Mustang Swimmers & Divers Set To Compete At LSU

Mustang Swimmers & Divers Set To Compete At LSU:

Ryan Koops, SMU Senior (courtesy of SMU)

SMU gets its full team back together for the first time since November when the Mustangs placed fifth at the Texas A&M Invitational.  Last season, SMU fell to LSU in a close match, 161-139. Despite the loss, now junior diver Devin Burnett had a strong performance as he won the 1 and 3-meters dives. For the swimmers, the Mustangs won the 400-yard medley relay as now junior Matas Andriekus, now senior Matthew Napier-Jameson and graduates David Larsson and Mindaugas Sadauskasfinished the event with a time of 3:19.40. The Ponies also had a solid victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay as Larsson, now senior Matt Roney, Sadauskas and now senior Ryan Koops combined for a mark of 3:01.53. The Mustangs went one-two in the 200-yard freestyle as now senior captain Nicolai Hansen placed first (1:41.70), just ahead of Roney (1:42.13). The Mustangs will look to rebound this season and capture a win against the Tigers.

Looking Ahead:
Following the dual meet with LSU, SMU competes in the two and only meets on the Hilltop as from January 17-18 the Mustangs will host the annual SMU Classic then on Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. the Ponies will host Texas A&M. Following the showdown with the Aggies in Perkins Natatorium, SMU will be idle until the inaugural American Athletic Conference Championships where the Mustangs are aiming for their 17th conference championship in the last 18 years. The American Championships are from Feb. 19-22 in Louisville, Ky.

Looking Back:
SMU competed this past weekend at the Georgia Diving Invitational where diver Devin Burnett placed first in both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives as well as third in the platform dive. Freshman Bryce Klein earned fourth place honors in the 3-meter dive and placed sixth in the 1-meter dive.

In addition, junior Hayden Hodges finished ninth in the 1-meter dive, 13th in the 3-meter dive and 17th in the platform dive while sophomore Parker Meinecke placed 18th in the platform dive, 21st in the 1-meter and 23rd in the 3-meter.

Mustangs in The American Ranks:
SMU has five swimmers and five relay teams ranked in the top 5 of the American Athletic Conference.

For the swimmers, Ryan Koops and Ramom Melo are ranked second and fourth in the 50-yard freestyle with times of 20.47 and 20.53, respectively. Matt Roney sits third in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:37.92. Matas Andriekus rounds out the swimmers as he ranks fourth (1:48.09) in the 200-yard backstroke and fifth (49.36) in the 100-yard backstroke.

SMU has three relay teams ranked second in The American beginning with Julian Fletcher, Koops, Melo and Roney in the 200-yard freestyle relay as they posted a time of 1:22.29. Giedrius Andriunaitis, Roney, Koops and Melo recorded a time of 3:00.83 in the 400-yard freestyle relay and in the 400-yard medley relay, Tucker Wells, Andriekus, Fletcher and Koops recorded a time of 3:20.79.

The Ponies rank third in two relays including the 800-yard freestyle relay (Matthew Colket, Roney, Andriunaitis, Wells) with a time of 6:49.69 and the 200-yard medley relay (Braeden Newton, Tyler Rauth, Fletcher and Melo) as that group clocked a time of 1:31.34.

Freshman Bryce Klein Competed At U.S. Diving National Finals:
Freshman diver Bryce Klein finished 11th (320.10) in the 1-meter dive, 24th (314.6) in the 3-meter dive and qualified for the finals and finished sixth (751.43) in the synchronized 3-meter dive finals as he paired with Texas graduate student and former Stanford diver Dwight Dumais. The duo placed fifth (365.73) in the preliminary round on day four to qualify for the finals.

SMU Places Fifth At Texas A&M Invitational:
The Mustangs men’s swimming and diving placed fifth of six schools at the Texas A&M Invitational back in late November. SMU was led by diver Devin Burnett as he won the platform dive with a score of 393.55, finished third (371.4) in the 1-meter dive and placed sixth in the 3-meter dive with a score of 380.5. In addition for the Mustang divers, Bryce Kleinplaced seventh in the 1-meter dive (310.8) and ninth (322.8) in the 3-meter dive as he competed in the first two events of his collegiate career.

For the swimmers, Matt Roney and Ryan Koops paced the SMU swimmers as they finished third in the 200-yard freestyle (1:37.92) and fourth in the 50-yard freestyle (20:50), respectively.  In relays, the Ponies placed fourth in the 400-yard freestyle relay as Giedrius Andriunaitis, Ramom Melo, Koops and Roney finished in 3:00.83 and the group of Julian Fletcher, Koops, Melo and Roney earned fifth place in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:22.29.

SMU Falls To TCU In Season Opener:
Divers Devin Burnett and Hayden Hodges finished first and second in the 1-meter and 3-meter dives, respectively, as the SMU men’s swimming and diving team opened its season by falling at TCU, 177.5-122.5. In addition to Burnett, SMU placed first in three other races. The Ponies won the 400-yard freestyle relay as the team of Matt Roney, Ramom Melo andRyan Koops and Justin Gibson finished with a time of 3:04.28.

Tradition of Excellence:
SMU has won 16 conference championships in 17 years from three different conferences, including Conference USA, the Western Athletic Conference and the former Southwestern Conference. The Mustangs look to continue their success in the new American Athletic Conference. Head Coach Eddie Sinnott begins his 25th season, having been named conference Coach of the Year 16 times. During his tenure, SMU has had 11 NCAA top-15 finishes, 337 All-America honors and 237 conference champions.

Mustangs Return Two All-Americans:
Senior Captain Nicolai Hansen and senior Ryan Koops return with All-America honors they earned as part of the 14th place 400-freestyle relay team at the 2013 NCAA Championship.

2013 Outlook:
The SMU men’s swimming and diving team has a new league for 2013-14 but the goal is the same. The Mustangs are aiming for their 17th conference championship in the last 18 years. SMU returns two All-Americans, nine All-Conference USA selections and 23 letterwinners as it seeks to claim the first American Athletic Conference Championship this winter. The Mustangs will be led by senior captain Nicolai Hansen. Hansen is one of nine seniors. who head coach Eddie Sinnottsays is a “strong group of individuals”, noting that there is a senior in every event except diving.

This release was provided to SwimSwam courtesy of SMU Swimming and Diving.