Mustang Swimmers & Divers Set To Compete At Texas Invitational:
SMU Senior Julian Fletcher
The SMU men’s swimming & diving team is set to travel to Austin, Texas to compete in the Texas Invitational. This is first time since the 2008-09 season that the Mustangs will compete in this event.
Looking Ahead:
Following the Texas Invitational, the SMU divers will compete Dec. 17-22 at the U.S. Diving Nationals in Austin, Texas and Jan. 3-5, at the Georgia Diving Invitational in Athens, Ga., to end 2013 and begin 2014. Following the divers trip to Athens, the Mustangs get their full team back together to compete in a dual meet at LSU on Jan. 9 at 7 p.m.
Looking Back:
Devin Burnett 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 as the SMU men’s swimming and diving placed fifth of six schools at the Texas A&M Invitational.
In addition to Burnett, Bryce Klein placed 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. Junior Hayden Hodges placed fifth in the platform dive with a score of 295.8.
Matt Roney and Ryan Koops led the Mustang swimmers as they finished third and fourth in the 200-yard freestyle (1:37.92) and fourth in the 50-yard freestyle (20:50), respectively.
In relays, SMU 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.
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.
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 and Ryan 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 Sinnott says 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.
