Jan. 28, 2010
The No. 19 Texas A&M men's swimming and diving team will face old Southwest Conference rival SMU in a 7 p.m. dual meet on Friday at Perkins Natatorium on the SMU campus.
The Aggies will be seeking to snap a four-meet losing streak to the Mustangs in the long series that dates back to when both teams were members of the now-defunct Southwest Conference. The Aggies are 3-1 in dual meets this season, while the No. 23 Mustangs are 1-1 in dual meet action. The two teams have faced off previously this season at the Southwest Collegiate Plunge last October where the Aggies placed second and the Mustangs placed fourth.
“It's a great rivalry, and it's been that way for many decades,” Aggie head swimming coach Jay Holmes said. “Anytime these two teams get together, you know you're going to see the best from both teams. We're anxious to face the challenge and see which team wants it more. That's what makes it a great rivalry.”
The Aggies are coming off an impressive upset of No. 17 LSU in Baton Rouge, La., last Saturday, while SMU fell to No. 3 Arizona in Tucson on Jan. 9 in its most recent action.
“We have many things that we're still trying to iron out as we look ahead to the Big 12 meet and the NCAA Championships,” Holmes said. “We have plenty of question marks and details of our individual races that we need to shore up. We've got a good battle to see who's on our scoring team at the conference meet, and so this is a very important competition for us.”