COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 2-ranked Texas A&M women’s swimming and diving team continued its pursuit of a third-straight conference title with another strong day at the 2018 Southeastern Conference Championships on Friday at the Student Recreation Natatorium.
In the Team Standings…
The Aggies have scored 737 points and hold a 192.5 point lead over second-place Tennessee (544.5 points). Trailing the Aggies and Volunteers were Georgia (543), Auburn (374.5), Missouri (355), Kentucky (350), Florida (347.5), South Carolina (333.5), Alabama (319), Arkansas (252), LSU (210) and Vanderbilt (120).
Head Coach Steve Bultman said:
“It was another great day today. We added to our lead a little bit. We’ve got two more days, four more sessions. We need to keep plugging away, keep on battling. The girls are doing a great job in the morning getting qualified for finals. If we continue to do that, we’re going to be in pretty good shape.”
Pickrem, Galat go 1-2 in SEC 400 IM for second straight year
Junior Sydney Pickrem and senior Bethany Galat grabbed the top two spots in the 400 IM at the SEC Championships for a second straight year. Pickrem took down her own school record with a time of 3:59.30, which also bettered the pool record of 3:59.53 by Florida’s Elizabeth Beisel from 2013. Galat was runner-up with a time of 4:04.17. Chipping in valuable points in the B and C finals were junior Monika Gonzalez-Hermosillo (12th, 4:09.34) and senior Esther Gonzalez (17th, 4:08.86).
Bultman said, “Getting 1-2 is pretty incredible. We have some good IMers, but this is the SEC. To get 1-2 at the SEC Championships is pretty special. Those two are hard workers and they push each other, and there are other IMers that help push them too.”
Rasmus tallied first-ever SEC individual title
Junior Claire Rasmus tallied the first SEC individual title of her career with a victory in the 200 freestyle. Rasmus, who already had a couple of SEC relay crowns on her resume, ran away from the 200 free field with a winning time of 1:43.62, which was more than a half-second faster than the second-place finisher. Also scoring valuable points in the Championship final were sophomore Katie Portz (4th, 1:45.08) and junior McKenna DeBever (6th, 1:46.36). Senior Kristin Malone placed 16th with a time of 1:47.69.
Bultman said, “She a hard worker. She wants to get better and she’s willing to work hard to do it. She had a breakthrough last year making the U.S. National Team that went to the World University Games and winning her first SEC Championship was the next step along the way. ”
100 butterfly …
Freshman Jing Quah placed sixth in the 100 butterfly in 52.05, while fellow freshman Taylor Pike was 12th in 53.22. Winning the C final was sophomore Raena Eldridge in 53.18, and sophomore Golf Sapianchai placed 22nd in 53.77.
3m diving
The Aggies dive crew contributed 39 points in the three-meter dive with top 16 placements from junior Alaïs Kalonji (12th, 306.20), freshman Charlye Campbell (14th, 301.40) and freshman Kaja Skrzek (16th, 280.35).
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics