Auburn swim and dive welcomed conference foe Florida to the Plains on Saturday where the two teams competed in a senior day dual meet. Joe Patching won three individual events and Ashley Neidigh, Natasha Lloyd, Aly Tetzloff and Michael Duderstadt each collected two individual wins on the day.
“I thought the women were outstanding today,” Auburn head coach Brett Hawke said. “Both teams were ready to race. It’s just that part of the season where you’ve got some that are feeling great and others that aren’t and you just have to race through it. We’re coming up to a rest period before SECs but overall I’m happy with the quality of the efforts and the way the team is still coming together.”
Auburn’s No. 11 women defeated the No. 20 Gator women, 197-103, while Auburn’s No. 6 men fell to the No. 10 Florida men, 163-137.
Patching made it a backstroke double with a win in the 100 (47.28), his third time winning it this season, and 200 (1:43.92). His win marked the seventh time he has won the 200 this season. Patching has also swept the events three times this season.
“Patch has been such a consistent force for us over the four years and we are surely going to miss him,” Hawke said.
Patching eventually closed out his final dual meet with his fourth win this season in the 200 IM (1:46.19). The win marked his 50th individual event win during his Auburn career.
“I had one last shot at being at home and one last dual meet ever so it was great to just experience that, embrace the team and embrace the atmosphere,” Patching said. “I was hoping for three wins but to go and execute it, and all the times were real good; I had a fight to the finish in the 200 IM but I stepped on the blocks before that race and said ‘this is your last opportunity at home, make the most of it.’ The pain really went away on that last 25 and I just kept my head down and got my hand on the wall.”
Neidigh shined in the distance events, winning the 1000 free (9:42.20) for the sixth time this season, and the first time ever against Florida, and the 500 free in a season-best 4:47.92. She also swept the distances events in meets against Alabama and Wisconsin earlier this season.
“Florida has a really strong distance program and I had never won a distance event against them before so it was nice to go out on a good note and finally get that win against some really tough girls,” Neidigh said. “These four years went by so fast. I don’t want it to be over but it’s great that we get to go out with the win and break it down one last time.”
Lloyd collected her fourth breaststroke sweep of the season, winning the 100 in 1:02.20 and the 200 in 2:14.57.
Tetzloff won the 100 back (53.71) and the 200 IM (2:00.79). This marks the second time this season she has won the 100 back.
“Aly Tetzloff really blew our minds in that 200 IM, she was amazing, and her 100 back was fantastic too,” Hawke said. “I thought the women overall really stepped up and performed.”
Julie Meynen remained undefeated for the Tigers in the 100 free (49.30), leading a 1-2-3 Auburn finish along with Allyx Purcell (49.91) and Aly Tetzloff (49.92).
Erin Falconer (1:48.70), Jessica Merritt (1:49.05) and Zoe Thatcher (1:50.14) also completed a 1-2-3 Auburn sweep in the 200 free.
The Tigers also swept the relay events on the Women's side. Tetzloff, Lloyd, Haley Black and Purcell went 1:40.17 to win the 200 medley relay while Erin Falconer, Meynen, Ellzey and Purcell went 3:21.29 to in the 400 free relay.
Alison Maillard posted a 297.30 in taking second place on the 1-meter after placing third on the 3-meter (291.90). Maddie Cox finished third on the 1-meter (265.65) and fourth on the 1-meter (275.48) while Miranda Telmanik was fifth on the 3-meter (243.90) and sixth on the 1-meter with a season-best 212.33.
“Alison did a solid job on 1-meter and I was pleased with Miranda and scoring in her last dual meet,” Auburn diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. “We are giving too many dives away on the men’s side to really challenge for winning events.”
Scott Lazeroff and Pete Turnham also had impressive showing for Auburn. Lazeroff scored a 335.93 on the 1-meter and a 366.00 on the 3-meter while Turnham’s scores were 333.45 and 335.18, respectively. Justin Checchin was fifth (274.88) on the 1-meter and sixth (275.18) on the 3-meter.
“We are still a work in progress,” Shaffer said. “We are still not competing at the level I know we can, and that’s frustrating and disappointing to see. In my point of view, athletes that should be continuing to push for personal bests and improving and the lack of consistency is a little off. We have three weeks to right the ship and be ready for SECs.”
The Tigers now must focus on the future. Auburn will compete in the SEC Championships next month in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Feb. 14.
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