The men’s swim and dive team placed third out of six teams this weekend at the Georgia Swimming Invitational in Athens, Georgia, scoring 656 points in the event. The No. 17 ranked Tigers outswam the No. 10 ranked Michigan Wolverines (503 pts) and ACC foes Virginia (608 pts) and Florida State (539.5 pts). Auburn fell to No. 6 California and the host squad: the No. 13 Georgia Bulldogs.
Junior Peter Holoda led the way for Auburn, anchoring the Tigers with a first place finish in the 100 free with a time of 42.69. His swim came off a time of 43.18 in the prelims, and is currently ranked ninth nationally. Sophomore Scott Lazeroff notched a first place finish in the 3-meter on Saturday, and placed second on Sunday.
Michael Duderstadt placed third in the 200 breastroke with a time of 1:55.53. Alec Morris claimed the top Tiger spot in the mile, finishing tenth overall with a time of 15:28.66.
“I was very satisfied to finish third against some really strong competition considering we came into the meet totally unrested,” Auburn head coach Brian Hawke said. “It was a very trying performance for the men overall. We are certainly happy with the meet and we are heading in the right direction. There were a lot of season-best times and that puts us in good position heading into Christmas training.”
Joe Patching earned fifth place in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:42.50. Pete Turnham finished fourth in the 3-meter behind Lazeroff, with a time of 309.90, while Justin Checchin placed 11 with a time of 217.40. The men’s team scored a sixth place finish in the 400-free relay. (2:53.67)
“I thought we dived a little tired and weren’t as competitive as I’d like to see,” diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. “Scott’s second place finish looks great, but he had two dives that scored only a 4.0 and 4.5. He was 70 points off his last platform competition. Pete executed four solid dives but his back and reverse optionals were off the mark.”
The women’s swim and dive team also contested in Athens. Auburn’s Alison Malliard (231.50) and Maddie Cox (212.70) finished sixth and seventh respectively on the platform.
“We need to be better at finishing our dives, since the last thing the judges see is the entry,” Shaffer said. “The women were consistent but need to increase their degree of difficulty to improve their scoring potential, which is what we’ll focus on.”
The swimmers and divers now part ways, as the swimmers have reached the conclusion of their fall competition, and the divers will host the Auburn Diving Invitational from Dec. 17-19. The divers travel to Knoxville for the Tennessee Invitational from Jan. 3-5. The men’s team remains undefeated in individual meets, and the Tigers will continue conference play when they host Texas A&M on Jan. 7 at the James E. Martin Aquatic Center.
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