Ava Ohlgren: set an Auburn record in the 200-yard Butterfly at the 2008 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships on Saturday, March 22, in Columbus, Ohio. Todd Van Emst/AUBURN MEDIA RELATIONS
The Women’s Swimming and Diving team took second place at the 2008 NCAA Championship in Columbus, Ohio this past weekend, losing to the University of Arizona.
Arizona secured 484 team points while Auburn totaled 348, besting Stanford who finished third with a 343 total.
For the past seven years, Auburn has finished either first or second at the NCAA Championships.
The Tigers won 43 All-American honors from 14 different athletes during the three-day event.
Sophomore Ava Ohlgren and seniors Kara Denby and Emily Kukors each earned seven All-American honors, joining just 13 other Auburn swimmers who have reached this all-time mark.
Auburn started the NCAA Championship by breaking a six-year-old school record, finishing fourth in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:28.79.
Ohlgren, Denby, Kukors and junior Emile Ewing broke the record formerly held by Becky Short, Maggie Bowen, Cassidy Maxwell and Eileen Coparropa with a 1:28.92 mark.
Ohlgren won the Tigers first individual title in the 200 IM with a time of 1:53.94, which set a new pool record at Ohio State’s McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. She missed the NCAA and Auburn record time of 1:53.91, held by Bowen.
“It felt great, really smooth, and it was just awesome,” Ohlgren said. “I’m so excited. I missed the record by .03, but, oh well, I’ll get it next year.”
Auburn swam its fastest 400 medley relay of the season with a time of 3:32.84 to finish second behind Arizona, who won with a time of 3:29.06, which set a new NCAA, American and U.S. Open record.
“I was pretty confident that the girls had set me up well for that last leg, and it was just my job to go out and finish,” Kukors said. “Arizona had a great start on the relay, and I had to chase and get my hand on as quick as possible to score as many points for the team as we could.”
The Women’s Swimming and Diving team: won second place at the NCAA Championships last weekend in Columbus, Ohio. Anthony Hall / MEDIA RELATIONS
Denby became the second Auburn swimmer to ever break a minute in the 100 breast, winning the B Final with a time of 59.99.
Arizona won the 800 free relay with a time of 6:58.69, joining Auburn as the only two teams ever to break the seven-minute barrier for the event.
The Tigers set their time of 6:57.28 at the SEC Championships last month.
Maggie Bird, a sophomore, finished fourth in the 1650 free with a time of 15:59:81.
Auburn has had at least one swimmer in the top five of the 1650 free each year since 2005.
“It really hurt a lot, swimming that far,” Bird said. “There were a few little details that I need to work on to get better, but overall I’m happy with it. I’ve made a lot of strides since last year.”
Denby placed fourth in the 50 free with a time of 48.20, finishing slower than her preliminary time of 47.92.
With her preliminary time, she became the first Auburn swimmer in history to break 48 seconds in the event.
Ohlgren set a new Auburn record in the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:54.64, finishing third in the event. She broke Kukors’ record from the SEC Championships.
Maggie Bird: took fifth place in the 1600-yard freestyle at the 2008 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships. Anthony Hall / MEDIA RELATIONS
Ohlgren now holds two Auburn records, the 200 butterfly and the 400 IM.
“It has been an honor to be associated with such a winning tradition,” said Richard Quick, head coach.
The Tigers, who have experienced several coaching changes in recent years, said that this has not hurt their performance.
“This is an incredibly resilient team,” said co-head coach Dorsey Tierney-Walker. “With every challenge that coaches give them, they just get stronger.”
However, the many of the swimmers insist they have gotten more than just championships from their time swimming at Auburn.
“I am so blessed and honored to stand by these 16 other girls and race our hearts out,” Kukors said. “I know it sounds so cliché, but I really didn’t come to Auburn to be a part of a national championship. I came to be part of something better than I had ever imagined.
