October 18, 2007
The Texas A&M women?â„¢s swimming & diving team will open its 2007-08 season at the Big 12 Relays in Ames, Iowa, on Friday.
The Aggies are coming off their best season in school history. Last year A&M posted a perfect 9-0 dual meet record, finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships for the first time and won their first-ever Big 12 Championship in a made-for-TV finish by a single point.
A&M lost only three seniors from last year?â„¢s conference championship squad while adding 10 newcomers, including three divers, to the mix. The Aggies also bolstered their distance group, which lost no seniors at all, adding Casey Hurrell-Zitelman (San Antonio) and Sarah Froehlich (Hamden, Conn.). Five more swimmers have also been added to strengthen the Aggies?â„¢ depth in all five strokes as well as the individual medleys.
The Aggies return one of the top junior classes in the country. Big 12 Swimmer of the Year Kristen Heiss (Casper, Wyo.) burst onto the national scene in the 200-meter backstroke during the summer, earning a spot on the Team USA squad that competed in Japan in August. Big 12 Swimmer of the Meet Christine Marshall (Newport News, Va.) already owns as many All-American titles as any swimmer in A&M history with 10 and will be looking to add to that number this year. Olympian Triin Aljand (Tallinn, Estonia) has won as many individual conference titles as anyone in A&M women?â„¢s swimming history and owns the nine best 50 freestyle performances in school history as well. World championship finalist Julia Wilkinson (Stratford, Ont.) is the two-time defending Big 12 champion in the 100 back and was a 2007 NCAA finalist in the 200 IM. A&M also returns 2006 Big 12 Swimmer of the Meet and Year Codie Hansen (Arlington).
In addition to a loaded junior class, 2004 Olympian Alia Atkinson (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) returns for her sophomore season after earning Big 12 Newcomer of the Year honors as a freshman. Atkinson set both of A&M?â„¢s school records in the breaststroke as a freshman.
The Big 12 Relays are broken up into two sessions. The first is slated to begin at 9 a.m. at Gabrielsen Natatorium and the second at approximately 1 p.m.
Last season, the Aggies won all 16 relay races on their way to a 115-87 win over the University of Texas. A&M has won the Big 12 Relays two of the last three seasons.
For those not able to be in attendance, live updates are scheduled to be available on the Iowa State University athletic website: www.cyclones.com.