October 14, 2006
The Texas A&M men?â„¢s swimming and diving team grabbed eight first-place finishes on its way to a 151-147 dual meet victory over Missouri on Saturday at the University of Nebraska?â„¢s Devaney Center Natatorium.
The Aggies (1-0) swept both dives and won five individual races and one relay in the pool on their way to the victory over the Tigers.
?Every single point mattered and our guys did a great job of battling for every point,? third-year Aggie head swimming coach Jay Holmes said. ?I was impressed by the way we competed. The divers did a great job by outscoring Missouri 30-6 and those points were crucial.?
Leading the way for the Aggies in the pool was freshman Israel Duran, who won three individual races and swam the butterfly leg on the victorious 200-yard medley relay. Duran, from Tijuana, Mexico, struck gold in the 100- and 200-yard butterfly and the 200 backstroke.
?Israel won every race we put him in,? Holmes said. ?That?â„¢s an impressive performance for anyone, but especially for a freshman. He is really a great aerobic swimmer right now and someone that will continue to improve as he gains experience.?
Also grabbing multiple first-place finishes were junior Eric Sehn (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) in the one- and three-meter springboard dives and junior Alejandro Jacobo (Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico) in the 100 breaststroke and with the 200 medley relay.
Sehn won the one-meter board with a score of 274.50 and was followed by his freshman teammates Matt Platt (219.60) and Henry Stevens (200.00), and took the three-meter board with a 264.90 point total.
?Eric did a nice job,? Aggie diving head coach Kevin Wright said. ?It?â„¢s really early in the season and we?â„¢re still focusing on fundamentals at this stage, but Eric is always ready to compete. The rest of the guys did a nice job of contributing some valuable points that helped us win the meet.?
Jacobo won the 100 breast in 57.30 and swam the breaststroke leg on the 200 medley relay.
?Alejandro is in a really good place right now,? Holmes said. ?This might be the best he?â„¢s swam since he?â„¢s been here.?
The Aggies were also strong in the 1,000-yard freestyle with sophomore James Hard and junior Ryan Loney finishing 1-2 in times of 9:51.19 and 9:54.72, respectively.