Photo by: Thomas Campbell
Texas A&M opens 2018 NCAA meet with ninth-place finish in 800 free relay
Mar 14, 2018 | Women's Swimming and Diving
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Southeastern Conference Champion Texas A&M women's swimming and diving team opened the 2018 NCAA Championships with a ninth-place finish in the 800-yard freestyle relay on Wednesday at Ohio State's McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.
The Texas A&M foursome of junior Claire Rasmus, sophomore Katie Portz, senior Kristin Malone and junior Sydney Pickrem finished in a time of 6:56.47, which was the second-fastest time in school history behind the school record of 6:55.60 set by the same foursome at the 2018 SEC Championships last month.
Rasmus, the 2018 SEC Champ in the 200 free, broke the school record with her opening 200 free leg of 1:43.01, which shattered the old mark of 1:43.41 set by Sarah Gibson with the lead-off leg of the Aggies' 800 free relay at the 2016 NCAA Championships in Atlanta. Rasmus took over a half-second off her previous lifetime best of 1:43.62 at the 2018 SEC Championships. After Rasmus' record-setting lead-off leg, Portz contributed a split of 1:44.26, followed by Malone's 1:45.19 and Pickrem closed the race with a 1:44.01 split.
With Day 1 in the books, the Aggies were ninth with 18 points. Stanford had the first day lead with 40 points, followed by Michigan (34), California (32), Tennessee (30), Texas (28), Louisville (26), Virginia (24), Minnesota (22) and the Aggies.
The Texas A&M foursome of junior Claire Rasmus, sophomore Katie Portz, senior Kristin Malone and junior Sydney Pickrem finished in a time of 6:56.47, which was the second-fastest time in school history behind the school record of 6:55.60 set by the same foursome at the 2018 SEC Championships last month.
Rasmus, the 2018 SEC Champ in the 200 free, broke the school record with her opening 200 free leg of 1:43.01, which shattered the old mark of 1:43.41 set by Sarah Gibson with the lead-off leg of the Aggies' 800 free relay at the 2016 NCAA Championships in Atlanta. Rasmus took over a half-second off her previous lifetime best of 1:43.62 at the 2018 SEC Championships. After Rasmus' record-setting lead-off leg, Portz contributed a split of 1:44.26, followed by Malone's 1:45.19 and Pickrem closed the race with a 1:44.01 split.
With Day 1 in the books, the Aggies were ninth with 18 points. Stanford had the first day lead with 40 points, followed by Michigan (34), California (32), Tennessee (30), Texas (28), Louisville (26), Virginia (24), Minnesota (22) and the Aggies.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Free/IM
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IM/Back/Breast
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Free/Back
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Free/IM
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