Courtesy: SMU Athletics
The Mustangs head to College Station Friday to face Texas A&M in dual action. Action will be streamed live on the SEC Network+, while results will be available via SMUMustangs.com and on the Meet Mobile App beginning at 6 p.m.
Live Results / Meet Mobile ($) | Diving Results | Live Video
SMU is 1-3 in dual action this season with a win over TCU. In mid-season competition, the Mustangs dominated the field at the SMU Invite, placing first of five teams in the three-day event by over 270 points.
Conference Favorite
Freshman Peter Smithson was named the American Athletic Conference Diver of the Week after his performance in dual meets against West Virginia and UIW. Smithson posted a personal-best 348.08 on 1 meter against UIW to win the event, and was also the leader on 3 meter against West Virginia.
Smithson has four wins on 1 meter this season, a pair on 3 meter and one on platform. He has also achieved the NCAA Zone qualifying score in all three events this season and will compete at the Zone D Championships in March.
This is the second time Smithson has been honored by the league (Nov. 26). Fellow diver Parker Hardigree was also honored on Nov. 5, while swimmers Petar Bozhilov (Nov. 5) and Caleb Rhodenbaugh (Nov. 26) have been recognized as well.
Last Time Out
The Mustangs fell in a pair of dual meets to West Virginia and UIW. Peter Smithson and Parker Hardigree teamed up to sweep diving events for the Mustangs, while Petar Bozhilov, Caleb Rhodenbaugh, Stephen Cheng and Ralph Koo all picked up individual swimming victories.
Rhodenbaugh swept breaststroke events against UIW and won the 200 against West Virginia, while Stephen Cheng was victorious in the 200 back in both events. Bozhilov’s win came in the 1,000-yard freestyle over WVU and Koo won the 100 back against UIW.
Academic Excellence
The Mustangs were recognized by the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) as a Scholar All-America Team for their fall semester GPAs. To earn Scholar All-America team honors, programs must achieve a 3.0 grade-point-average during the previous semester.
The men finished the semester with a 3.28 GPA, marking an improvement for the Mustangs from the 3.21 from spring of 2019 and the 3.11 from fall of 2018. The 3.28 was the highest GPA posted of any men’s program in the American Athletic Conference last fall.
Against The League
Daniel Forndal leads the conference in the 100- and 200-yard freestyles, while Caleb Rhodenbaugh has the fastest time in the 200-yard breaststroke and Colin Feehery in the 400-yard individual medley. In all, SMU holds six times in the top three of individual events and 34 times in the top eight. In relay action, the Mustangs have the league’s fastest 400 free relay time and second fastest time in both medley relays behind ECU.
Top 10 Performers
Seven Mustangs currently account for eight spots on SMU’s all-time top-10 performer lists, including four in the 200-yard breaststroke.
| Daniel Forndal 100 free 9 | 43.75 | 11/23/2019 Ralph Koo Matan Segal |
Connor Dalbo 200 breast 5 | 1:58.54 | 11/23/2019 Brayden Rudd Colin Feehery |
Caleb Rhodenbaugh 100 breast 7 | 54.10 | 11/22/2019 200 breast |
NCAA Qualifiers
2020 Swimming B Standards
Daniel Forndal | 100 free
Caleb Rhodenbaugh | 100 breast, 200 breast
Colin Feehery | 400 IM
2020 Zone Diving
Parker Hardigree | 1 meter, 3 meter
Peter Smithson | 1 meter, 3 meter, Platform
Scouting The Aggies
Texas A&M is 6-3 in dual action this season and is coming off a 182-113 win at LSU. The Aggies’ only losses this season have come at the hands of then-No. 2 Texas, then-No. 11 Georgia and Duke. Texas A&M won their mid-season invite in November.
In relay action, Texas A&M has already automatically qualified its 400- and 800-yard freestyle relays, while meeting the provisional standard in the 200-yard freestyle relay and both medley relays. Individually, the Aggie swimmers have posted five NCAA A cuts and 36 B cuts. Both divers have also achieved NCAA Zone qualifying scores on 1 and 3 meter.
Up Next
Following Friday’s event, the Mustangs have one dual meet remaining this season, a Feb. 7 Senior Day match-up with No. 1 Texas. The American Athletic Conference Championships take place in Houston Feb. 19-22. Postseason action starts with NCAA Zone Diving March 9-11 at the Robson & Lindley Aquatics Center, and the NCAA Division I Swimming & Diving Championships will be held March 25-28 in Indianapolis.
