Feb. 6, 2010

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FORT WORTH, Texas – The TCU men’s swimming and diving team captured the 2009-10 Mountain West Conference Dual Meet Season Championship Saturday, dismantling No. 22 UNLV by the score of 177-117 in front of a capacity crowd at the University Rec Center Natatorium.

TCU finished the regular season with a perfect 7-0 overall record, including an unbeaten 5-0 mark against the league. The undefeated season is the first in the program’s history, while the Frogs finish the year as the only undefeated team in the MWC. The conference title serves as the first for TCU since joining the MWC in 2005-06.

“This is one of the biggest wins in our program’s history,” TCU head coach Richard Sybesma said. “It was our biggest crowd ever and for them to witness us win a conference championship is really special. It’s great to be a Horned Frog right now. Our program is on the rise.”

“We had a phrase before we went into this, “Until Now”, but at the same time, we knew that to be the champion, we would have to beat the champion. It is great to be a champion today.”

The Frogs started the night with a thrilling 200-medley relay win, as the team of Laszlo Gyurko, Edgar Crespo, Edgar Peyro and Josh Bagby streamlined into the wall at 1:31.10, just two one-hundredths of a second faster than the runner-up squad from UNLV at 1:31.12.

“The opening relay really set the tone, winning it by two one-hundredths of a second,” Sybesma said. “I think that after that our stroke events were really solid, but more importantly, when we were able to win events, we were able to sweep them by finishing 1-2-3 or 1-2-4. That was really a big key to our victory.”

The win gave TCU an early 13-4 advantage, but that wouldn’t last long. UNLV battled to take two events to move past the Frogs, 29-26, before junior Jeff Gettel could tie the meet at 37-37 with a 100-back victory at 50.55.

Crespo and junior Andy Garcia-Montes gave the Purple and White the lead again, finishing 1-2 in the 100-breaststroke. Crespo, a Panama City, Panama product snapped former Horned Frog All-American Jason Flint’s 1998 program record time by pacing the field at 55.01. TCU would never look back, holding the lead for the remainder of the night.

TCU wins leaders Gettel and Crespo weren’t done for the night. Gettel, a Plano, Texas native, completed his perfect season in the backstroke, toppling the field in the 200-back at 1:50.15. Gettel never lost from his back this season, going 13-0 for the year, and has never lost in the 200-back against the MWC in his career. Crespo also won the 200-breast, finishing his season with a perfect 12-0 mark in the breaststroke events. TCU finished 1-2-3 in the 200-breast, as Garcia-Montes and senior Ben Biefnes followed to sweep the event.

In his final home meet as a Horned Frog, 10-time all-MWC selection Bagby claimed the 100-free with a time of 46.13, while also earning runner-up standards in the 50-free. Sophomore Friedrich Grott also chimed in with a win, running away with the 200-fly at 1:50.39. TCU took the top three spots in the 200-IM, as Garcia-Montes led the way (1:53.48), followed by Gettel (1:54.26) and Biefnes (1:55.38).

From above, junior Kyle Callens turned in his season-high score from the three-meter springboard, winning the event with a 369.83 scorecard for the second-best output in TCU history. The Deer Park, Texas product completed the sweep of the diving events by posting a 336.30 total from the one-meter springboard.

On the women’s side, seniors Stephanie Futscher and Jennifer Ferguson led the charge in their final home meets. Futscher picked a win in the 200-fly with a time of 2:05.97, while Ferguson claimed the three-meter springboard at a season-high mark of 320.93.

Sophomore Maria Paula Alvarez enjoyed another multi-win meet, earning victories in both the 500-free (5:05.29) and 1000-free (10:25.45). Sophomore Jenny Oster also had a strong night, winning the 100-fly with a time of 58.13, while also earning runner-up honors in the 100- and 200-back.

TCU will now enjoy an 18-day layoff to prepare for the MWC Championships, Feb. 24-27, at Oklahoma City Community College.