Texas A&M surges into third place at NCAA Championships
Mar 16, 2018 | Women's Swimming and Diving
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Texas A&M women's swimming and diving team surged into third place with a strong third day at the 2018 NCAA Championships on Friday at Ohio State's McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.
Notables
Top 10 Teams in the Standings:
Head Coach Steve Bultman said:
"It seems like we've gotten a little better each session. We had a good day with a number of top eight swims and a couple of consols, so that was good. We're in pretty good shape. We have some good events tomorrow so we're excited about that."
"We had a 3-5 finish in the 400 IM with Sydney (Pickrem) breaking her school record. That was awesome. Claire was top eight in the 200 free for the second straight year. Anna (Belousova) getting top eight in the 100 breast with a solid swim and Jorie (Caneta) in the consols. Lisa (Bratton) did a nice job in the 100 back consols. Then they put together a really good medley relay to finish fourth to cap the evening with Béryl (Gastaldello) having an outstanding anchor leg. 21.02, that's the fastest we've ever had so that was really good."
Pickrem, Galat shine in 400 IM:
Texas A&M's 400-yard IM 1-2 punch of junior Sydney Pickrem and senior Bethany Galat generated 30 points toward the Aggies' total in the team race. Pickrem lowered her own school record to 3:59.05 while placing behind Stanford's Ella Eastin and Katie Ledecky. Galat turned in a fifth-place effort with a time of 4:02.19.
200 freestyle:
Junior Claire Rasmus garnered a top eight finish in the 200 freestyle for a second straight season with a sixth-place performance in 1:43.65.
100 breaststroke:
In her first trip to the NCAA Championships, sophomore Anna Belousova placed fifth in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 58.97. Senior Jorie Caneta chipped in a 12th place finish in 59.68.
100 backstroke:
A three-time All-American in the 200 backstroke, senior Lisa Bratton earned the first All-America honors of her career in the 100 backstroke with a 12th place effort in 51.63.
200 medley relay:
Seeded sixth after prelims, the Aggies turned in an impressive fourth place effort in the 200 medley relay finals. The foursome of Bratton, Caneta, freshman Jing Quah and senior Béryl Gastaldello turned in a time of 1:35.57 to place fourth behind Stanford, California and Indiana. Gastaldello brought the relay home with an impressive 50 freestyle split of 21.02, which was the fastest in school history.
What's on tap for Saturday:
Swimming prelims – 9 a.m. CT
Platform dive trials – 11:15 a.m. CT
1,650 freestyle early heats – 2:45 p.m. CT
Finals – 5 p.m. CT
Saturday's events are:
Notables
- The Aggies jumped from seventh to third in the team standings after scoring 97 points on Friday.
- Texas A&M scored points in five of seven events on day 3 with at least five points in the 400 IM, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke and 200 medley relay.
- Another school record fell with junior Sydney Pickrem lowering her own school standard in the 400 IM to 3:59.05.
- With 186 points after three days, the Aggies are just 14 points from reaching the 200-point plateau at the NCAA Championships for a seventh straight year. The Aggies reached triple digits in points at the NCAA meet for a 13th straight season on Friday.
Top 10 Teams in the Standings:
| 1 | Stanford | 414 |
| 2 | California | 268 |
| 3 | Texas A&M | 186 |
| 4 | Texas | 171 |
| 5 | Louisville | 168 |
| 6 | Michigan | 150 |
| 7 | Tennessee | 137.5 |
| 8 | Minnesota | 134 |
| 9 | Indiana | 124 |
| 10 | Virginia | 82 |
Head Coach Steve Bultman said:
"It seems like we've gotten a little better each session. We had a good day with a number of top eight swims and a couple of consols, so that was good. We're in pretty good shape. We have some good events tomorrow so we're excited about that."
"We had a 3-5 finish in the 400 IM with Sydney (Pickrem) breaking her school record. That was awesome. Claire was top eight in the 200 free for the second straight year. Anna (Belousova) getting top eight in the 100 breast with a solid swim and Jorie (Caneta) in the consols. Lisa (Bratton) did a nice job in the 100 back consols. Then they put together a really good medley relay to finish fourth to cap the evening with Béryl (Gastaldello) having an outstanding anchor leg. 21.02, that's the fastest we've ever had so that was really good."
Pickrem, Galat shine in 400 IM:
Texas A&M's 400-yard IM 1-2 punch of junior Sydney Pickrem and senior Bethany Galat generated 30 points toward the Aggies' total in the team race. Pickrem lowered her own school record to 3:59.05 while placing behind Stanford's Ella Eastin and Katie Ledecky. Galat turned in a fifth-place effort with a time of 4:02.19.
200 freestyle:
Junior Claire Rasmus garnered a top eight finish in the 200 freestyle for a second straight season with a sixth-place performance in 1:43.65.
100 breaststroke:
In her first trip to the NCAA Championships, sophomore Anna Belousova placed fifth in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 58.97. Senior Jorie Caneta chipped in a 12th place finish in 59.68.
100 backstroke:
A three-time All-American in the 200 backstroke, senior Lisa Bratton earned the first All-America honors of her career in the 100 backstroke with a 12th place effort in 51.63.
200 medley relay:
Seeded sixth after prelims, the Aggies turned in an impressive fourth place effort in the 200 medley relay finals. The foursome of Bratton, Caneta, freshman Jing Quah and senior Béryl Gastaldello turned in a time of 1:35.57 to place fourth behind Stanford, California and Indiana. Gastaldello brought the relay home with an impressive 50 freestyle split of 21.02, which was the fastest in school history.
What's on tap for Saturday:
Swimming prelims – 9 a.m. CT
Platform dive trials – 11:15 a.m. CT
1,650 freestyle early heats – 2:45 p.m. CT
Finals – 5 p.m. CT
Saturday's events are:
- 1,650 freestyle
- 200 backstroke
- 100 freestyle
- 200 breaststroke
- 200 butterfly
- Platform dive
- 400 freestyle relay
Players Mentioned
Breast/IM/Back
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Back/IM
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Breast
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Breast/Free/IM
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Fly/Free
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
IM/Back/Breast
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Free/IM
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