The No. 1-ranked Texas women’s swimming and diving team proved why it’s the best in the nation as they dominated Texas A&M, 172-123, on Friday at Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.
The Longhorns extended their dual-meet winning streak to 16, and made it four straight wins against Texas A&M. The team was coming off top-20 wins against Indiana and Florida, with individual success as well most notably from junior diver Alison Gibson, who was named Big 12 Diver of the Week.
Gibson picked up right where she left off, with a win in the 3-meter diving event.
“I was really happy with my performance overall,” Gibson said. “For this time of the season, my goal is just to be consistent with my diving. I feel like for the most part today I was consistent. I’m just trying to get out there and do what I know I can do. I feel like I did well today and I’m happy with that.”
The team was excited to face inter-conference foes and their longtime rivals in the Aggies, who came in ranked No. 6 in the country after wins against then-No. 17 Ohio State and Alabama.
“Texas A&M is always a rivalry for us,” said swimmer Joanna Evans, who also took home a win in the 200-yard backstroke. “We love racing against them and they love racing against us. We’ve been working straight through October so we’re tired a little bit, but everyone was just excited to get up and race to see where we were.”
The mindset of the team was not one of nervousness, despite a long winning streak and the top ranking in the country being on the line.
“My mindset is always just to breathe, stay relaxed and have fun with it,” Gibson said. “I try not to put too much pressure on myself and just be in the moment.”
Remedy Rule had a similar mindset and also took home a win in the 200-yard butterfly for the Longhorns.
“It’s just another opportunity to race,” Rule said. “Texas A&M is a great team, and we have a good rivalry with them. It’s always fun competing against them.”
The Longhorns will move on to begin a California road trip, as they take on Stanford on Friday and then travel to Berkeley to take on California the next day. These will be Texas’ first away meets of the season.
However, Texas’ mindset will not change.
“I’m looking to continue to improve on dual meet times, working on my race strategy and keep our team morale high,” Rule said.
The meet will bring some challenges, as it will be held outside unlike the indoor home venue.
“It’s really fun to get out of that comfort zone and do something different,” Gibson said. “I’m really excited — it’s great competition and I’m excited to travel with the team.”
