Texas A&M Takes Down North Texas in Home Opener

Photo Courtesy: Andy Ringgold/Aringo Photos

The Texas A&M Aggies took down the University of North Texas 180-110 in their home opener.

Texas A&M Press Release:

The Texas A&M women’s swimming and diving team topped the University of North Texas 180-110 in its home opener. The Aggies’ home win-streak increases to nine.

The Aggies topped the leader board in every event of the meet, starting with the 200 medley relay (1:41.29) won by sophomores Beryl Gastaldello, Jorie Caneta, and Kristin Malone and junior Sarah Gibson.

Sophomore Caitlyn Moon and freshman Lexie Lupton took first in the 1,000 free (10:02.44) and 200 free (1:50.30), respectively. Sophomore Lisa Bratton took the 100 back in 56.51 and her fellow classmate Jorie Caneta won the 100 breast in 1:02.43.

The first diving event took place on the three meter board. Madison Hudkins took the event with a score of 337.13, but her success didn’t end there. The junior took one-meter as well with a score of 317.48.

Sophomore Beryl Gastaldello won the 200 free in 50.69, followed by freshman Sydney Pickrem’s win in the 200 backstroke (2:00.32). Senior Colleen Konetzke swam the 500 free in 4:57.02 for a first-place victory.

A pair of Aggies topped the podium in two events each. Senior Claire Brandt won both the 50 free (23.58) and the 100 fly (55.82). Junior Sycerika McMahon took both the 200 fly (2:00.44) and 200 breast (2:14.07). Sophomore Bethany Galat concluded the individual events with a win in the 400 IM (4:15.04).

Texas A&M wrapped up the meet with a win in the 200 free relay. Freshmen Shayne Gregson and Lexie Lupton, junior Sarah Gibson, and senior Meredith Oliver topped the leader board at 1:35.83.

The Aggies will resume action on Friday, October 30^th to host Incarnate Word at the Student Recreation Center.

University of North Texas Press Release:

The North Texas swimming and diving team hit the road for its first true road meet of the season, traveling to College Station to take on Texas A&M, a team ranked No. 16 in the nation, according to CollegeSwimming.com.

The Mean Green (1-2) picked up nine second-place finishes and 11 third-place finishes, as well as a first-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay, in College Station but they were no match for the nationally-ranked Aggies (2-0), coming up short by a score of 180-110 on Friday afternoon.

“I was really pleased with all the personal bests and team bests that came out of the meet for our girls,” head coach Brendon Bray said. “We improved quite by a bit from our previous meets and we controlled what we could control, which was the way we swam in our lanes. We’re going to be ready to go for Rice and Houston next weekend.”

Second-place individual finishers for North Texas included senior Bianca Bocsa in the 100-yard freestyle, senior Sarah Manning in the 200-yard backstroke, and sophomore Claudia Kitching in the 200-yard breaststroke, as well as sophomore Barbara Wasilewska in the 500-yard freestyle, freshman Kelsey Opiela in the 100-yard butterfly, and freshman Natalia Kwiatkowska in the 400-yard IM.

On the boards, the reigning Conference USA Diver of the Week, senior Jasmine Abercrombie, posted a season-best score of 245.93 to place second in the three-meter competition. In the one-meter competition, junior Samantha Schecktook second with a score of 233.03.

In all, several swimmers set season bests and team bests in the meet, ahead of a pair of road dual meets at Rice and Houston next weekend to wrap up a busy two-week stretch for the team.

Quick Hits

Friday’s meet in College Station marked the 16th meeting all-time between the two teams, with the Aggies remaining unbeaten in the series with a 16-0 record.
Sophomore Barbara Wasilewska and senior Haley Goertz posted season-best times in both the 500-yard and 1000-yard freestyle races.
Sophomore Caroline Culpepper posted a season-best time of 2:06.90 in the 200-yard butterfly.
Senior Sarah Manning (2:07.12) and freshman Natalia Kwiatkowska (2:07.35) each posted a season-best time in the 200-yard backstroke.
Sophomore Claudia Kitching posted a season-best time of 2:18.62 to earn a second-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke.
Freshman Kelsey Opiela (58.66), sophomore Sydney Buckley (58.89) and freshman Ashley Payne (1:00.01) each posted a season-best time in the 100-yard butterfly.
Competing in the 400 yard individual medley as a team for the first time this season, freshman Natalia Kwiatkowska clocked a team-best time of 4:39.03 to place second in the event.

What’s Next

North Texas returns to the pool for a pair of road dual meets, starting with Rice on Friday, Oct. 30.

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