October 31, 2006
Five freshmen members of the Texas A&M women?â„¢s swimming & diving team were named to the 2006 USA Swimming Scholastic All America Team this past month.
Each of the five freshmen were honored for achieving a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher as well as having qualified and competed individually at one of the following meets: 2005 Open Water National Championships, 2005 Summer Speedo Championships Series (summer sectionals), 2005 ConocoPhillips Nationals, 2005 Junior Swimming Championships, 2005 U.S. Open, 2006 Speedo Champions Series (spring sectionals), or the 2006 Spring Championships.
Those Aggies honored include Leslie Dlugopolski (Mequon, Wis./Elmbrook Aquatic Club), Ella Doerge (Clive, Iowa/Des Moines Swim Federation), Melissa Hain (Kingwood, Texas/Blue Tide Aquatics), Emily Neal (Plano, Texas/City of Plano), and Sarah Woods (Birmingham, Ala./Birmingham Swim League).
Both Doerge and Hain were honored for the third straight season while Neal and Woods earned a second straight award from USA Swimming. The honor for Dlugopolski was her first.
Several of the honored freshmen have immediately made impressive contributions to the Aggie squad in their first month as collegiate swimmers. Emily Neal recorded her first NCAA consideration standard with a time of 4:21.84 in the 400-yard individual medley against Oregon State last Friday. Melissa Hain swam the third leg on A&M?â„¢s Big 12 Relays champion 4 x 100-yard freestyle relay that clocked an NCAA consideration time of 3:22.81 three weeks ago. Sarah Woods recorded lifetime-best times in both the 50 (23.99) and 100 (52.33) freestyles this past weekend against Oregon State as well.
The Aggies are spending this week preparing to host No. 11 Texas in the State Farm Lone Star Showdown. A&M will take on the Longhorns at 5 p.m. at the Student Rec Center Natatorium.