The LSU men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams each recorded dual-meet victories over Texas A&M on Friday, Oct. 23, in the LSU Natatorium, marking the first win over the Aggies for the men since 2014 and the women since 2001.
The No. 17 LSU women dominated Texas A&M by a score of 215-83. Sophomore Martina Bukvic broke a 15-year-old school record in the 100 breaststroke, and the women went on to win every swimming event for the second consecutive meet.
The No. 14 LSU men defeated the Aggies by a score of 181.5-116.5. Senior Jere Hribar had a historic night, setting a school record and three pool records. Junior Nikola Simic smashed his own school record in the 1000 freestyle, and the Tiger men won all but two of the swimming events.
Friday night’s meet kicked off with the 200 medley relay. The LSU women’s squad of Zoe Carlos-Broc, Bukvic, Avery Littlefield and Nina Stanisavljevic took the top time at 1:35.59. The men’s group of Zach Dale, Volodymyr Lisovets, Caleb Ellis and Hribar notched the top spot with a time of 1:24.40.
The first individual event was the 1000 freestyle, which saw Nicole Santuliana touch the wall first with a time of 9:48.76. Simic followed up with a record-breaking performance, logging a time of 8:47.41 to beat his own school record in the event by five seconds. Santuliana later placed first in the 200 fly (1:59.69).
In the 200 free, LSU freshman Sophie Benn took the top spot with a time of 1:45.50, while Jovan Lekic finished with a time of 1:35.24 to earn the win on the men’s side. They each went on to win the 500 free as well, with Benn recording a time of 4:47.44 and Lekic a time of 4:18.39.
Carlos-Broc and freshman Zach Dale each won the 100 backstroke. Carlos-Broc did so with a time of 52.21, and Dale recorded a time of 46.68. Dale went on to win the 200 back, clocking a time of 1:43.50. Parker Del Balso won the event on the women’s side (1:55.42).
Bukvic touched the wall first in the 100 breast with a time of 58.58 to break Jane Trepp’s record, which had been held since 2011. Lisovets posted a time of 52.25 to take care of business on the men’s side. Bukvic and Lisovets also went on to take first in the 200 breast with a time of 2:08.01 from Bukvic and 1:55.61 from Lisovets.
In the 50 freestyle, Littlefield and Hribar each sped to the top spot, Littlefield recording a time of 22.03, while Hribar put up a pool record time of 18.68. Hribar later went 41.21 in the 100 free for another LSU Natatorium record. Stanisavljevic clocked a time of 48.38 to win the women’s 100 free.
Littlefield and Hribar weren’t done there. Littlefield won the 100 fly with a time of 52.09, while Hribar set a pool and school record, clocking a monster time of 45.36.
The final swimming event of the evening was the 400 free relay, which saw the LSU women’s squad of Bukvic, Littlefield, Benn, and Stanisavljevic put together a time of 3:14.97. The LSU men’s group of Andreas Da Silva, Matias Santiso, Diggory Dillingham and Simon Meubry clocked a winning time of 2:52.50.
On the women’s side, senior transfer Sydney Guidara placed first in the 1-meter with a score of 279.0, followed by Julie Moons (265.43) and Bridget Foster (259.35). In the 3-meter dive, Foster led the way with a score of 311.10, followed by Moons and Guidara.
Emilio Trevino Laureano, last season’s NCAA Champion the platform dive, swept the 1- and 3-meter dives with scores of 327.85 and 374.18, respectively. Sophomore Vladyslav Klimko took second in the 1-meter with a score of 319.65.
Also logging first-place finishes for the Aggies were sophomore AJ Robinson in the 200 butterfly and junior transfer Carter Lancaster in the 200 IM.
