COLLEGE STATION, Texas – With the program on the rise, the No. 11 Texas A&M Aggies men's swimming & diving squad is ready for a successful season.
Head coach Jay Holmes enters his 33rd year with the Maroon & White, 15th at the helm of the men's team. Holmes has steadily turned the program around from finishing eighth at SEC Championships and 38th at NCAA Nationals in 2014-15, to back-to-back top-four finishes at SEC Championships and three consecutive top-20 finishes at NCAA Nationals.
"The expectation is always to get better," Holmes explained. "We do want to win championships. We haven't won one here in many years, and our team wants to have the opportunity to see how good we are. Being able to compete at this level is always an excitement."
The Aggies will lean on the leadership of their team captains, swimmers Jake Gibbons, Adam Koster and Benjamin Walker, in addition to diver Kurtis Mathews. Holmes added, "All of our captains are very committed to this thing. They've all been prepared for this and know what's coming. They want to be the group to get something done that hasn't been done here before."
Gibbons set the school record in the 1,000 free with a time of 9:05.38 in 2018 at Texas A&M's Last Chance Meet and is the Chair of the SEC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). As a junior, Koster collected seven individual wins and broke four school records (100 free, 200 free relay, 200 medley relay, 400 medley relay). Walker became the first Texas A&M swimming SEC Champion and was named to the First Team All-SEC in the 200 breast (1:52.55), in addition to breaking the school record in the 400 IM with a first-place finish at the SEC Championships. Walker was also named the Danny Green Memorial Co-MVP at the team's annual banquet.
The Aggies return a strong core of veterans with a wealth of experience. The squad consists of five seniors, seven juniors and nine sophomores. Shaine Casas made a big impact his freshman year, notching six school records (200 back, 200 IM, 200 free relay, 800 free relay, 200 medley relay, 400 medley relay) and earning SEC All-Freshman (200 backstroke) and Second Team All-SEC (800 free relay, 400 medley relay). Casas also had a strong offseason with a national title in the 100 back and a pair of runner-up finishes in the 200 back and 200 IM at the Phillips 66 National Championships.
Newcomers for the Aggies include swimmers Jace Brown, William Coakley and Andres Puente. Brown was a six-time state finalist in the 100 fly and 200 IM as a junior and sophomore. Coakley was a four-time top five state finalist in the 200 and 500 free his senior and junior years. Puente registered top times of 28.80 in the 50 breast, 1:02.97 in the 100 breast and 2:16.08 in the 200 breast, all LCM.
On the diving board, junior Kurtis Mathews is the leader after finishing second in the 3-meter and fourth in the 1-meter at the SEC Championships. Head diving coach Jay Lerew added, "Kurtis Mathews, our Australian, has improved immensely. He's decided he's going to get a body. He's been in the weight room really intensely and conditioning to getting super strong and quick. Right now he's got dives he's doing that nobody in the world is doing, which is cool. So, we'll see how that turns out for him."
Also, the Aggies added a phenomenal newcomer Victor Povzner. "He's one of the top juniors in the world" said Lerew. "He has all the ability to go all the way. So we'll see how he handles balancing diving and school with all the stressors that come with it, but I expect a lot of him." Povzner secured the gold with a score of 359.85 at the 2019 Speedo Summer Senior Nationals, the Canadian National Championship in Windsor, Ontario. Povzner also won two gold and a bronze medal at the 2017 Pan American Junior Championships.
The Maroon & White host the Ohio State Buckeyes to kickoff their 2019-20 campaign in Aggieland on Friday, October 18 beginning at 4 pm and continuing on Saturday.
Head coach Jay Holmes enters his 33rd year with the Maroon & White, 15th at the helm of the men's team. Holmes has steadily turned the program around from finishing eighth at SEC Championships and 38th at NCAA Nationals in 2014-15, to back-to-back top-four finishes at SEC Championships and three consecutive top-20 finishes at NCAA Nationals.
"The expectation is always to get better," Holmes explained. "We do want to win championships. We haven't won one here in many years, and our team wants to have the opportunity to see how good we are. Being able to compete at this level is always an excitement."
The Aggies will lean on the leadership of their team captains, swimmers Jake Gibbons, Adam Koster and Benjamin Walker, in addition to diver Kurtis Mathews. Holmes added, "All of our captains are very committed to this thing. They've all been prepared for this and know what's coming. They want to be the group to get something done that hasn't been done here before."
Gibbons set the school record in the 1,000 free with a time of 9:05.38 in 2018 at Texas A&M's Last Chance Meet and is the Chair of the SEC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). As a junior, Koster collected seven individual wins and broke four school records (100 free, 200 free relay, 200 medley relay, 400 medley relay). Walker became the first Texas A&M swimming SEC Champion and was named to the First Team All-SEC in the 200 breast (1:52.55), in addition to breaking the school record in the 400 IM with a first-place finish at the SEC Championships. Walker was also named the Danny Green Memorial Co-MVP at the team's annual banquet.
The Aggies return a strong core of veterans with a wealth of experience. The squad consists of five seniors, seven juniors and nine sophomores. Shaine Casas made a big impact his freshman year, notching six school records (200 back, 200 IM, 200 free relay, 800 free relay, 200 medley relay, 400 medley relay) and earning SEC All-Freshman (200 backstroke) and Second Team All-SEC (800 free relay, 400 medley relay). Casas also had a strong offseason with a national title in the 100 back and a pair of runner-up finishes in the 200 back and 200 IM at the Phillips 66 National Championships.
Newcomers for the Aggies include swimmers Jace Brown, William Coakley and Andres Puente. Brown was a six-time state finalist in the 100 fly and 200 IM as a junior and sophomore. Coakley was a four-time top five state finalist in the 200 and 500 free his senior and junior years. Puente registered top times of 28.80 in the 50 breast, 1:02.97 in the 100 breast and 2:16.08 in the 200 breast, all LCM.
On the diving board, junior Kurtis Mathews is the leader after finishing second in the 3-meter and fourth in the 1-meter at the SEC Championships. Head diving coach Jay Lerew added, "Kurtis Mathews, our Australian, has improved immensely. He's decided he's going to get a body. He's been in the weight room really intensely and conditioning to getting super strong and quick. Right now he's got dives he's doing that nobody in the world is doing, which is cool. So, we'll see how that turns out for him."
Also, the Aggies added a phenomenal newcomer Victor Povzner. "He's one of the top juniors in the world" said Lerew. "He has all the ability to go all the way. So we'll see how he handles balancing diving and school with all the stressors that come with it, but I expect a lot of him." Povzner secured the gold with a score of 359.85 at the 2019 Speedo Summer Senior Nationals, the Canadian National Championship in Windsor, Ontario. Povzner also won two gold and a bronze medal at the 2017 Pan American Junior Championships.
The Maroon & White host the Ohio State Buckeyes to kickoff their 2019-20 campaign in Aggieland on Friday, October 18 beginning at 4 pm and continuing on Saturday.