The No. 20 Texas A&M women’s swimming & diving team recorded a first-place finish in 13 of 16 events and secured a win over Houston by a score of 200-100.
The Aggies kicked the meet off by claiming two of the top three spots in the 400 medley relay. The team of Kaitlyn Owens, Bobbi Kennett, Olivia Theall and Chloe Stepanek notched first with a time of 3:32.96, and the squad of Lizzie Watson, Giulia Goerigk, Katie Walker and Ella McQuinn took third with a time of 3:41.30.
Texas A&M dominated in the 50 free by posting the four fastest times. Owens clocked in first at 22.83, followed by Theall (22.91), McQuinn (23.37) and Jordan Buechler (23.42). Additionally, McQuinn (49.78) and Buechler (51.10) swam to top-three finishes in the 100
free.
Stepanek registered another big day at the pool with a first-place finish in the 200 back and a B-cut time of 1:55.86. Aviv Barzelay tailed closely in second place with a time of 1:56.91. Stepanek led a sweep of the top-three in the 200 free with a time of 1:44.90 as Buechler (1:49.42) and Hayden Miller (1:49.84) followed shortly after. Miller took first place in the distance events by a wide margin, touching the wall at 9:40.57 in the 1000 free and 4:46.31 in the 500 free.
The Aggies swept the top three spots in the 100 fly as Theall clocked a B-cut time of 52.56, Walker went 54.35, and Corbyn Cormack went 54.83.
Walker (1:57.51) and Sarah Holt (2:00.12) added a pair of top-three times in the 200 fly. Owens and Barzelay also notched top-three times in the 100 back, going 53.00 and 54.12, respectively. Desirae Mangaoang (2:15.47) and Goerigk (2:15.79) battled closely but settled for second and third place in the 200 breast. Goerigk wrapped up individual competition with a first-place time of 2:00.74 in the 200 IM.
Else Praasterink and Mayson Richards were in command all afternoon on the springboards for Texas A&M. Praasterink recorded a near personal-best score of 328.20 to take first place on the 3-meter and scored 277.28 to place second on the 1-meter. Richards was atop the 1-meter
leaderboard with a score of 289.28 and totaled 317.85 for second place on the 3-meter.
The meet concluded with the 400 free relay team of Theall, Owens, Buechler and Stepanek touching the wall first with a time of 3:20.09.
Houston’s Lottie Cullen headlined the day for Houston, tying the program record in the 100-yard backstroke with a 52.47 as the leadoff in the second place 400-yard medley relay. Cullen then fully broke the record with a 52.29, three events later. The time also earned the freshman a B-Cut, the first of her career. Cullen also claimed the seventh fastest time in team history in the 200-yard backstroke, placing third in the event with a 1:58.07.
Joining Cullen in the 400 medley relay was senior Henrietta Fangli, junior Noor El Gendy and junior Liya Goupil. Together, they touched the wall in 3:35.29 for second place, which also ranks as the sixth fastest time in the country this season.
Sophomore Elizabeth Jimenez also claimed a Top 10 Time in the 100 back with her leadoff in the 400 medley relay, moving up to ninth on Houston’s all-time list with a 54.62.
Fangli and sophomore Evelyn Entrekin both claimed NCAA B-Cuts in the 100-yard breaststroke while also taking the top two spots in the event. Fangli placed first with a 1:00.33 while Entrekin touched the wall in 1:00.86 for second place.
