Texas A&M Men’s Swimming & Diving Honors 2021-22 Season at Annual Banquet
Apr 23, 2022 | Men's Swimming and Diving
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M men's swimming & diving team celebrated its 2021-22 season at the annual team banquet on Saturday.
Kurtis Mathews highlighted the afternoon, earning Danny Green Memorial MVP and Performance of the Year after a historic final season in Aggieland. Mathews became the first men's diving NCAA Champion in program history and the first men's diver to sweep the springboards at the championship meet since 2017. The Sydney, Australia native took down his own school record with a score of 438.20 in the 1-meter final to claim his first national title of the week. Twenty-four hours later, he posted a score of 91.20 on the last dive of his collegiate career to close out a high-scoring final round and finish atop the field, securing a second championship victory. At SEC Championships, Mathews started the meet claiming silver on the 3-meter on day one, and turned around to take back his 1-meter crown on day two.
Mathews concluded his collegiate career as a two-time national champion, six-time All-American, medaling seven times at SEC Championships, including four SEC titles. He holds both springboard school records after taking down his own top score on the 1-meter to win his first NCAA title and setting the 3-meter record with a score of 483.55 at the Air Force Diving Invite this season.
Thomas Shomper was named the team's Most Improved Swimmer after seeing significant time drops throughout his sophomore season. He put his offseason work on display in the first meet of the year, clocking a then-lifetime bests at the SMU Classic. He added key points for the Aggies at SEC Championships, earning second swims in both backstroke events and finishing as high as 14th in the 200 back. Allen Bottego earned Most Improved Diver honors after an impressive collegiate debut. Bottego qualified for NCAA Championships after finishing atop the field on the platform at NCAA Zones. At SEC Championships, Bottego earned a spot in the 1-meter final and went on to place eighth, while also adding an 11th-place finish on the platform.
To conclude the 2021-22 season, 14 Aggies made the trip to NCAA Championships, including six individual swimmers and four divers. A&M placed 19th at the post-season meet, marking the program's fourth straight top-20 finish.
Complete list of 2021-22 awards:
Danny Green Memorial MVP – Kurtis Mathews
Most Improved Swimmer - Thomas Shomper
Most Improved Diver - Allen Bottego
Performance of the Year – Kurtis Mathews 3-meter final at NCAA Championships
Aggie Heart Award - Kaloyan Bratanov
Trey Heye Memorial Award – Kraig Bray
Kurtis Mathews highlighted the afternoon, earning Danny Green Memorial MVP and Performance of the Year after a historic final season in Aggieland. Mathews became the first men's diving NCAA Champion in program history and the first men's diver to sweep the springboards at the championship meet since 2017. The Sydney, Australia native took down his own school record with a score of 438.20 in the 1-meter final to claim his first national title of the week. Twenty-four hours later, he posted a score of 91.20 on the last dive of his collegiate career to close out a high-scoring final round and finish atop the field, securing a second championship victory. At SEC Championships, Mathews started the meet claiming silver on the 3-meter on day one, and turned around to take back his 1-meter crown on day two.
Mathews concluded his collegiate career as a two-time national champion, six-time All-American, medaling seven times at SEC Championships, including four SEC titles. He holds both springboard school records after taking down his own top score on the 1-meter to win his first NCAA title and setting the 3-meter record with a score of 483.55 at the Air Force Diving Invite this season.
Thomas Shomper was named the team's Most Improved Swimmer after seeing significant time drops throughout his sophomore season. He put his offseason work on display in the first meet of the year, clocking a then-lifetime bests at the SMU Classic. He added key points for the Aggies at SEC Championships, earning second swims in both backstroke events and finishing as high as 14th in the 200 back. Allen Bottego earned Most Improved Diver honors after an impressive collegiate debut. Bottego qualified for NCAA Championships after finishing atop the field on the platform at NCAA Zones. At SEC Championships, Bottego earned a spot in the 1-meter final and went on to place eighth, while also adding an 11th-place finish on the platform.
To conclude the 2021-22 season, 14 Aggies made the trip to NCAA Championships, including six individual swimmers and four divers. A&M placed 19th at the post-season meet, marking the program's fourth straight top-20 finish.
Complete list of 2021-22 awards:
Danny Green Memorial MVP – Kurtis Mathews
Most Improved Swimmer - Thomas Shomper
Most Improved Diver - Allen Bottego
Performance of the Year – Kurtis Mathews 3-meter final at NCAA Championships
Aggie Heart Award - Kaloyan Bratanov
Trey Heye Memorial Award – Kraig Bray
Players Mentioned
Diving
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
IM/Free/Breast
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Free/Fly
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Diving
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Back/Fly
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