BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- The Texas A&M men's swimming & diving team will travel to Atlanta this week for NCAA Championships. The meet will be held at the McAuley Aquatic Center on Georgia Tech's campus and is set to begin Wednesday, March 23 and run through Saturday, March 26. Fourteen members of the men's team will make the trip with six individual swimmers and four divers, as well as all five relays qualified to compete.
Kaloyan Bratanov and Andres Puente will return to NCAA Championships after making their debuts at the meet a season ago. Bratnaov is qualified in the 200 IM, 200 free and 100 free. He boasts top 20-times in the nation this year in the 200 IM (1:42.98) and 200 free (1:32.63), both set at SEC Championships. He earned his highest individual finish at SEC Championships this season, bringing home a bronze medal in the 200 IM. Puente has qualified in the 100 breast, 200 breast and 200 IM. His time of 1:52.77 in the 200 breast from SEC Championships ranks 21st in the nation this season.
Ethan Gogulski, Anze Fers Erzen, Vincent Ribeiro and Munzy Kabbara will all compete at NCAA Championships this week for the first time in their careers. Gogulski has had an impressive junior season that recently saw him claim a pair of silver medals in both backstroke events at SEC Championships. His time of 45.42 in the 100 back is the 15th-fastest time in the nation this season, while his 200 back time of 1:39.58 is among the top 10 in the country. Fers Erzen clocked in at 1:40.31 in the 200 back to join Gogulski on the podium, earning a bronze medal at SEC Championships with the third-fastest time in program history. His 200 back time from SECs ranks among the top-20 in the country, while he is also qualified to compete in the 200 IM and 400 IM. Ribeiro punched his ticket to NCAA Championships with a time of 1:52.93 in the 200 breast at American Short Course Championships and is also qualified in the 100 breast and 200 IM. Kabbara's time of 3:43.57 in the 400 IM at American Short Course Championships put him atop the alternates list and he was able to move his way into the field. He will also be available to compete in the 200 IM and 200 back.
Clayton Bobo, Kraig Bray, Jace Brown and Collin Fuchs will join the Aggies in Atlanta to compete in the relay events. Bobo helped the Aggies' school record holding 800 free relay team to a third-place finish at NCAA Championships a season ago, while Brown swam the butterfly leg of the 200 and 400 medley relays that both secured top-16 finishes.
Kurtis Mathews is coming off impressive performances at both SEC Championships and Zone Diving Championships. Mathews made it seven career medals at SEC Championships, earning gold on the 1-meter and silver on the 3-meter a month ago. He saw the same results at Zones, placing second on the 3-meter to secure a spot at NCAA Championships and finishing atop the field on the 1-meter on the second day of competition. Prior to SECs, Mathews set a new program record on the 3-meter with a score of 483.55 at the Air Force Diving Invite. Mathews now owns both springboard school records after previously setting a new mark on the 1-meter at the 2020 SEC Championships when he claimed gold in the event with a score of 436.50.
Victor Povzner made his podium debut at SEC Championships, earning silver on the 1-meter to mark the first time the Aggies have had divers finish 1-2 at the conference meet. The sophomore again finished top-two with Mathews on the 1-meter at Zones to punch his ticket to his first NCAA Championships. He will also compete on the 3-meter after scoring in the top 12 in the event at Zones. Allen Bottego and Tony Stewart will also make their championship meet debuts, competing on the platform. At Zones, Bottego was the top scorer on the men's side with a score of 742.10, while Stewart took seventh with a score of 331.80.
The complete schedule, along with links to results and to watch live are below. Follow @aggieswimdive on Twitter for updates throughout the meet.
