Lisa Bratton Takes Down Two Pool Records as Aggies Cruise Past LSU

TEXAS A&M V. LSU

• Sat, Jan. 20, 2018
• Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• Results

SCORES

• MEN: Texas A&M 189, LSU 107
• WOMEN: Texas A&M 174, LSU 119

Lisa Bratton came through big for Texas A&M with two pool records as the Aggies defeated the LSU men and women.

She first led off the medley relay in 25.49, followed by Jorie Caneta‘s quick 27.44 breast leg, as A&M went 1:39.71 to easily win that relay. Bratton then went 53.75 to win the 100 back and 1:54.67 to win the 200 back. She took just under a tenth off of former world record holder Gemma Spofforth’s pool record in the 100, and took over a second off of Olympian Melanie Margalis’s pool record in the 200.

Caneta, for her part, posted a strong 1:00.88 to win the 100 breast after her impressive relay split. The Aggies were boosted by double winners Claire Rasmus and Bethany Galat, today, too. Rasmus took the 100 free (50.28) and 200 free (1:48.69), while Galat won the 200 breast (2:13.77) and 200 IM (2:01.35).

The men’s meet went similarly, with the Aggies taking home a large portion of the wins.

As per their strengths, the Aggie men were all over things in the breaststrokes. In the 100, Mauro Castillo Luna easily won it in 54.55, with Raiz Tjon-A-Joe in 2nd (56.13) and Tanner Olson in 3rd (56.21). In the 200, Benjamin Walker posted a 1:58.85 to win ahead of Olson’s 2:01.98. Castillo Luna also won the 100 fly, going 48.42 there.

Brock Bonetti had an impressive triple, winning the 200 fly, 200 back, and 200 IM. He was 1:46.88 in the fly, leading an Aggie 1-2-3, and 1:45.38 in the back, leading a 1-2 there. In the 200 IM, he won by over three seconds, going 1:49.65.

Felipe Rizzo was another double winner for A&M, taking the distance sweep. He was 9:28.16 in the 1000 at the beginning of the meet, then 4:30.95 to win the 500.

PRESS RELEASE – TEXAS A&M

BATON ROUGE, La. – The ninth-ranked Texas A&M men’s swimming and diving team was dominant on its way to a 189-107 victory over longtime rival LSU on Saturday at the LSU Natatorium.

With the win, the Aggies improved to 6-1 in dual meet action, while the Tigers fell to 2-4.

Aggie head coach Jay Holmes said:
“This was a typical January dual meet between two longtime rivals. We’ve been swimming LSU every year for as long as I can remember, and I know the bus trip home is a lot more fun when we win. It wasn’t pretty in some places, but I’m happy to come home with a victory. I didn’t expect to lose the 200 medley relay to start things off, that’s for sure. We eventually got rolling and had a number of 1-2 finishes the rest of the way. We challenged our guys and I’m happy with the way they responded.”

Notables

• With the win, the 2018 Senior Class, which will be honored next Friday prior to the SMU dual meet (7 p.m.), will finish their careers with a 4-0 record against the Tigers.
• The Aggies won 13-of-16 events against LSU, including taking at least the top two spots in nine events.
• Five Aggies won multiple individual races vs. LSU: freshman Felipe Rizzo won the 500 freestyle (4:30.95) and the 1,000 free (9:28.16); senior Mauro Castillo won the 100 breaststroke (54.55) and the 100 butterfly (48.42); senior Brock Bonetti won the 200 fly (1:46.88) and the 200 backstroke (1:45.38); sophomore Adam Koster won the 50 free (20.48) and 100 free (44.92); and sophomore Ben Walker won the 200 breast (1:58.85) and the 200 IM (1:48.66).
• Other Aggies contributing individual victories were sophomore Anthony Kim in the 100 back (48.37) and junior Sam Thornton in the one-meter dive (359.63 points).
• The Aggies closed out the meet with a victory in the 200 free relay with the foursome of Koster, sophomore Mike Thibert, senior Justin Morey and sophomore Raiz Tjon-a-joe touching in 1:21.29.

Next up…

• The Texas A&M men return to action on Friday, Jan. 26 with a 7 p.m. dual meet vs. another annual rival, the SMU Mustangs. The Senior Class of 2018 will be honored prior to the competition.

BATON ROUGE, La. – Texas A&M senior Lisa Bratton took down a pair of LSU Natatorium records to lead the top-ranked Aggies to a 174-119 win over LSU on Saturday in the team’s final tune-up prior to the Southeastern Conference Championships.

With the win, the Aggies improved to 7-1, while the Tigers fell to 3-4.

About Bratton:
Bratton, from Richland, Wash., swept the 100- and 200-yard backstrokes against the Tigers, both in pool record fashion. Bratton won the 100 back in 53.75 (old record of 53.84 by Florida’s Gemma Spofforth) and then took the 200 back in 1:54.67 (1:56.05 by Georgia’s Melanie Margolis).

Aggie head coach Steve Bultman said:
(On Bratton’s feat) “Lisa just swam really well today and was able to break two pool records so that’s pretty exciting. Both races were good swims for this time of the year. She’s been doing this throughout her career. She’s already got the school record in the 200 backstroke and I think she could make it interesting with the 100 back record later this spring.”
(On the final tune-up before SEC Championships) “I thought we swam really well, which was really good to see. We had a bunch of solid swims, especially when you consider the long bus ride we had to get to Baton Rouge. I was very pleased with the way we raced.”

