February 26, 2008
The No. 20 Texas A&M men?â„¢s swimming and diving team will compete in the 2008 Big 12 Championships Wednesday through Saturday at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center on the University of Texas campus.
The 2008 Championships begin with the preliminary round of the one-meter diving at 4:30 p.m. and the finals of the 200-yard medley and 800-yard freestyle relays at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. Swimming prelims and finals will start at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., respectively, Thursday through Saturday. Live results can be accessed at: http://www.tsc.utexas.edu/results/index.htm
The Aggies have posted seven consecutive runner-up finishes at the Big 12 Championships, including the last three under the direction of fourth-year head coach Jay Holmes. A model of consistency, the Aggies have posted 12 straight top 25 team finishes at the NCAA Championships, which is a record for any A&M team.
A&M will take 13 swimmers or divers that scored more than 20 points at last year?â„¢s Big 12 meet, including five that tallied 40 or more points. Three 60-point scorers are back for the Aggies in sophomore Israel Duran (73 points), senior Alejandro Jacobo (66) and junior Shawn Clarke (64.5).
Two Aggies are set to defend their 2007 Big 12 individual championships in Jacobo and Duran. Last season, Jacobo won the 200-yard breaststroke in school record fashion and reached the championship final of the 100 breaststroke and the 200 individual medley. Duran won the 200 butterfly with a school record time, reached the ?A? final in two other events and swam a leg on three relays.
Another former Big 12 Champion returning to the fray is senior Ozzie Gardner, who missed virtually all of the 2006-07 season due to an injury. A member of two Big 12 Champion relays during his A&M career, Gardner is the Aggies?â„¢ leader in the 50 and 100 freestyle and a mainstay of both the Aggies?â„¢ 200 and 400 free relays.