrik Lindau, Troskot, sophomore Cory Bolleter, and Schweitzer came to the wall in 1:20.45 to tighten the score in the final event.

The team will head to Dallas next as they close out dual meet competition against SMU on January 24.

LSU Press Release

The LSU Swimming and Diving team split its final SEC dual meet at the LSU natatorium. The LSU men won 157.5-142.5 over A&M while the Lady Tigers fell to the Texas A&M women 168-127.

“On the men’s side, they just wanted it so much,” LSU swimming coach Dave Geyer said. “The seniors have been burned by A&M the last three years so it was great to go out on top. They knew they wanted to come in and get this win. Frank gave us a spark, but it was a total team effort from the boards to in the water.”

The Tigers took first in six swimming events as well as one diving event. The relay team of Michael Young, Gabe Rooker, Frank Greeff and Michael Saco took first in the 400-medley relay with a time of 3:18.05.

Men’s captain, Greeff, fired up the team after the relay win and went on to capture first place finishes in the 200 butterfly (1:47.48) and 100 butterfly (48.44). Greeff also touched the wall second in a thrilling 200 IM. The Tigers took first, second and third in that event and clinched the win for the men.

The freshmen played a huge part in the men’s win today. Eric Klein finished first in the 200 IM with a mark of 1:49.97. Klein also tied for third in the 100 butterfly with a time of 49.61. Brandon Goldman took the win in the 200 backstroke (2:00.59) and third in the 200 IM (1:50.83).

Silas Dejean accounted for another win in the 100 breaststroke (55.65) and a third place finish in the 200 breaststroke (2:01.28). Elliot Dewlen also contributed nicely with second place finishes in the 500 free (4:33.08) and 1000 free (9:22.15).

Senior Ricardo Alvarado Jimenez went out with a win in the 200 breaststroke (2:00.59). Jimenez also touched the wall second in the 100 breaststroke (56.25).

Other key contributors in the win over A&M were Alex Linge’s second place finish in the 200 freestyle (1:39.83), Young touching the wall second in the 100 backstroke (49.70) and Daniel Swietlicki’s runner up finish in the 200 backstroke (1:48.61). Saco also contributed with a second place finish in the 200 freestyle (1:39.83).

Senior men divers Sean McKinney and Kevin Leong provided key points for the Tigers in the win. McKinney took first on 3-meter with a score of 417. 23. It’s the third time McKinney has posted a score over 400 this season. Leong then placed third on 1-meter with a score of 301.80.

The Lady Tigers came up just short against the A&M women. Kara Kopcso provided a huge spark with an LSU program and Natatorium record in the 200 fly with a mark of 1:56.12. Kopcso also won the 100 fly with a time of 53.38.

“The first relay there was a little emotion after that ceremony,” Geyer said. “On the women’s side, it was great to see them fight against one of the best teams in the country. To see the results they are putting results in is promising.”

Megan Cox provided another win for the Lady Tigers in the 200 free with a mark of 1:48.63.

Torrey Bussey finished the day with a second place finish in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.42). The senior also collected a third place finish in the 200 breaststroke (2:18.47).

Devon Dabney contributed in the distance events. The freshman finished third in both the 1000 free (10:19.77) and (4:58.66).

For the Lady Tiger divers, Alex Bettridge took first on 1-meter (316.28) and 3-meter springboard (320. 55). Cassie Weil also finished second on 3-meter (318.15).

“It was really memorable for the senior divers to have such a great experience and beat an SEC foe,” LSU diving coach Doug Shaffer said. “We came out really strong today so it was something positive. We trained really hard so I was glad to see us compete today.”

“We had a great crowd today and I’d love to see it like that in every dual meet we have. In the 200 IM event, it was exciting and they really got into it which provided great energy for the whole team,” Shaffer said.

LSU takes the week off from competition before the Lady Tigers travel to Houston, Texas Jan. 31- Feb. 1 for a quad meet against Houston, Rice and Tulane.

For more information and updates on LSU Swimming and Diving please visit LSUsports.net, ‘like’ us on Facebook at LSU Swimming and Diving or follow us on Twitter @LSUswimdive.

Results For: Texas A&M vs. LSU

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