Jan. 2, 2009
MIAMI, Fla. - The eighth-ranked Texas A&M women's swimming team will face the University of Miami at the Norman Whitten Student Union Pool on Saturday at 8:45 a.m.
The Aggies (5-0) have been in Miami since Monday afternoon as part of their annual winter training trip. A&M has held seven practices since Tuesday morning as part of its demanding preparation for the fast-approaching championship portion of the season.
"Our training has gone very well so far," A&M head coach Steve Bultman said. "We've been fortunate enough to have some great weather and that has helped us get a lot of good work in. I look forward to watching them step up and take advantage of the opportunity to race in the midst of some tough training."
The meet will consist of nine races contested at unconventional distances when compared with the normal college dual meet. The Aggies and Hurricanes will swim the 300-yard medley relay and the 500-yard freestyle relay in addition to the 75, 125, and 400 freestyles, the 300 individual medley and the 125-yard backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly.
A&M and Miami have met four times with the Aggies holding a 3-0-1 advantage in the all-time series. A&M won the last meeting, a 123-76 decision on Jan. 6, 2007, during their last training trip to Miami. Active team members Triin Aljand (Tallinn, Estonia), Alia Atkinson (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), Codie Hansen (Arlington), and Emily Neal (Plano) all won individual events in Miami two years ago. Current redshirts Kristen Heiss (Casper, Wyo.) and Julia Wilkinson (Stratford, Ont.) won events when the two teams last met as well.
The Aggies have compiled an impressive 23-1 dual meet record over the past three seasons. A&M has not lost a dual meet on the road since a Jan. 18, 2006, loss to Texas in Austin.
Texas A&M senior Sally Ranzau (Alpharetta, Ga.) is chronicling this year's winter training trip in Miami. Her blog can be found at http://www.aggieathletics.com/sports/w-swim/spec-rel/training-blog.html.