Behind Chloe Stepanek, Baylor Nelson, Texas A&M Sweep Tri-Match
Texas A&M swept a tri-match on the weekend over Virginia Tech and host South Carolina, thanks to dominant performances by Chloe Stepanek and Baylor Nelson. A&M picks up a pair of SEC victories over the Gamecocks in the process.
Men’s
- Texas A&M 193, South Carolina 102
- Texas A&M 157.5, Virginia Tech 139.50
- Virginia Tech 202, South Carolina 95
Women’s
- Texas A&M 189, South Carolina 106
- Texas A&M 229.5, Virginia Tech 70.50
- South Carolina 188, Virginia Tech 112
Stepanek was outstanding to lead the Aggies, who failed to win only two women’s events, including wins in the first 12 swimming events.
Stepanek anchored the 200 medley relay of Miranda Grana, Bobbi Kennett and Olivia Theall that won in 1:39.58. She won the 200 freestyle in 1:47.47, then sprinted to the 50 free title in 23.05, just ahead of Grana. In the 100 free, Stepanek was more than a second ahead of the field in 49.75.
Grana swept the backstroke events, her winning margin in the 100 back more than two seconds thanks to a 52.49.
Theall went 1:58.77 to claim the 200 butterfly, then went 53.56 to claim the 100 fly. Abby Grottle (10:01.48), Hayden Miller and Rachel Love went 1-2-3 in the 1,000 free. Miller won the 500 in 4:55.34 ahead of Love. Charlotte Longbottom edged Kennett by .02 seconds in the 100 breast, and Giulia Goerigk won the 200 breast before finishing second in the 200 IM. Joslyn Oakley and Mayson Richards went 1-2 in both diving events.
South Carolina’s Duda Sumida mopped up the other women’s individual event by winning the 200 IM in 2:02.92. She had earlier been third in the 500 free.
Virginia Tech won the 400 free relay, the team of Carmen Weiler Sastre, Fanni Gyurinovics, Emily Claesson and Anna Summers clocking in at 3:23.64. Sastre was second in the 200 back and third in the 200 free. Gyurinovics was third in the 50 and 100 free.
The men’s meet was more contested, Texas A&M not taking control until the latter half of the session. Baylor Nelson was a big reason why.
Nelson won the 200 free, besting Virginia Tech’s Brendan Whitfield by less than half a second in 1:35.88. He was a comfortable winner in the 200 back in 1:45.06, a 1-2 with teammate Thomas Shomper. And he outdueled Carles Coll Marti in a battle of double-winners in the 200 IM, Nelson getting to the wall first in 1:45.50.
The Aggies got a huge boost in the distance department. Trey Dickey and Bathan Filiz went 1-2 in both the 1,000 and 500 free. Allen Bottego won both diving events.
Virginia Tech bookended the meet with relay victories. Gabriel Yuk, Coll Marti, Mario Molla Yanes and Whitfield went 1:27.33 to win the 200 medley. Whitfield, Molla Yanes, William Hayon and Luis Dominguez went 2:56.25 to win the 400 free.
Coll Marti swept the breaststroke events, with teammate AJ Pouch second both times. Whitfield won the 50 free in 20.23. Molla Yanes, Dominguez and Tanish George Mathew tallied big points in a 1-2-3 in the 100 free, then Molla Yanes won the 100 fly. Landon Gentry edged A&M’s Clayton Conklin by .02 in the 200 fly in 1:48.98.
South Carolina got a win thanks to Michael Laitarovsky, who went 47.74 in the 100 back.
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