October 13, 2006
The Texas A&M men?â„¢s swimming and diving team opened its 2006-07 season with a second-place team finish at the Big 12 Relays on Friday at the Bob Devaney Center Natatorium on the University of Nebraska campus. The Aggies scored 91 points, which was 28 points behind Texas (119 points) and 17 points ahead of third-place Missouri (74).
Leading the way was junior Luke Chambless, who swam a leg on all three of the Aggies?â„¢ winning relays --- the 100-yard freestyle relay and the 150- and 300-yard breaststroke relays.
?I thought we did a good job of competing as a team, but we still have a long way to go,? third-year head swimming coach Jay Holmes said. ?It was good to see the guys swim in a competitive situation to see how they respond to the work that they?â„¢ve been doing. I thought Luke Chambless did a great job of stepping up, which was fun to see. We raced well, but we can race better and that?â„¢s what we will continue to work on.?
Chambless swam the anchor on the 100 free relay and held off Texas?â„¢ Jeremy Harris down the stretch for the win. Chambless teamed with sophomore Kyle Holland and freshmen Jason Bergstrom and Gregory Widmer to finish with a time of 38.76, which was .09 ahead of the Longhorns.
Chambless teamed with senior Francisco Picasso and junior Alejandro Picasso for the victory in the 150 breast relay in 1:19.14, which was more than two seconds faster than second-place Missouri.
The same threesome teamed for the win in the 300 breaststroke relay in 2:54.57, which was nearly three seconds faster than second-place Texas.
The Aggies return to the pool on Saturday with a 9 a.m. dual meet with Missouri at the Devaney Center.