Auburn’s swimming and diving team paced through the second day of the conference championships after earning 13 swims in prelims Wednesday, Feb. 18, for the second day of finals at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center.
When it was all said and done, Auburn’s men dropped two spots in the rankings to third place and its women’s team was bumped up to sixth place.
Auburn’s Hugo Morris was unable to catch up with the large bunch of distance swimmers, but managed to touch-in with a season-best time of 4:23.02 in the men’s 500-yard freestyle. Sophomore Mitch D’Arrigo from Florida set the pace for the event coming in at 4:10.77, the fastest time in the nation this year.
“I thought today was well raced by our freshmen and sophomores,” said head coach Brett Hawke. “They are continuing to grow.”
Auburn’s women were ranked 10th in the standings with 108 points through Event 8 where senior Amber McDermott from Georgia took the gold with the third fastest time (35.19) in the nation this year.
Sophomore Joe Patching led Auburn with a third place finish in the men’s 200-yard medley, touching in at season-best 1:43.16, but Georgia took the gold in the ninth event. Junior Jordan Jones (1:46.80), freshman Jacob Molacek (1:43.71) and senior Alexander Hancock (1:46.22 ) finished with season-best times as well.
Auburn’s men came out of Event 11 ranked third after sophomore Kyle Darmody led the pack with a third place finish in the men’s 50-freestyle with a time of 19.33. Sophomore Michael Duderstadt was not far behind as he came in 7th place. Sophomore Kristian Gkolomeev from Alabama won the event.
The women’s team had three Tigers finish in the top-15 in the 50-yard freestyle. Senior Megan Fonteno touched in at 22.47 for 10th place, freshman Ashton Ezlley touched in at 22.59 for 12th and sophomore Allyx Purcell finished with a season-best of 22.62 for 14th place. Junior Chantal Van Landeghem from Georgia left everyone in the dust as she came in at 21.74 for the first-place finish.
“Our women have continued to show fight and grit to get back in striking distance,” Hawke said.
Auburn’s men and women came up just short in their 200-yard freestyle relays.
Auburn and Alabama were neck and neck in the second heat of the men’s 200-yard freestyle, but the Crimson Tide beat the Tigers by .4 seconds for a first place finish.
The Tigers women touched in at 1:28.05, just shy of Georgia’s Lauren Harrington, who touched in at 1:27.55 for another first-place finish for the Bulldogs and to conclude the second day of the SEC Swimming and Diving Competition.
“We’re really proud of how everyone performed,” Hawke said. “As we move towards the rest of the week, we’ll continue to improve and get better.”
Auburn will continue its battle with the rest of the conference in the third day of final championships Thursday, Feb. 19 at 6 p.m.
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