COLLEGE STATION – The Texas A&M men’s swimming and diving team won 10 of 13 events to take down in-state rival SMU for the third-straight time on Friday night, topping the Mustangs 132-104 in College Station.<\/p>\n
The Texas A&M men\u2019s swimming and diving team overpowered longtime rival SMU in a 132-104 dual meet victory on Friday at the Student Recreation Natatorium.<\/p>\n
The Aggies, who improved to 5-3 in dual meet action, dominated from start to finish in the 70th all-time meeting between the two former Southwest Conference member schools. It was also A&M\u2019s third-straight victory over the Mustangs which is the Aggies\u2019 second-longest winning streak over SMU since the 1950s.<\/p>\n
Texas A&M won 10 of 13 events, including both relays. The Aggies opened the meet with a victory in the 400-yard medley relay with the foursome of freshman Brock Bonetti, freshman Mauro Castillo, senior Luke Shaw and junior Cory Bolleter hitting the wall in 3:13.31. A&M closed the night with a win in the 400 free relay with the quartet of Shaw, Bolleter, sophomore Jacob Gonzales and freshman Justin Morey touching in 2:57.45.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy main message to the team prior to the meet was getting off to a fast start in the medley relay,\u201d Aggie head coach Jay Holmes said. \u201cWe wanted to make a statement by really hammering that relay and that\u2019s exactly what we did. After that everything fell into place for us. I was really happy with the way the team competed today, but we still have a long way to go to be ready for SECs and the NCAA Championships.\u201d<\/p>\n
Showing their depth, the Aggies had 1-2-3 finishes in four races \u2013 the 50 free, 200 IM, 100 free and the 200 back. In the 50 free, Bolleter led the way with a time of 21.13 followed by Gonzales (20.31) and Morey in 20.59). In the 200 IM, junior Antoine Marc won in 1:49.11 followed by senior Hayden Duplechain (1:49.40) and Bonetti (1:51.84). In the 100 free, Gonzales won in 44.94 trailed by Morey (45.35) and Marc (45.36). In the 200 back, Bonetti was victorious in 1:45.21 followed by junior Alexandros Theocharidis (1:47.86) and Cameron Kerr (1:49.63).<\/p>\n
The Aggies also 1-2 finishes in two events. Aggie divers Tyler Henschel and Zachary Stockton went 1-2 in the one-meter dive with Henschel winning with 364.43 and Stockton right behind with 333.53, while Castillo won the 200 breaststroke in 1:58.18 followed by freshman Jonathan Tybur (2:04.58).<\/p>\n
Other Aggies grabbing victories were junior captain Mitch Glander in the 1,000 free (9:17.44), sophomore Turker Ayar in the 200 butterfly (1:49.02).<\/p>\n
Freshman Christian Scher\u00fcbl won two events and Devin Burnett added a win in diving, but the SMU men\u2019s swimming and diving team (0-3) fell to Texas A&M (5-3), 132-104, on Friday night at the Student Recreation Center Natatorium in College Station.<\/p>\n
\u201cChristian [Scher\u00fcbl] swam well. He had a great meet,\u201d said head coach Eddie Sinnott. \u201cOur distance guys swam really well, but our sprinters struggled and that\u2019s just because it\u2019s that time of year.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the second consecutive meet, Scher\u00fcbl won both the 200-yard freestyle (1:37.20) and 500-yard freestyle (4:25.81). Scher\u00fcbl\u2019s 200 free time is an NCAA \u2018B\u2019 Standard time and both times are the fastest in the American Athletic Conference so far this season.<\/p>\n
Burnett added a first-place finish for the Mustangs, winning the three-meter dive (376.50). Burnett also finished third in the one-meter (325.20).<\/p>\n
In addition to Scher\u00fcbl and Burnett, freshman Stefan Popov and the 400-yard freestyle relay team also captured wins for the Mustangs. Popov won the 200-yard breaststroke (2:08.73) and Scher\u00fcbl, Sam Straughan, Tyler Rauth and Tucker Wells ended the night with a win in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:03.40).<\/p>\n
Hayden Hodges and Daniel Pitts also scored points for the Mustangs in diving. Hodges placed third in both the one-meter (263.55) and three-meter (283.43), while Pitts finished fourth in the three-meter (260.18).<\/p>\n
\u201cThe divers struggled in the one-meter, but bounced back in the three-meter,\u201d said Sinnott. \u201cThat\u2019s a very good sign of things to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
SMU\u2019s 400-yard medley relay of Straughan, Popov, Wells and Bartosz Krzyzaniak began the night with a second-place finish (3:20.79).<\/p>\n
The Mustangs then had two top-three finishes in the 1,000-yard freestyle, as Eastman Holloway placed second (9:25.83) and Gabriel Andonie followed in third (9:35.54).<\/p>\n
Tyler Rauth had a solid night for the Mustangs, placing second in the 200-yard butterfly (1:50.01) and adding a fourth-place finish in the 200-yard IM (1:54.52). Wells also swam well in the 200 fly, finishing third (1:50.37).<\/p>\n
Hayden Corley also turned in a second-place finish, trailing only teammate Popov in the 200 breast (2:11.12).<\/p>\n
Freshman Brooks Logan was the Mustangs\u2019 top sprint freestyler of the meet, placing fifth in both the 50-yard (21.56) and 100-yard freestyle (47.88).<\/p>\n
\u201cPerformance-wise, the meet went how we expected,\u201d said Sinnott. \u201cNow, it\u2019s time to turn the corner and start preparing for the championship season.\u201d<\/p>\n
SMU will have a two-week break before returning to the pool for a double dual meet versus Arizona and Texas in Austin, Texas, on Jan. 30-31.<\/p>\n