Tennessee vs. Texas A&M
- October 27, 2023
- College Station, Texas
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
- Final Scores:
- #15 Texas A&M men def. #7 Tennessee men 171.5-111.5
- #20 Texas A&M women def. #7 Tennessee women 169-131
Tennessee made the trip south this past weekend to take on Texas A&M in an SEC match-up. The Aggies swept the Vols, outscoring them by sixty points on the men’s side and 38 points on the women’s.
Men’s Recap
Leading the way for the Aggies was Baylor Nelson, who collected three individual victories. The junior decisively won the 200 freestyle in 1:36.41, putting him nearly a second ahead of runner-up Jordan Crooks (1:37.38). Nelson then captured the 200 backstroke in 1:45.48, and closed out his meet with a final win in the 400 IM (3:49.99).
In addition to his individual victories, Nelson was the backstroke leg (22.00) of the Aggies’ winning 200 medley relay, where he teamed up with Logan Brown (25.11), Connor Foote (20.96), and Carter Nelson (19.73) to record a time of 1:27.80.
Brown, a freshman, swept the breaststroke events for Texas A&M with times of 55.16 and 1:59.61. His 100 marked a new season best by a few hundredths, while his 200 breast was nearly two seconds under what he posted at the team’s opener against Incarnate Word.
Among the top performers for Vols was junior Jordan Crooks. In addition to his runner-up finish in the 200 free, Crooks came away with wins in the 50 (19.95) and 100 freestyle (43.59). He was also the lead-off leg for the team’s 400 freestyle relay (43.07), where he teamed up with Micah Chambers (44.41), Will Jackson (45.62), and Jack Flanagan (45.16) for the win.
Another top performer for Tennessee was Joey Tepper, who clocked a 9:08.19 in the 1000 to clear the field by over three seconds. Tepper also secured 2nd in the 500, going a 4:26.78 to narrowly miss Texas A&M’s Trey Dickey in 1st (4:25.99).
The Vols were notably without sprinter Gui Caribe and diver Bryden Hattie, both of whom were competing at the Pan American Games.
Other Event Winners:
- 100 back – Harrison Lierz (Tennessee), 47.78
- 200 fly – Martin Espernberger (Tennessee), 1:45.73
- 1-meter diving – Allen Bottego (Texas A&M), 369.45
- 100 fly – Connor Foote (Texas A&M), 47.95
- 3-meter diving – Victor Povzner (Texas A&M), 421.58
Women’s Recap
The #20 Aggie women pulled out a victory over #7-ranked Tennessee. As with the Tennessee men, the Lady Vols were without some key contributors this weekend including Brooklyn Douthwright, Josephine Fuller, Camille Spink, and Mona McSharry.
Senior Chloe Stepanek secured victories in the 100 and 200 freestyle for Texas A&M, hitting times of 50.56 and 1:48.57, respectively. Both of her swims put her about a second off her season bests set earlier in the month at the Virginia Tech/USC tri-meet.
Another top performer for the Aggies was freshman Miranda Grana, who swept the backstroke events. Highlighting her swims was the 200 backstroke, where she clocked a 1:56.88 to lead a 1-2-3 Texas A&M finish with Aviv Barzelay (1:59.58) and Abigail Ahrens (1:59.67) taking the next two spots. Grana recorded a 54.13 in the 100 back, topping the field by almost a second.
The 200 fly was another big event for the host team with a 1-2-3-4 finish led by Olivia Theall (1:58.41). Theall also won the 100 fly in 53.67, with Katie Walker (54.93) and Sarah Holt (54.99) taking 2nd and 3rd.
Tennessee freshman Emelie Fast had a strong showing, winning the breaststroke races in 1:01.06 and 2:14.38. Fast is from Sweden and is new to yards, meaning both of her swims technically mark personal best times.
The Lady Vols did well in the 50 freestyle, as Jasmine Rumley got her hand on the wall 1st in the 50 freestyle at 23.06, while her teammate Katie Mack was just behind with a season best time of 23.23.
Tennessee captured the first event of the day, as the team of Amber Myers (25.73), Fast (27.46), Mack (24.30), and Rumley (22.81) narrowly beat Texas A&M’s team with a 1:40.30. The Lady Vols also closed out the meet with a win, as Rumley (50.80), Julia Burroughs (50.80), Laura Littlejohn (50.98), and Mack (50.66) combined for a 3:23.24 to take the 400 freestyle relay.
Other Event Winners:
- 1000 free – Hayen Miller (Texas A&M), 9:58.03
- 3-meter diving – Lynae Shorter (Tennessee), 297.90
- 500 free – Abby Grottle (Texas A&M), 4:54.35
- 1-meter diving – Lynae Shorter (Tennessee), 293.18
- 400 IM – Giulia Goerigk (Texas A&M), 4:18.62
Up Next
Texas A&M is set to host Georgia Tech and Texas this weekend, while Tennessee will host Kentucky and Florida on Friday.
I gotta say, I’m not super shocked about their men beating UTK, but I was NOT expecting A&M women to win. And then I saw the UTK women didn’t have their best 4 swimmers, and then it made sense.
what happened to them being suspended for hazing?
turns out the freshmen 40 times were respectable so they let em play
I think some members are suspended, not all. But still a good question.
Appealed the suspension with the university, resulted in nobody being suspended