SOMERS, Wisc. – Texas A&M senior Mauro Castillo was named National Swimmer of the Week by CollegeSwimming.com on Tuesday for his outstanding performance in the Aggies' landmark victory over the archrival Texas Longhorns last Friday.
Head Coach Jay Holmes said:
"That's a great honor for Mauro and also a very well-deserved honor for him. He did a great job for us against Texas. He won everything we put him in, which obviously played a big role in our ability to beat Texas. He got us off to a great start with the 200 medley relay. We thought he would probably win the 100 and 200 breaststroke, but we were nervous about the 200 IM. It came at a pivotal point in the meet and we really needed one more race win to assure the victory and he did a great job against a very strong field of Longhorn IM-ers. He's just gotten better and better every year and he's in a really good place now."
Notables:
Head Coach Jay Holmes said:
"That's a great honor for Mauro and also a very well-deserved honor for him. He did a great job for us against Texas. He won everything we put him in, which obviously played a big role in our ability to beat Texas. He got us off to a great start with the 200 medley relay. We thought he would probably win the 100 and 200 breaststroke, but we were nervous about the 200 IM. It came at a pivotal point in the meet and we really needed one more race win to assure the victory and he did a great job against a very strong field of Longhorn IM-ers. He's just gotten better and better every year and he's in a really good place now."
Notables:
- The Aggies' victory over the Longhorns on Friday was the team's first dual meet win over the longtime rivals in 55 years since 1962, which is also the year that Aggie head coach Jay Holmes was born.
- Individually, Castillo won the 200 IM and swept the 100 and 200 breaststroke, all with season-best times. His times vs. the Longhorns all rank in the top 15 nationally, and his time of 1:55.93 in the 200 breaststroke leads the nation.
- Castillo's 24.29 breaststroke split in the 200 medley relay was over a half-second faster than anyone else in the field. The Aggies' 200 medley relay scored a nearly half-second victory (1:27.06-1:27.51) over the Longhorns, who are the defending NCAA Champions in the race.