THE WEEK AHEAD
The SMU men’s swimming and diving team is back in action when it travels to Texas A&M for a dual meet with the Aggies on Friday at 7 p.m. CT. The Aggies are receiving votes in the latest CSCAA Top 25 poll. The event will stream live on the SEC Network + for no cost. Live results are also available via SMUMustangs.com and the Meet Mobile app.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
Texas A&M is coming off a 158.5-141.5 dual-meet victory over No. 22 LSU to move to 6-1 (2-1 home) on the season. The only loss of the year came against then-No. 3 Georgia on Jan. 8 in College Station. The Aggies are receiving votes in the latest CSCAA poll after being ranked as high as No. 20 this season.
LAST TIME OUT
The Mustangs opened 2016 with a 150-91 dual-meet victory over Incarnate Word on Jan. 12. SMU opened the event with a victory in the 200 medley relay as Bartosz Krzyzaniak, Stefan Popov, Sam Straughan and Ziga Cerkovnik posted a 1:32.62 for the win. SMU completed the relay sweep to close the event with Krzyzaniak, Lucas Schenke, Straughan and Christian Scherubl taking the 400-yard freestyle relay in 3:08.76.
Schenke won the 1,000 free in a career-best time of 9:32.69 for his first win of the day and posted the afternoon’s top time in the 500 free as well, touching the wall in 4:37.95. Scherubl also doubled for the Mustangs taking the 100 and 200 free in 46.87 and 1:40.40, respectively. Cerkovnik nabbed the top time in the 50 free, which contributed to the sweep in the discipline, as he turned in a 20.88, and won the 100 breast with a 57.02.
In 1-meter action, the Mustangs took the top three spots, with each posting an NCAA Zone qualifying score. Bryce Klein got the win (368.55), while Daniel Pitts earned runner-up honors (321.98) and Parker Meinecke (307.95) was third. It was Meinecke who posted the win in 3-meter, giving him his second qualifying score this year of 324.23. Pitts was second in this event as well with a 299.78.
The Ponies also picked up victories from Straughan in the 100 fly (50.63) and Krzyzaniak in the 100 back (48.95).
NCAA QUALIFIERS
Five Mustangs have posted NCAA qualifying scores so far this season, with Bartosz Krzyzaniak and Bryce Klein leading the way with two each. Krzyzaniak has ‘B’ standards in both backstroke distances, while Klein is headed to the NCAA Zone meet in 1- and 3-meter. Two more swimmers have provisional standards, including Christian Scherubl (200 free) and Stefan Popov (100 breast). Parker Meinecke is the fifth Mustang, posting a Zone score in 1-meter.
CONFERENCE FAVORITES
Bryce Klein has been named the American Athletic Conference Diver of the Week four times this season (Jan. 12,Nov. 24, Nov. 10, Nov. 3). Fellow diver Daniel Pitts joins him with a nod on Oct. 6. On the swimming side, four Mustangs have earned the honor, including Bartosz Krzyzaniak (Nov. 24), Lucas Schenke (Nov. 10), Christian Scherubl (Nov. 3) and Sam Straughan (Oct. 6).
CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
The 2016 American Athletic Conference championship is set for Feb. 17-20 in Houston. NCAA Zone diving qualification takes place March 7-9 in College Station, Texas, and the NCAA Championship takes place in Atlanta,March 24-26.
ROAD TO RIO
Christian Scherubl (Austria) and Lucas Schenke (Germany) have post posted ‘B’ standard qualification times for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. Both have posted marks in the 200 free, while Scherubl has a 100 free time and Schenke has a 400 time.
GEORGIA DIVING INVITE
Bryce Klein advanced to event finals in both the 1- and 3-meter at the three-day Georgia Diving Invite, placing seventh in both events.
The Southlake, Texas, native began competition with a third-place finish out of 31 divers in 3-meter prelims on Sunday, scoring a 363.40 to advance to the event finals. In the afternoon session, Klein posted a 354.30, with an average round score of 59.05 to finish seventh. He kicked off day two with a total score of 319.95 good for eighth in prelims, and improved his total to 322.95 to move up to the seventh spot in the event finals.
Senior Daniel Pitts scored his highest placement of the event in day one 3-meter preliminary action, placing 16th with a score of 280.85. In platform Pitts placed 21st, and was 25th in the opening round on the 1-meter on day two. Fellow senior Parker Meinecke earned finishes of 18th (platform), 22nd (1m) and 25th (3m),while junior Parker Holloway was 23rd (platform), 29th (1m) and 31st (3m).
USA DIVING NATIONALS
Bryce Klein wrapped up competition at USA Diving Winter Nationals placing 11th in the 3-meter event and 10th in the synchronized 3-meter dive. Klein posted a total score of 1162.90 between the three rounds of 3-meter action, which included a 379.10 in Saturday’s final and an average round score of 63.18. In preliminary action, Klein posted a 384.80, and tacked on 399.00 in semifinals to qualify eighth out of 14 divers for finals. Klein also competed in synchronized 3-meter with partner Bradley Christensen of Stanford, who is a fellow Southlake, Texas, native. The pair placed 10th in finals, posting a total score of 623.01 on the day including a 319.71 in finals.
SUMMER ’STANGS
– Bryce Klein and Christian Scherubl represented their respective countries at the 2015 World University Games. Klein represented team USA on the diving side, while Scherubl swam for Austria. Klein competed in both three meter and synchronized three meter events. In the synchro event, Klein and partner placed sixth. On the swimming side, Scherubl placed fourth in his heat of the 50 free, and went on to finish tied for fifth in his heat of the 100 and sixth in the 200.
– Alum Julian Fletcher represented Bermuda at the Pan Am Games finishing fifth in the Consolation Final of the 100 breast.
– Julian Fletcher and Christian Scherubl also competed at the FINA World Championship, with Fletcher placing 49th in the 200 and 52nd in the 100 breast and Scherubl finishing 57th in the 100 free and 17th as part of Austria’s 4×200 meter free relay.
– Tyler Rauth had a standout performance in the 100 fly at USA Nationals, posting a U.S. Olympic Trial qualifying time of 54.28. Sam Straughan competed in the 100 back and 100 fly, placing 66th in the 100 back.
– At USA Diving Nationals, Bryce Klein competed in both the one- and three-meter dives. In one meter prelims, Klein posted a 277.10 for 19th, while he was 23rd in three meter at 294.50. Both Klein and Devin Burnett have qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials.
2015 AAC CHAMPIONSHIP
SMU finished a close second at the 2015 American Athletic Conference Championship winning 11 of the 21 events. The Mustangs finished 34.5 points behind first-place East Carolina. Christian Scherubl was named The American’s Most Outstanding Swimmer, winning the 100-, 200- and 500-yard freestyle events. Devin Burnett earned Most Outstanding Diver honors for the second consecutive year after winning all three diving events (1m, 3m, platform) and diving coach Jim Stillson was named The American’s Men’s Diving Coach of the Year.
A11-CONFERENCE
11 Mustangs landed on the 2015 All-AAC team. Three divers, David Bunn, Devin Burnett and Hayden Hodges, and eight swimmers, Ziga Cerkovnik, Matthew Colket, Eastman Holloway, Bartosz Krzyzaniak, Tyler Rauth, Christian Scherubl, Sam Straughan, and Tucker Wells, received the honor.
Swimming news courtesy of SMU Swimming & Diving.