SWIMMING: Women's team upsets Texas A&M as men fall to Aggies
The women's swim team was victorious over Texas A&M, defeating the Aggies by a score of 135-124. The men's team did not reap such successful results, falling to A&M by a final score of 153-90.
"It was a huge upset for our women to beat Texas A&M," Head Coach Kris Wingenroth said. "We were very excited."
En route to team victory, the Rice women's 200-yard freestyle relay team, consisting of sophomore Julie Birch, junior Cory Teague, sophomore Meghan Marty and junior Carrie Covington, set a pool record, racing to a time of 1:36.18.
Another Rice squad, made up of junior Heather Draper, sophomore Tricia Besselman, junior Erin McDonough and freshman Rachel Doyle placed third.
The team of freshman Liz Corneliuson, sophomore Robin Davidson, freshman Stacey Caldwell and senior Ginny Farmer placed fifth.
"It was a very close meet, and the score was tight all the way," Wingenroth said. "We had to win the relay to win the meet, and the girls got up there and won the meet."
One of the keys to the women's victory was Farmer's three first-place finishes. Farmer won the 1,000-yard freestyle, the 200-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard individual medley to finish on top of the women's team.
Teague was not far behind, securing wins in two events. Teague placed first in the 100-yard fly race, thrashing her closest competitor by 4.11 seconds. She also won the 100- yard backstroke. Teague is the first member of this year's squad to beat a NCAA provisional time, a step on the path to competing in the NCAA championship meet.
The Owls were also victorious in the 100-yard breaststroke, as Davidson finished in first place, and Nagle followed in third. Draper took first-place honors in the 200-yard backstroke while senior Hilary Grabe finished in fifth place.
Rice raced well in the 200-yard medley relay, as the squad made up of Grabe, Covington, Teague and Davidson won first place. A second squad, consisting of sophomore Kirstin Nagle, Draper, Marty and Corneliuson, finished fourth.
In the 100-yard freestyle event, Covington and Birch claimed the second and third places, respectively, while Marty took fifth place. In the 200-yard freestyle, Covington finished third, while Corneliuson and Caldwell nabbed the fifth and sixth spots.
The 500-yard freestyle gave Doyle a third-place win, while Corneliuson finished fifth. Birch, Marty and Caldwell finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 50-yard freestyle.
The 100-meter backstroke also produced third- and fourth-place winners Draper and Grabe. Doyle placed second in the 1,000-yard freestyle.
Birch and Besselman placed in the 100-yard fly event, grabbing the second and fourth places. Davidson and Nagle both placed in the 200-yard breaststroke, locking up the third and fifth spots. In the 200-yard individual medley, Nagle finished fifth and Grabe finished sixth.
The men's team also had its share of individual glory. Senior Steve Quance finished first in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 46.25 seconds, as freshman Adrian Wong dashed into third place.
"Steve Quance was outstanding," Wingenroth said.
Sophomore Dave Stigant brought home first-place honors in the 200-yard backstroke, a half-second in front of his nearest competitor, while junior Christian Selchau-Hansen followed for third place.
Senior Jim Bridenstine finished first in the 100-yard fly, while freshman Mychal Murray grabbed second place. In the 1,000-yard freestyle, sophomore David Henry finished second and senior Alex Fuller finished in third place.
In the 100-yard backstroke event, senior Jonathan Armstrong wrestled for a third place spot, while freshman Jason Ahuero finished fifth. Bridenstine placed third in the 200-yard fly.
The men's relay teams fared well, as the squad made up of Stigant, Armstrong, Bridenstine and Quance placed second in the 200-yard medley relay. The team consisting of Selchau-Hansen, Ahuero, Murray and Wong finished fourth in the same event. The 200-yard freestyle relay team, made up of Wong, Quance, Murray and Bridenstine, finished third.
In the 200-meter freestyle, Quance, Henry and Fuller finished second, fifth and sixth, respectively. Stigant, Murray and Selchau-Hansen finished second, fifth and sixth in the 100-yard backstroke.
Stigant's day was successful, as he also placed third in the 200-yard individual medley, while Armstrong and Ahuero finished fourth and fifth.
In the 500-yard freestyle, Henry and Fuller grabbed the third- and fourth-place spots. Armstrong and Ahuero notched second- and third-place finishes in the 200-yard breaststroke. Wong, Selchau-Hansen and sophomore Deb Bhowmick finished fourth, fifth and sixth in the 50-yard freestyle, respectively.
The Owls are looking forward to their next meet, the Western Athletic Conference Championship.
The men's competition is scheduled for March 6-8, while the women will compete from Feb. 27 through March 1.
"If what we saw last weekend is any indication," Wingenroth said, "we should race well."
This item appeared in the Sports section of the February 14, 1997 issue.
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