For the next four days, the Texas A&M Student Recreation Center Natatorium will be overflowing with swimmers and divers, as A&M will be hosting the men's and women's Big 12 Championships.
While the women's side of the Big 12 will present more teams, the men's side has just three swimming and diving teams to watch: the University of Missouri, No. 7 Texas and No. 16 A&M.
Since 2001, the Aggie men have been trying to find a way to upend Texas, taking the runner-up spot to the Longhorns every year in that span. Texas is comfortable in the position though, winning the conference title every year since 1980, and claiming eight national titles in that time.
The Aggie men enter the Big 12 Championship with a 4-3-1 record, while Texas boasts a 5-3 record and Missouri has a 6-2 record.
Texas A&M men's head coach Jay Holmes said that the key for A&M is to concentrate on themselves.
"Nobody can affect what we do but us," he said.
Holmes said that some of A&M's strong areas include the 200 and 400 relay teams, the sprinters as well as the divers. The diving program is led by freshman Eric Sehn, who won the Big 12 Diver of the Month three times.
Texas head coach Eddie Reese said he expects many good swims by talented swimmers at the championship and that speed will be the key to the tournament.
"Going fast is the name of the game in our sport," he said.
Reese said fans, as well as other teams, should look out for sophomore David Donaldson, who has really improved and is one of the hardest workers on the team.
On the women's side of the pool, No. 10 A&M will be vying for the top spot against Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa State, Missouri and No. 4 Texas.
Despite more competition in the women's bracket, Texas and A&M have held on steady to the top two spots in the Big 12 Championship, with Texas coming in first each year since 1999.
A&M head coach Steve Bultman said that when he first got to College Station, the team was happy vying for second, but the Aggies have since gotten better.
"It's fun to see the change and to see the attitude that they're (Texas) not so far out ahead of us that we can't race them," Bultman said.
Some Aggies expected to have a good meet are seniors Danielle Townsend and Courtney Patterson, who finished well in meets against Texas earlier in the year.
Bultman said that aside from winning the championships, one of the big things about the events is that it is the last chance for swimmers to qualify for the NCAA Championships individually.
The first events begin Wednesday and continue through Saturday. Preliminary events will be held at 10 a.m., and the finals events will be held at 6 p.m. that same day.



