COLLEGE STATION – The Texas A&M swimming programs had three swimmers and three coaches named to the U.S. National Team, as announced by USA Swimming on Wednesday. Current sophomore Shaine Casas qualified for the national team and will be guided by A&M head coach Jay Holmes and associate head coach Jason Calanog, while former student-athletes Lisa Bratton and Bethany Galat will compete on the women’s side and be coached by A&M head coach Steve Bultman.
Casas will represent the U.S. in the 100 and 200 back, as well as the 200 IM after qualifying for all three events at the 2019 Phillips 66 National Championships. The McAllen, Texas native claimed the 100 back title (52.72), and finished second in the 200 IM (2:00.40) and 200 back (1:55.79) at national championships this summer. He had an impressive freshman year at A&M as he broke six school records, while also earning All-America Honorable Mention and SEC All-Freshman Team accolades. Casas became the third A&M freshman to score individual points at NCAA Championships, and the first to do so in multiple events, earning an 11th-place finish in the 200 fly and a 13th-place finish in the 200 IM.
Bratton will compete in the 200 back for the national team. She recently set a new World University Games record in Napoli over the summer with a time of 2:07.91 in the 200 back. Her record-setting time earned her a spot on Team USA and ranks as the second-fastest qualifying time in the event. The Richland, Washington native also claimed gold in the 200 back at the 2018 Short Course World Championships. While at A&M, Bratton helped the Aggies capture three straight SEC Championships and notched a pair of top-three finishes at NCAA National Championships. She was a 12-time All-American through her four years in Aggieland, earning first team honors with a fourth-place finish in the 200 back as a senior. Bratton also claimed a pair of individual SEC titles, winning the 200 IM and 200 backstroke as a sophomore.
Galat is in her third year with the national team and will compete in the 100 and 200 breast. She qualified for the 100 breast with a time of 1:07.13 at the 2019 TYR Pro Swim Des Moines, and the 200 breast with a time of 2:21.84 at the 2019 Pan American Games. Since her time at A&M she has earned a pair of silver medal finishes in the 200 breast, claiming second at the 2018 Short Course World Championships and the 2019 Pan American Games. Galat became a SEC champion in 2016, finishing first in the 200 breaststroke. A classmate of Bratton’s, Galat earned First Team All-America honors in all three events she competed in at the 2018 NCAA National Championships. She finished second in the 200 breast, fourth in the 200 IM and fifth in the 400 IM.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics