 "Photo: Patrick Clayton")
Rita Medrano is not the average height for a collegiate swimmer. At 5 feet 4 inches tall, she is the shortest member of the Texas A&M women's swimming team.
"I guess I never realized how much smaller I was than everyone else until I came here," Medrano said. "It's nice to be 'the surprise' when I can beat a girl twice my size."
After graduating first in her class and posting a record-breaking high school career in her hometown of Aguacalientes, Mexico, Medrano traveled more than 700 miles to become an Aggie.
Recruited through e-mails and a personal visit from Head Coach Steve Bultman, the freshman never made a trip to the campus before choosing to attend. Medrano said the spirit she found in Aggieland was enough to pull her away from her family, friends and country.
"It was a difficult decision. I knew I would miss my family," Medrano said. "But now I'm completely sure that I made the right decision, this is my second family now."
In her first season, Medrano has settled in with her new family as a key swimmer in the 200-yard and 100-yard butterfly events.
In December 2008, Medrano won three national titles and earned three national records in her butterfly swims at the 2008 Mexican Short Course National Championships.
Medrano's next test with her teammates is Friday against Texas at her new home pool in College Station.
"Most people don't think the rivalry still exists in swimming," said junior team captain Melissa Hain. "But we get just as fired up as football does against those swimmers from Austin."
It did not take Medrano long to become a part of the rivalry with the Aggies' neighbors from Austin.
"It amazes me how quickly I got into the competition with [Texas]," Medrano said. "It's crazy how much I want to beat them."
Bultman said the showdown on Friday will be a rough competition all around the pool for the Aggie women, who have defeated the Longhorns in the previous two meets.
"We're going to need to race tough every single race," Bultman said. "We especially need a good show from the fans."
The Longhorns are ranked No. 3 nationally, but are coming off their first loss of the season after falling to No. 1 Georgia.
In the diving, the Aggies will look to addition Jaele Patrick to make a splash. Patrick transferred to A&M from the Australian College of Sports Therapy in Melbourne during the winter break.
Against Houston on Jan. 16, Patrick broke the A&M school record on the 3-meter springboard and finished 1.57 points short of breaking the school record on the 1-meter springboard.
Texas senior Kathryn Kelly, the 2008 Big 12 diver of the year and Big 12 diver of the week, is coming off a sweep of No. 1 Georgia's diving team.
The meet will feature six athletes who competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics: Texas swimmers Kathleen Hersey, Hee-Jin Chang and Susana Escobar and Texas A&M swimmers Triin Aljand, Alia Atkinson and Christine Marshall.
Medrano said she is prepared for the competition and talent from both teams on Friday.
"I can't wait to swim," Medrano said. "I want to show my second family what I think of this rivalry."
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