Aggies tally pair of SEC runner-up finishes

Women's Swimming and DivingFebruary 20, 2015

Aggies tally pair of SEC runner-up finishes

The No. 4-ranked Aggies tallied a pair of runner-up finishes with the 400-yard medley relay grabbing second and freshman Beryl Gastaldello making her third trip to the award podium for an individual race.

AUBURN, Ala. – Another strong day by the Texas A&M women's swimming and diving team on Friday solidified the Aggies' hold on second-place in the team standings at the 2015 Southeastern Conference Championships at Auburn University.

The Aggies have scored 875 points after four days of swimming and diving and trail only two-time defending champion Georgia (1,082 points). Rounding out the team standings behind the Bulldogs and Aggies are Florida (730.5), LSU (614), Tennessee (584.5), Auburn (521), Kentucky (499), Missouri (470), Alabama (403), Arkansas (320), South Carolina (308) and Vanderbilt (137).

The Aggies' 400 medley relay of freshman Laura Norman, sophomore Franko Jonker, Gastaldello and senior Sammie Bosma rallied to finish second in a season-best time of 3:32.93 to Tennessee (3:31.47). The Aggies were sixth after the first two legs of the relay but rallied past Georgia, Kentucky, Florida and Auburn to grab second.

Gastaldello continued her spectacular SEC debut with a second-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke in a time 51.73, which pushed her to No. 2 on A&M's all-time top 10 list in the race behind only 2014 NCAA Champion Paige Miller. Also scoring points for the Aggies in the 100 back were Norman (7^th, 53.21), junior Claire Brandt (15^th, 53.79) and senior Kelli Benjamin (18^th, 54.08).

The Aggies opened the day with a pair of scorers in the 200 butterfly. Senior Emily Neubert placed 14^th in 1:58.41 and Norman was right behind in 15^th place in 1:59.37.

Even without the services of three-time NCAA Champion Breeja Larson, the Aggies still piled up 76 points in the 100 breaststroke. Junior Ashley McGregor led the way with a seventh place finish in the Championships final in a time of 1:00.45. The Aggies swept the top three spots in the consolation final with Jonker (9^th, lifetime best 59.68), freshman Bethany Galat (10^th, collegiate best 59.81) and sophomore Sycerika McMahon (11^th, 59.93).