Feb. 5, 2009
The Texas A&M men's swimming and diving team will face the top-ranked Texas Longhorns in the State Farm Lone Star Showdown at 6 p.m. on Friday at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.
"Texas is the number one team in the country," Aggie head coach Jay Holmes said. "They don't really have any holes. We expect `great' from them."
Approaching a tough dual meet and several crucial weeks heading into the Big 12 Championships, the team and coaches remain focused on improving each week. Friday's meet will be A&M's third-straight dual with a top 20 opponent.
"Every meet is new and different," Holmes said. "Our attitude is that we just have to get to the wall first."
Last week's meet against SMU resulted in a tough one-point loss for the Aggies (122-121), but the team's overall improvement was apparent. The diving crew swept the top three spots in both dives, and the swimmers lopped large chunks of time off their seasonal bests almost across the board. Double wins from diver Eric Sehn and swimmer Balazs Makany earned the pair Big 12 weekly honors for the second straight week.
"We monitor personal bests and breaking records - and I'm proud of these guys - but the bests and records are just consolation prizes," said Holmes. "The end analysis is to win."
Coach Holmes and associate head swimming coach Doug Boyd look forward to Friday's talent show between the Aggie and Longhorn divers.
"We will be watching six guys at the NCAA level competing for those top three spots," said Holmes.
"Texas has three very good divers," Boyd added. "We, of course, have Eric Sehn, Grant Nel, and Cam McLean, who went one-two-three in the 1-meter and 3-meter against SMU. It should be a great match-up. We can't overlook what Sehn is capable of. He has the potential to be an NCAA champion every time he steps onto a platform."
A live video stream of the dual meet can be accessed at: http://all-access.cbssports.com/player.html?code=tex&media=102006