Aggie Women Sweep Freestyle Events as Texas A&M Defeats Missouri

Texas A&M vs. Missouri

• November 1, 2024
• Columbia, MO
• 25 Yards (SCY)
• Scores:
  • Women: #15 Texas A&M, 168 – NR Missouri, 132
  • Men: #12 Texas A&M, 168 – NR Missouri, 132
• Full Results

Women’s Meet

The Texas A&M women won twelve events to clinch a win over Missouri in their Nov. 1 dual meet. They won both relays, the 400 medley and 200 freestyle, but the highlight of their day was the freestyle event sweep.

Chloe Stepanek and Hayden Miller continued their strong starts to the season by contributing two wins each to that sweep. The fifth-year Stepanek set a season-best 48.59 in the 100 freestyle and took the 200 free with a 1:44.23. Missouri’s Zara Zallen, who opened her season with two lifetime bests in the 200 freestyle, took second in both events, swimming 48.75/1:47.16.

Miller won the distance events, posting season-best times of 4:43.31/9:44.60 to secure her wins for the Aggies.

While the Aggies won most of the events on the day and beat Mizzou by 36 points, the Tigers withstood so many Aggie event wins by earning multiple 2-3 finishes. Zallen led a 2-3 finish in the 100 free and they earned another behind Olivia Theall’s 100 fly win. As Kaitlyn Owens won the 50 free in 22.66, Sierra Smith, Zallen, and Francesa Smith finished 2-3-4. When Miller clinched the freestyle sweep with her 500 free win, Missouri’s Zoe Schneider, Danielle Gleason, and Katie Gresik took second through fourth, minimizing the amount that the point gap between the two teams could extend.

In addition to the freestyle event sweep, Theall and Owens each picked up two event wins. Theall swept the butterfly events (52.44/1:55.94) and Owens won the 100 backstroke (53.34) in addition to the 50 freestyle. Giulia Goerigk led an Aggie podium sweep in the 400 IM, finishing in 4:11.88.

Missouri’s best events were the breaststrokes, where Lina Bank earned multiple event wins for the third consecutive dual meet. Bank broke 1:00 for just the second time in her career in the 100 breast, hitting a new lifetime best of 59.81 as she led a 1-2-3 sweep for the Tigers. She doubled up on lifetime bests in the 200, swimming a 2:12.17 to break her previous mark of 2:12.36 from the 2024 SEC Championships.

Abbey Taute earned Missouri’s other event win in the pool, taking the 200 back with a 1:56.40, while Gaby Carmona claimed the 3-meter event win.

Men’s Meet

On the men’s side, the Aggies’ depth in their primary events gave them what they needed to take the win over the Tigers.

Like the Aggie women, they won both relays, clocking 3:09.60 in the 400 medley relay and 1:18.29 in the 200 freestyle relay. The Aggie men have one of the strongest diving corps in the NCAA and that was on display here; Leonardo Garcia won both boards as the Aggie divers went 1-3-4 on the 1-meter and 1-3-4-5 on the 3-meter, with Missouri’s Collier Dyer breaking up the Aggie stranglehold and finishing second on both boards.

Trey Dickey won the 1000 free for the Aggies and they earned a 1-2 finish in the 400 IM with Baylor Nelson (3:48.66) and Munzy Kabbara (3:51.15).

But, their best event of the day was the 50 freestyle, where they swept the top three spots. Connor Foote led the way for them in that event with a 19.94; he asserted himself as the Aggies’ go-to sprinter with a huge breakout last season, highlighted by breaking 19 seconds for the first time at SECs then again at NCAAs (18.87). Foote was faster leading off the 200 freestyle relay (19.63) than he was in his individual swim on Friday night.

For Missouri, 2024 NCAA qualifiers Grant Bochenski and Jan Zubik each earned two event wins. Bochenski, who finished 17th in the 100 back at 2024 NCAAs, just missing a second swim, won the event on Friday in 46.46, then the 100 freestyle in 43.68, holding off Foote (43.82). Both swims were season-bests. Zubik, a junior from Poland, swept the fly events with season-bests of his own (46.94/1:42.60), leading a Missouri 1-2 in both.

In the 200 backstroke, Texas A&M’s Tommy Shomper held off a late charge from Zubik, who split 25.61 over the last 50 yards but ran out of room to chase down Shomper. The Aggie won in 1:43.08, with Zubik taking second in 1:43.32.

Missouri swept the breaststroke events as well, with Logan Ottke winning the 100 breast (53.27) and Alex Ochsenbein winning the 200 (1:57.06). German freshman Philipp Peschke earned his first collegiate win in the 200 freestyle, swimming a lifetime best 1:36.55. Missouri went 1-2 in the event, as Calvin Windle ran down Texas A&M’s Nelson on the final 50 and beat him for second place by .01 second in 1:37.27.

Up Next

The Texas A&M divers head to Austin for the Texas Diving Invitational from Nov. 15-17, while the swimmers have a break until their home Art Adamson Invitational from Nov. 20-22. On the same dates, Missouri competes at the Georgia Invitational.