Texas A&M vs. Rice
- November 28, 2023
- Houston, Texas
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
- Final Scores:
- Women: #19 Texas A&M def. NR Rice 171-91
Texas A&M has been rolling through the first half of the season. The women have racked up a 6-1 record with the #2 Texas Longhorns handing them their only loss of the season. After winning their own Art Adamson Invite, they kept the momentum going by decisively beating Rice, a mid-major team.
The Aggies put their depth on display for the win. They won 11 of 14 events and went 1-2-3 in the 1000 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, and both the 100 and 200 backstroke.
Freshman Miranda Grana has made an immediate impact on this Texas A&M team and she continued that in Houston, finishing first in both of the backstroke events and leading off the winning 200 medley relay. Grana clocked 25.57/55.53/2:01.43 in the 50/100/200 back. She’s set personal bests in all three distances this season, the most recent of which is her 51.57 100 back from the Art Adamson Invite.
Olivia Theall also swept her stroke, picking up wins in the 100/200 butterfly with 54.42/2:00.15. She’s a 2023 SEC ‘A’ finalist in both events. Abby Grottle (10:06.51) and Joelle Reddin (2:16.31) led the Aggie sweeps in the 1000 free and 200 breast, respectively.
The highlight for the home team came in the 500 freestyle. The Owls went 1-2-3 in the event, led by junior Amelia Kane. Kane led the race from the start and took the win in 5:00.44. Senior Elizabeth Myers made a big push in the final 100-yards and surged ahead of her teammate Shannon Campbell for 2nd place, 5:03.70 to 5:04.30.
Imogeen Meers was the Owls’ other individual event winner on the day, collecting first place in the 100 freestyle. She out-split Aggie Bobbi Kennett on the back half of the race to take the win in 51.92–the lone sub-52 effort in the event. Meers set her best (49.26) earlier this season at the SMU Invite.
Rice also picked up the win in the final race of the day, the 200 free relay. Their squad of Meers (24.28), Arielle Hayon (23.74), Neta Ussishkin (24.00), and Myers (23.64) combined for a final time of 1:35.66. They had trailed Texas A&M through the first three legs of the race, but Myers anchor split was the difference maker as they touched out the Aggies team of Theall, Kaitlyn Owens, Grana, and Jordan Beuchler by six-hundredths.
Other Individual Event Winners:
- 200 free — Chloe Stepanek (TAMU), 1:49.94
- 100 breast — Bobbi Kennet (TAMU), 1:03.54
- 50 free — Chloe Stepanek (TAMU), 23.50
- 200 IM — Hannah O’Leary (TAMU), 2:05.61
Up Next
The Aggies don’t race again until 2024; they’ll take on Houston and TCU back-to-back on January 12 & 13th. Rice has swimmers racing at the CSCAA Open Water Championships in Miami, FL on December 17th.