Complete Schedule
Wednesday, March 23 – Swim Results | Watch Live
Finals – 5 p.m. CT – 200 Medley Relay, 800 Free Relay
Thursday, March 24 – Swim Results | Dive Results | Watch Live
Prelims – 9 a.m. CT
Finals – 5 p.m. CT – 500 Free, 200 IM, 50 Free, 1-Meter, 200 Free Relay
Friday, March 25 – Swim Results | Dive Results | Watch Live
Prelims – 9 a.m. CT
Finals – 5 p.m. CT – 400 IM, 100 Fly, 200 Free, 100 Breast, 100 Back, 3-Meter, 400 Medley Relay
Saturday, March 26 – Swim Results | Dive Results | Watch Live
Prelims – 9 a.m. CT
Finals – 5 p.m. CT – 1,650 Free, 200 Back, 100 Free, 200 Breast, 200 Fly, Platform, 400 Free Relay
Kaloyan Bratanov and Andres Puente will return to NCAA Championships after making their debuts at the meet a season ago. Bratnaov is qualified in the 200 IM, 200 free and 100 free. He boasts top 20-times in the nation this year in the 200 IM (1:42.98) and 200 free (1:32.63), both set at SEC Championships. He earned his highest individual finish at SEC Championships this season, bringing home a bronze medal in the 200 IM. Puente has qualified in the 100 breast, 200 breast and 200 IM. His time of 1:52.77 in the 200 breast from SEC Championships ranks 21st in the nation this season.
Ethan Gogulski, Anze Fers Erzen, Vincent Ribeiro and Munzy Kabbara will all compete at NCAA Championships this week for the first time in their careers. Gogulski has had an impressive junior season that recently saw him claim a pair of silver medals in both backstroke events at SEC Championships. His time of 45.42 in the 100 back is the 15th-fastest time in the nation this season, while his 200 back time of 1:39.58 is among the top 10 in the country. Fers Erzen clocked in at 1:40.31 in the 200 back to join Gogulski on the podium, earning a bronze medal at SEC Championships with the third-fastest time in program history. His 200 back time from SECs ranks among the top-20 in the country, while he is also qualified to compete in the 200 IM and 400 IM. Ribeiro punched his ticket to NCAA Championships with a time of 1:52.93 in the 200 breast at American Short Course Championships and is also qualified in the 100 breast and 200 IM. Kabbara's time of 3:43.57 in the 400 IM at American Short Course Championships put him atop the alternates list and he was able to move his way into the field. He will also be available to compete in the 200 IM and 200 back.
Clayton Bobo, Kraig Bray, Jace Brown and Collin Fuchs will join the Aggies in Atlanta to compete in the relay events. Bobo helped the Aggies' school record holding 800 free relay team to a third-place finish at NCAA Championships a season ago, while Brown swam the butterfly leg of the 200 and 400 medley relays that both secured top-16 finishes.
Kurtis Mathews is coming off impressive performances at both SEC Championships and Zone Diving Championships. Mathews made it seven career medals at SEC Championships, earning gold on the 1-meter and silver on the 3-meter a month ago. He saw the same results at Zones, placing second on the 3-meter to secure a spot at NCAA Championships and finishing atop the field on the 1-meter on the second day of competition. Prior to SECs, Mathews set a new program record on the 3-meter with a score of 483.55 at the Air Force Diving Invite. Mathews now owns both springboard school records after previously setting a new mark on the 1-meter at the 2020 SEC Championships when he claimed gold in the event with a score of 436.50.
Victor Povzner made his podium debut at SEC Championships, earning silver on the 1-meter to mark the first time the Aggies have had divers finish 1-2 at the conference meet. The sophomore again finished top-two with Mathews on the 1-meter at Zones to punch his ticket to his first NCAA Championships. He will also compete on the 3-meter after scoring in the top 12 in the event at Zones. Allen Bottego and Tony Stewart will also make their championship meet debuts, competing on the platform. At Zones, Bottego was the top scorer on the men's side with a score of 742.10, while Stewart took seventh with a score of 331.80.
The complete schedule, along with links to results and to watch live are below. Follow @aggieswimdive on Twitter for updates throughout the meet.
Complete Schedule
Wednesday, March 23 – Swim Results | Watch Live
Finals – 5 p.m. CT – 200 Medley Relay, 800 Free Relay
Thursday, March 24 – Swim Results | Dive Results | Watch Live
Prelims – 9 a.m. CT
Finals – 5 p.m. CT – 500 Free, 200 IM, 50 Free, 1-Meter, 200 Free Relay
Friday, March 25 – Swim Results | Dive Results | Watch Live
Prelims – 9 a.m. CT
Finals – 5 p.m. CT – 400 IM, 100 Fly, 200 Free, 100 Breast, 100 Back, 3-Meter, 400 Medley Relay
Saturday, March 26 – Swim Results | Dive Results | Watch Live
Prelims – 9 a.m. CT
Finals – 5 p.m. CT – 1,650 Free, 200 Back, 100 Free, 200 Breast, 200 Fly, Platform, 400 Free Relay