Baylor Nelson Sets Two Pool Records as Texas A&M Sweeps LSU
Texas A&M’s Baylor Nelson took down two pool records at LSU Natatorium as the Aggies swept the Bayou Bengals.
The No. 6 men’s team scored a 182-118 win. The 11th-ranked Aggie women prevailed, 171-126.
Nelson won the men’s 200 freestyle in a time of 1:34.68. He bested the field in the 200 individual medley by going 1:45.49. Both are LSU pool records.
Nelson also won the 500 free in 4:19.06. That’s the third-fastest time in program history and his second top-10 performance in the last two weeks, with the IMer adding a top-5 time in the 1,000 free last week.
Nelson also anchored the Aggies’ winning 400 free relay with a split of 42.95. His 200 IM was a 1-2-3 sweep for the Aggies, followed by Logan Brown and Max Vega Cuevas. Brown won the 200 breast in a sensational race, his 1:56.14 edging LSU’s 100 breast champ Mitch Mason by .03 seconds.
Thomas Shomper did the backstroke double, in 47.38 and 1:44.98. Connor Foote won the 100 fly in 47.00 in a 1-2 with Clayton Conklin. He was second in the 50 free and part of the winning 400 free relay. Also on that relay was 100 free runner-up/50 free bronze medalist Collin Fuchs.
Nelson’s win in the 500 brought him head-to-head with LSU’s star of the day, freshman Silas Beth. The German international making his college debut went 4:21.56 in the 500, the sixth-best time in program history. He went six better in the 1,000 free, his time of 8:56.50 winning the event and clubbing 1.40 seconds off the 12-year-old school record of Craig Hamilton.
Mason won the 100 breast and split 23.51 in the winning 200 medley relay. He paired with Griffin Curtis, Pawel Uryniuk and Jere Hribar, the Croatian anchor bringing it home in 18.77. Hribar swept the sprints, winning the 50 in 19.64 and the 100 in 43.27.
Second in the 1,000 free was Jacob Pishko, who won the 200 fly. Curtis was second in both backstroke events.
Diving was a battle. Victor Povzner scored 369.98 points on 1-meter to give Texas A&M the win ahead of LSU’s Carson Paul. Allen Bottego (370.35) edged teammate Rhett Hensley by two points on 3-meter with Paul third.
Texas A&M’s women’s team started off with a podium sweep in the 1,000 free and never looked back. Abby Grottle and Rachel Love both broke 10 minutes, in 9:55.79 and 9:56.34, respectively. Grottle recovered in time to finish second in the 200 free one event later, though more than two seconds behind teammate Chloe Stepanek and her victorious time of 1:47.69.
The long-distance swim was one of three sweeps by the Aggies in the front half of the meet. Miranda Grana paced a sweep in the 100 back by going 55.01, leading four Aggies in the 55s, among them Aviv Barzelay third. Grana (1:57.80) led Barzelay to the wall in the 200. In the 200 fly, Olivia Theall’s time of 1:58.96 paced a sweep.
Theall (53.51) won the 100 fly ahead of Stepanek, who was also second in the 50 free. Bobbi Kennett won the 100 breast, and Giulia Goerigk claimed the 200 breast. Love won the 500 free. Grana, Kennett, Theall and Stepanek comprised the winning 200 medley relay.
LSU found some sprint success. Michaela De Villiers went 22.98 to win the 50 free for the Tigers’ first win. She was second in the 100 free to Katarina Milutinovich (50.41). Those two swam the opening legs of the winning 400 free relay. LSU’s Montserrat Gutierrez Lavenant outdueled A&M’s Joslyn Oakley in both diving events.
