Texas A&M
Alabama
Aggie Men?s rally falls short against Alabama
Jan 09, 2015 | Men's Swimming and Diving
A blistering start by the Crimson Tide had the Aggies facing a 55-19 hole after just four races and the 30-point plus deficit persisted through most of the first half of the meet for the Aggies. Head coach Jay Holmes' team kept fighting however and whittled the Tide's lead to under 20 points with two races remaining and then 11 points entering the final race of the day.
"We did not have a good start to the meet and Alabama, for sure, did have a good start," said Holmes, whose team fell to 4-3. "We were in a deep hole very early, but I was proud of the way we kept battling. We have a young team with 12 freshmen – nearly half my team – and it was good to see them come together."
Boosting the Aggies' rally was a 1-2-3 finish in the 500 free with freshman Gonzalo Carazo finishing first in 4:33.56 followed by junior Hunter Funk (4:35.28) and junior Mateo Muzek (4:36.51).
Two events later, coach Jay Lerew's dive crew contributed 14 points in the three-meter dive with freshman Tyler Henschel earning the win with a score of 424.65 and sophomores Zachary Stockton and Colton Haffey finishing third and fourth, respectively.
The Aggies drew within 11 points when senior Hayden Duplechain from College Station won the 400 IM in 3:58.45 and Carazo took second in 4:00.52.
A&M's bid for the win ended in the final race of the day when both the "A" and "B" 200 free relays were disqualified for relay exchange errors – one by .01 and the other by .02.
Texas A&M's other first place individual finishes came from freshman Mauro Castillo in the 100 breaststroke (56.36) and the 200 breast (2:01.06), Duplechain in the 200 fly (1:49.91) and Henschel in the one-meter dive (363.68).
Contributing runner-up finishes were senior captain Mitch Glander in the 1,650 free (15:48.80), senior Luke Shaw in the 200 free (1:40.16) and 100 fly (49.49), junior Cory Bolleter in the 50 free (20.28), Stockton in the one-meter dive (326.40), sophomore Jacob Gonzales in the 100 free (45.23) and freshman Brock Bonetti in the 200 back (1:49.71).
Players Mentioned
