Texas A&M
Florida Atlantic
Aggies Open Road Trip Win Over Florida Atlantic
Nov 11, 2010 | Men's Swimming and Diving
Nov. 11, 2010
The Texas A&M men's swimming and diving team won the first of a three-competition road trip in Florida with a victory against Florida Atlantic University Thursday in Boca Raton, Fla.
"It was a really interesting meet because we took our guys out of their comfort zones," Jay Holmes said. "We got off the plane, bussed straight over to the pool and competed at an outdoor pool in the sun and wind. I think it was good for the guys because it got them out of their normal routine and they just had to step up and race. I thought they did a great job of lining up and competing."
The Aggies took first place in 11 of 16 events in the meet on way to a 175-121 victory over the Owls. Sophomore John McClure rallied back to win the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 9:38.28, just ahead of Florida Atlantic's Rafael Pena, who finished in 9:38.73.
"He's doing so many things better this year than he did as a freshman," said A&M head coach Jay Holmes. "He is so much more emotionally and mentally tied in to what he needs to get done."
The Aggies also got individual victories from junior John Ariens in the 100-yard backstroke (52.43), senior Nathan Lavery in the 100-yard breaststroke (57.05), senior Balazs Makany in the 100-yard freestyle (46.58), senior Bryan Snowden in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:06.06) and freshman Donnie Walker in the 500-yard freestyle (4:44.25).
Freshman Kyle Troskot joined in on the fun, as he notched a pair of victories in both the 100-yard butterfly (51.60) and 50-yard freestyle (21.37). Troskot was also a part of the first place finishing A&M 200-yard medley relay.
"He did a good job of competing. He's very raw and we're working on some mistakes that he's making, but he's doing a good job of getting his hand to the wall first."
Junior diver Grant Nel continued his unbeaten streak in the 2009-2010 season with a pair of victories in both the 1-meter springboard (364.13) and 3-meter springboard (418.80).
Sophomore diver Paul Xiques, who was an A&M student last year but did not dive for the team, also posted a second place finish in both events to give the Aggies a 1-2 finish on both boards.
"Paul place second on both boards, and has really been a pleasant surprise for us," Holmes said. "Coach (Jay) Lerew says that when tells Paul things, he just soaked it in like a sponge. He's very excited about him."
The Aggie swimmers and divers will travel to Fort Pierce, Fla. Saturday to compete in a dual meet against both Indian River State College and Nova Southeastern.