Notables

• It was the Aggies’ 17^th straight win over LSU dating back to Steve Bultman‘s second team at Texas A&M in 2001. Bultman, a 1970 LSU graduate, improved his career record against his alma mater to 18-1.
• The Aggies won 14-of-16 events against LSU, including taking at least the top two spots in nine events.
• Other Aggies winning multiple individual races vs. LSU were junior Claire Rasmus in the 100 freestyle (50.28) and the 200 free (1:48.69); freshman Jing Quah in the 100 butterfly (53.98) and the 200 fly (1:58.07); and senior Bethany Galat in the 200 breaststroke (2:13.77) and the 200 IM (2:01.35)
• Other Aggies contributing individual victories were freshman Joy Field in the 1,000 free (10:00.97), senior Jorie Caneta in the 100 breast (1:00.88), sophomore Raena Eldridge in the 50 free (23.42), and freshman Haley Yelle in the 500 free (4:53.79).
• The Aggies opened and closed the meet with a relay victories. The foursome of Bratton, Caneta, Quah and Eldridge opened the meet by winning the 200 medley relay in 1:39.71, and then the group of sophomore Katie Portz, sophomore Golf Sapianchai, Quah and Rasmus touched first in the 400 free relay in 3:24.46.

Next up…

• The Aggies return to action when they host the 2018 SEC Championships Feb. 14-18 at the Student Recreation Natatorium on the Texas A&M campus.

PRESS RELEASE – LSU

BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU swimming and diving team came up short in a dual-meet against SEC foe Texas A&M. The men lost to the No. 9 Aggies, 189-107, while the women fell to the No. 1 Aggies, 174-119.

The meet started with diving, and the Tigers were able to win both events thanks to Juan Celaya-Hernandezand Lizzie Cui. Celaya-Hernandez won the men’s three-meter with a score of 458.70, and Cui won the women’s one-meter, posting a score of 315.83.

Celaya-Hernandez’s score on three-meter was also enough to break his own pool record of 432.08, which he set earlier this season against Loyola.

Cui ended up sweeping the women’s events after a victory in the women’s three-meter as well. The junior from New Zealand posted a winning score of 340.20, winning the event by a staggering 73.05 points.

“Lizzie’s been struggling with a minor injury, so for her to come out and win both events with two solid performances, was really good,” said LSU diving coach Doug Shaffer.

Junior Matthew Phillip also posted a season-high score on three-meter after diving to a mark of 364.35, shattering his previous season-best by 22.20 points.

“We love this meet,” explained Shaffer. “It’s a special time and recognition. For our seniors that have been around for the last four years, and the opportunity to compete against one of the top programs in the country in our own pool, it’s always a great environment.”

In the pool, the men’s side was able to come away with wins in the 200-medley relay and 200 free.

“We came out of the gates blazing fast,” said LSU swimming coach Dave Geyer. “The wins in the 200 medley and 200 free were great, we just lost a little momentum in the middle of the meet. I wasn’t disappointed with our times by any means, but when you’re racing against a program like Texas A&M, it’s hard to get those second and third place finishes.”

Sophomore Lewis Clough was involved in both victories, swimming the third leg of the winning 200 medley relay, which finished with a time of 1:28.61.

“Our relay today will be one of my favorite memories of my time here at LSU,” said senior Joao Mescolote. “Karl [Luht], Harry [Ackland], and Lewis live with me, and we’ve been talking about this relay all year. Since I’ve come to LSU, we’ve never beaten them, so it was special to come out with the victory.

Clough also had the lone individual win for the Tigers in the 200 free, touching the wall at 1:38.85.

The women didn’t come out with a win, but there were obvious signs of improvement throughout the team.

In the first individual event of the day, freshman Lexi Daniels took second in the 1000 free with a time of 10:01.42. That time smashes her previous PR of 10:31.80, which she swam at SMU last November, and puts her fifth on the all-time list.

Summer Spradley was the only woman to swim an NCAA B-Cut time today. This time, it was in the 200 breaststroke, where she finished second with a time of 2:14.69. For Spradley, that is a personal best, and it also places her seventh on the all-time list.

Junior Lia Joslin also set a new personal-best in the 200 fly after swimming a 2:04.22. Joslin finished sixth overall in the event.

Next up for the Tigers is a quad meet against Houston, Rice, and Tulane on January 26-27 in Houston at the CRWC Natatorium.

For more information and updates on LSU Swimming and Diving please visit LSUsports.net, ‘like’ us on Facebook at LSU Swimming and Diving or follow us on Twitter and Instagram @LSUswimdive.

Wins:

Men:

200 free- Lewis Clough (1:38.85)

200 medley relay- Karl Luht, Harry Ackland, Lewis Clough, Joao Mescolote (1:28.61)

3 meter- Juan Celaya-Hernandez (458.70)- NCAA Zones Qualification/Pool Record 

Women:

1 meter- Lizzie Cui (315.83) NCAA Zones Qualification

3 meter- Lizzie Cui (340.20) NCAA Zones Qualification

Other NCAA Zones Qualificatons:

1 meter- Matt McClellan (302.18)

1-meter- Juan Celaya-Hernandez (336.08)

1 meter- Rileigh Knox (268.50)

3 meter- Matt McClellan (336.98)

3 meter- Matthew Phillip (364.35)

NCAA B-Cuts:

200 breast- Summer Spradley (2:14.69)

100 back- Karl Luht (48.49)