January 12, 2008
The No. 18 Texas A&M men?â„¢s swimming and diving team fell to No. 8 Auburn, 181-113, in dual meet action at the Student Recreation Natatorium on Saturday.
The Aggies notched a trio of victories, including an impressive win in the 200-yard freestyle relay, against the five-time defending NCAA champions. The Aggies also took individual wins in the 100 freestyle and the 200 butterfly.
?As far as hopping up and racing, I thought our guys did a really good job of racing,? Aggie head coach Jay Holmes said. ?Obviously, the final score isn?â„¢t what we were looking for, but we knew what we were getting into against a team like Auburn. Our guys raced really well. We lost a lot of races by tenths of a second. Our guys laid it out tonight and I was pleased with a bunch of things that we did.?
The Aggies closed the meet with the victory in the 200 free relay in a season-best 1:21.24. Senior Ozzie Gardner put the Aggies in the lead with a 20.36 lead-off, and sophomore Casey Strange lengthened the advantage with a smoking 19.75 split. Junior Brad Raiford held the lead with a 20.66 leg, and senior Luke Chambless closed out the Tigers with a 20.47 split.
Earlier in the day, sophomore Israel Duran used one of his patented rallies to overtake Auburn?â„¢s Tyler McGill in the 200 butterfly. The defending Big 12 Champion covered the final 50 in 27.54 to out-touch McGill, 1:47.93 to 1:48.00.
Gardner showed he was fully recovered from the injury that kept him out of action in 2006-07 with an impressive win in the 100 freestyle. Gardner turned in a season-best 45.08 to beat Auburn?â„¢s Scott Goodrich by .02 of a second. Earlier in the meet, Gardner took second in the 50 free with a time of 20.35.
Other Aggies grabbing second-place finishes on the day were sophomore Nikita Denisyako in the 100 backstroke (49.44) and 200 backstroke (1:48.09), and senior Alejandro Jacobo in the 200 breaststroke (2:01.61). Denisyako, from Moscow, Russia, joined the Aggies this month and was swimming in his first meet for A&M.