NCAA Div. I Men: Texas aggies Dominate LSU
COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Jan. 18. THE 21st-ranked Texas A&M men's swimming & diving team walked to an easy 186-104 win over Louisiana State at the Student Rec Center Natatorium on Saturday.
The Aggies (3-2, 1-1) won 12 of the 14 events in the pool on their way to the second biggest win in the all-time series between the two schools. A 159-73 decision over the Tigers on Jan. 22, 1994 marks the largest win in series history.
"I was pleasantly surprised that we had so many people respond to our preparation for this meet as we did," A&M head coach Mel Nash said. "We swam faster than I anticipated us going today. It's very encouraging coming into the last part of the season."
The trio of Alfredo Jacobo, Scott Mueller and Matt Rose each earned a pair of victories in the A&M win. Jacobo, the breaststroke specialist, swept both the 100 and 200-yard events while Rose, the sprint specialist, swept both the 50 and 100 freestyle races. Rose turned in a seasonal best clocking of 20.19 in the 50 free to rank himself among the top 10 in the nation. His time of 44.51 in the 100 puts him in the national top 20 as well. Both times are consideration marks for the 2003 NCAA Championships to be held in Austin in March.
"Mr. Versatility" Scott Mueller grabbed wins in both the 200 and 500 freestyle events. Mueller posted a seasonal team best time of 1:39.39 in the 200 free to scoot by freshman Scott Newmann (1:40.52). The junior from Mequon, Wis. set another seasonal team best achievement by clocking 4:32.87 in the 500 freestyle to top senior teammate Patrick Dideum. Dideum did win the 1,000 freestyle in 9:17.29 to give the Aggies a clean sweep of all five freestyle races.
A trio of Aggie freshmen turned in the firs wins of their collegiate careers on Saturday. Devin Saez earned his first college win by clocking a lifetime best of 1:49.78 in the 200 butterfly. Saez's time currently ranks 10th on the A&M all-time list. Matt Neal hit the wall first in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:50.16, just .06 off his lifetime best. Alex Dawson outlasted sophomore teammate Calvin Zielsdorf, 1:51.96 to 1:52.81, in the 200 individual medley for his best time of the season.
In diving, junior Adam Morgan claimed a second place finish on the three-meter springboard while freshman Christain Picard did likewise on the one-meter.
The Aggies have nearly three weeks off before facing rival SMU in College Station on Thursday, Feb. 6. A&M beat SMU in Dallas 122-119 a year ago marking the first time the Aggies have ever won on the Mustangs' turf.