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In sports, and in life, some wins are more meaningful than others.
The Texas A&M swimming and diving team had one of those wins Saturday against Texas, winning in Austin for the first time. Senior Aggie swimmer Beth McCullough said it was one of her sweetest memories.
"Coach [Steve Bultman] reminded us before the meet that A&M had never won in that pool," McCullough said. "We knew we were going to do pretty well, but we didn't know it was the first time. I couldn't have done it without my team, they're awesome."
McCullough, who grew up in Austin, swam with many members of the Texas team during her childhood and watched her friends go to the rival school. During her youth, she even swam in the Longhorns' pool. She said winning in dominating fashion was her way of leaving a legacy.
"It's pretty cool going back there, on their turf, and leaving your mark," she said. "Everyone from my area that I knew went to Texas to swim, but I left to come here where the swimming tradition wasn't as great. We went back there and we beat them and it's a nice feeling."
The turnaround of the swimming program the in past two years has been one of leaps and bounds. A&M has always been top-notch, but in 2008, Bultman assembled championship contenders and McCullough said she and the other seniors feel like integral parts of the transformation.
Even though her time is almost up, she said she is confident about finishing strong and is enthusiastic about the future. "It's definitely different than it was four years ago," she said. "Being a senior is bittersweet, since you're almost done, but at the same time the journey has been really exciting."
Perhaps more important than gaining national notoriety was surpassing Texas, during the meet and in the rankings. McCullough said the Longhorns were always her team's biggest obstacle, and beating them symbolized its jump to the next level.
"We started out way below Texas," she said. "Now, we're not only battling them and beating them, but we're way past that."
A&M ramped up its strength of schedule in 2008, swimming against Southern Methodist, Louisiana State and Auburn, all ranked teams. Its only loss came against No. 1 Auburn, which was decided by a narrow 16-point margin. McCullough said the loss was a tough one, but did not diminish the team's confidence. To the contrary, she said it gave the Aggies a boost, and showed them where they stand with other top teams.
"I don't consider that meet a setback at all," the senior team captain said. "It'd be nice to be undefeated like last season, but we didn't face anyone like Auburn. The fact that it came down to the last relay in that meet really boosted our confidence. We didn't need to beat them. Getting that close was definitely good enough."
The meets that matter to the Aggies will be the NCAA championships in March and nearly defeating the defending national champions showed McCullough that the Aggies could improve on their No. 8 finish from 2007. She said it was time for the Aggies to set their sights higher.
"That's where it matters," she said. "Our goal this year has been to focus on the NCAA's instead of the conference and dual meets. The NCAA's are where the big teams are, and to compete with them now and be that close gives an indication of how the end of the season is going to be."
McCullough will close her career as team captain during her final two years, an honor not often given. She said it was a position she was almost reluctant to accept, but it showed the faith the other members had in her, and her co-captains make the job less taxing.
"I was surprised because I'm not always the loud kid on the team," she said. "My two co-captains with me this year made it really special. The girls make the job really easy because the attitude of the team is incredible. I just try to lead by example."
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