The Auburn Men's and Women's Swim and Dive teams had disappointing losses last Friday to the University of Florida.
The SEC rivals battled it out at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla., as Florida celebrated its senior day.
"Going to Florida on their senior day was a good experience for myself, but especially the young guys on the team," said senior captain Tyler McGill. "The energy of the crowd and the intensity will help us get ready for the SEC championships."
The Gators won nine of the 16 men's events and 10 of the 16 women's events.
The Auburn men lost 162-138, making their season record 4-2 overall and 3-1 in the SEC.
The Auburn women lost 185-115, making their season record 3-4 overall and 2-2 in the SEC.
"A loss is always disappointing, and it is always tougher to lose to a team in the SEC," said senior captain Ava Ohlgren. "We will be facing them again in a couple of weeks at the SEC championships."
Despite the losses, the meet was full of excitement and close races.
Auburn men's 200 medley relay team, junior Jared White, sophomore Adam Brown and seniors Michael Silva and Jordan Anderson finished first in a time of 1:27.07.
Auburn junior Adam Klein took first place in 200 breaststroke, and freshman Stuart Ferguson took first place in the 100 breaststroke. Brown won the 50 freestyle for Auburn with a time of 19.79 and the 100 freestyle in 43.23.
McGill finished second place in the 100 butterfly with a time of 47.07.
"My personal performance versus Florida was good," McGill said. "But, as coach (Brett) Hawke told the team, 'swimming good doesn't always make you feel good.'"
Freshman Kyle Owens placed second in the 200 IM for Auburn with a time of 1:49.41.
Auburn's 400 freestyle relay team, senior Gideon Louw, sophomore Christopher Fox, Brown and McGill, barely missed first place with a time of 2:55.30.
Senior Kelly Marx won both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events for Auburn.
Auburn's women's 200 medley relay team, Ohlgren, senior Melissa Marik and sophomores Micah Lawrence and Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace, came in second place with a time of 1:41.25.
Freshman Katie Gardocki earned second place in the 1000 freestyle for
Auburn with a time of 9:46.66.
Vanderpool-Wallace came in first in the 100 freestyle in 49.59, and she also finished second in the 50 freestyle in 22.92.
Lawrence won both the 100 and 200 breaststroke events.
Ohlgren earned first place in the 100 butterfly with a time of 54.42.
Ohlgren took second place in the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:58.34 and also came in first place in the 200 IM in 1:59.34.
"I was very happy with my personal performance at the meet against Florida,"Ohlgren said."If I focus on some of the smaller details before the next meet and until the championship meets then I should see a lot of improvement."
Auburn's 400 freestyle relay team, Marik, Vanderpool-Wallace and freshmen Becca Jones and Hannah Riordan, came in second place with 3:21.34.
Sophomore Vennie Dantin finished first place in the 3-meter dive with a score of 329.02.
The Tigers are set to race this weekend in Auburn at the 4th annual Ralph Crocker Invitational.Crocker is the former Auburn swimming and diving assistant coach, who died of cancer in 2007.
"I was able to get to know coach Crocker briefly at the start of my freshman season," McGill said. "The one thing I remember him telling me was that my teammates here are going to end up being my family and my time at Auburn is going to be very special. He was more than right and I'm glad that Auburn is where I ended up."
Crocker is remembered not only as a great coach, but also as a strong and remarkable person.
The meet raises money for the Ralph Crocker Foundation, which gives scholarships for Auburn distance swimmers.
"My father ran the distance group, better known as RHOP or 'Ralph's House of Pain' while he was coaching at Auburn," said Cameron Crocker, senior in psychology.
Auburn Aquatics, a local swim club, hosts the meet each year.
"For us, our major contribution to the Ralph Crocker Foundation is being a part of this wonderful event," McGill said. "Being able to compete and be a part of the meet is so important to many of the swimmers on the team."
Many swimmers from Auburn Aquatics, including sophomore Aaron Middleton and freshman Sam Kiefer, now swim at Auburn University.
"I think the meet is great," Crocker said. "I think it is a great way to honor all that my dad did for the swim program here at Auburn and a great way to raise money for his scholarship fund."
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