Spring Break
Men's swimming and diving finish in 12th place nationally
By: T.D. Durham
Issue date: 3/30/09 Section: Sports
The Texas A&M men's swimming and diving team finished off the three-day NCAA Championships in College Station with a 12th place mark. The Aggies were in tenth place after the second day of events, but were unable to hold onto the spot when Minnesota and Georgia rallied on the third and final day.
The 104-point effort marks the highest finish for the Aggies in Head Coach Jay Holmes' career and marks the team's 14th straight top-25 finish.
"We definitely wanted more in the last day, we just let it get away from us," Holmes said. "Finishing in the top 15 is something we value greatly, but one day we'll be in the top ten."
Senior Eric Sehn tallied a total of 38 points in the duration of the meet, capturing third on the 1 meter springboard, sixth on the 3 meter springboard and ninth in the platform event.
As a senior, this was Sehn's last meet as an Aggie. The Edmonton, Alberta, Canada native holds a school record in points scored at the national meet, pulling in 151 points in four years of appearances.
Freshman diver Grant Nel made his first NCAA final in the 3 meter springboard, capturing fourth place with a six-dive score of 430.55. Fellow freshman Cam McLean also scored his first NCAA point with a 16th place finish in the 1 meter.
"Eric Sehn and the other divers really stepped up this weekend," Holmes said. "Kevin Wright is really doing good things with those guys."
Sophomore swimmer Boris Loncaric broke the oldest team record, the 100 yard butterfly, with a preliminary time of 45.53 Friday morning. Loncaric would later turn in a time of 45.73 to earn seventh place and 12 points in the championship final of the event.
Junior Jason Bergstrom also set a school record in the 100 yard backstroke while leading off the 200 yard medley relay Friday morning. His time of 46.31 bested the old mark by three tenths of a second.
The Aggies scored points in four relays during the weekend, the 400 yard medley, 200 yard freestyle, 200 yard medley, and 400 yard freestyle, in which A&M placed 11th, 15th, 10th, and 13th, respectively.
Thuogh the Aggies didn't send any more individual qualifiers to a final, A&M also had individual swims from junior Casey Strange, junior Nathan Lavery, and sophomore Balazs Makany.
The Auburn Tigers finished the meet with a first place score of 526 over the A&M rival Texas Longhorns, which scored a second place finish with 487 points. Defending national champions Arizona finished in 6th place.
The Aggies move into the off-season with a total record of 0-5 in dual meets and a third place at the Big 12 Conference Championship. The Aggies will return next year without senior diver Eric Sehn and swimmers Shawn Clarke, Kyle Holland, Ryan Loney, Brad Raiford, and John Van Natta.
The 104-point effort marks the highest finish for the Aggies in Head Coach Jay Holmes' career and marks the team's 14th straight top-25 finish.
"We definitely wanted more in the last day, we just let it get away from us," Holmes said. "Finishing in the top 15 is something we value greatly, but one day we'll be in the top ten."
Senior Eric Sehn tallied a total of 38 points in the duration of the meet, capturing third on the 1 meter springboard, sixth on the 3 meter springboard and ninth in the platform event.
As a senior, this was Sehn's last meet as an Aggie. The Edmonton, Alberta, Canada native holds a school record in points scored at the national meet, pulling in 151 points in four years of appearances.
Freshman diver Grant Nel made his first NCAA final in the 3 meter springboard, capturing fourth place with a six-dive score of 430.55. Fellow freshman Cam McLean also scored his first NCAA point with a 16th place finish in the 1 meter.
"Eric Sehn and the other divers really stepped up this weekend," Holmes said. "Kevin Wright is really doing good things with those guys."
Sophomore swimmer Boris Loncaric broke the oldest team record, the 100 yard butterfly, with a preliminary time of 45.53 Friday morning. Loncaric would later turn in a time of 45.73 to earn seventh place and 12 points in the championship final of the event.
Junior Jason Bergstrom also set a school record in the 100 yard backstroke while leading off the 200 yard medley relay Friday morning. His time of 46.31 bested the old mark by three tenths of a second.
The Aggies scored points in four relays during the weekend, the 400 yard medley, 200 yard freestyle, 200 yard medley, and 400 yard freestyle, in which A&M placed 11th, 15th, 10th, and 13th, respectively.
Thuogh the Aggies didn't send any more individual qualifiers to a final, A&M also had individual swims from junior Casey Strange, junior Nathan Lavery, and sophomore Balazs Makany.
The Auburn Tigers finished the meet with a first place score of 526 over the A&M rival Texas Longhorns, which scored a second place finish with 487 points. Defending national champions Arizona finished in 6th place.
The Aggies move into the off-season with a total record of 0-5 in dual meets and a third place at the Big 12 Conference Championship. The Aggies will return next year without senior diver Eric Sehn and swimmers Shawn Clarke, Kyle Holland, Ryan Loney, Brad Raiford, and John Van Natta.
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