Jan. 23, 2009
COLLEGE STATION - The eighth-ranked Texas A&M women's swimming & diving team dropped a 169-131 decision to third-ranked Texas in front of a near-capacity crowd at the Student Rec Center Natatorium on Friday evening.
The Aggies (7-1) won five events against the Longhorns (6-1), whose freshmen class had a hand in nine of their 11 wins. The dual meet loss for A&M was its first since dropping a 155-139 decision to then-No. 1 Auburn almost exactly one year ago.
"Many of our girls up and down the roster came ready to race today," A&M head coach Steve Bultman said. "We had too many girls to even name that put up season best times and really got in there and fought hard all the way to the end. I'm proud of my team. We're right where we need to be at this point in the season."
Olympian Alia Atkinson (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) dominated the breaststrokes, as she has done all year long. Atkinson won the 100-yard breaststroke by well over two seconds in 1:01.12 while eclipsing the 200-yard breaststroke field by more than four seconds, taking the top spot in a season-best time of 2:12.17. Atkinson also placed third in the 200-yard individual medley in a season best of 2:01.93.
Senior Triin Aljand (Tallinn, Estonia) remained undefeated in the 50-yard freestyle, outlasting senior Hee-Jin Chang of Texas, 22.64 to 22.84. Aljand placed second in a high-octane, mid-season 100 fly to Texas freshman Kathleen Hersey, 52.76 to 53.31, as well.
Junior Emily Neal (Plano) turned in one of the biggest wins of her career, downing Longhorn freshman Katie Riefenstahl, 1:57.85 to 1:59.59, in the 200-yard backstroke. Neal placed second in the 100 back to Riefenstahl in a season best time of 55.71 while taking fourth in the 200 IM in a season best of 2:03.83.
Sophomore Jaele Patrick (Lilydale, Victoria, Australia) proved her season-opening performance against Houston a week ago was no one-act play as she grabbed top honors on the one-meter springboard. She won the one-meter by more than 12 points scoring a total of 308.62. Patrick also put up the second best three-meter score in A&M history in a second place finish to Longhorn NCAA champion Jessica Livingston. Patrick scored a total of 339.75 points on her six dives, including a second dive daredevil-like save that would have made Evel Knievel proud.
The Aggies finished second in both relays though both went down to the wire. Texas scraped out a win in the 200-yard medley relay by .01, hitting the wall in 1:40.58. Though outmatched on paper, the Aggies gave Texas all they wanted on the final race of the day, the 400-yard freestyle relay. The group of Triin Aljand, Sarah Woods (Birmingham, Ala.), Christine Marshall (Newport News, Va.), and Marissa Jasek (San Antonio) finished just .15 behind the Longhorns in 3:19.91.
"I'd really like to thank everyone in the crowd that came out to support us tonight," Bultman said. "That might be the biggest crowd we've ever had here for a dual meet. They got to see two of the best teams in the country go at it tonight."