The Tigers hadn’t won an individual or relay event all week until the fifth and final session of the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships Saturday, Feb. 21, at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center.
The first individual victory came from Auburn’s Fraser McKean, who closed out his last SEC championship with one of his best performances on the platform. The senior’s last dive landed him the top spot with a score of 451.95.
The first relay victory came from Auburn’s Arthur Mendes, Jacob Molacek, Michael Duderstadt and Kyle Darmody. The Tiger squad ended the five-day competition on a good note for Auburn, finishing with a time of 2:48 in the men’s 400 free relay.
“We’re defending national champions in that race,” said head coach Brett Hawke. “We wanted to get a win in the end. We didn’t want to leave here without getting that winning feeling and leaving that taste in everybody’s mouth that we’re still here. It felt really good for the boys to get that win. There just weren’t enough big swims.
Auburn’s men finished the 2015 SEC’s in third place. The Tigers’ 1,084 points were not enough to overcome the strong swimming of Florida and Georgia.
On the women’s side, the Tigers finished in 6th place with 722 points after remaining there for most of the competition.
Grant Schenk found his own personal pace in the men’s 1,650 freestyle to start the day. The freshman finished 11th overall with a time of 15:07.50. It was the fifth-best performance in Auburn history. Sophomore Ashley Neidigh finished her 66 laps in 16:15.78, good for 7th place.
In the men’s 200 backstroke, Joe Patching, who placed 10th in the event as a freshman, was passed in the back half by Missouri and Tennessee, but managed to touch in at 1:40.46 for 3rd place.
Auburn’s men had a 3, 4, 5, 6 finish in the 200 backstroke and junior Jillian Vitarius finished in 11th place for the women in Event 35. Sophomore Kyle Darmody finished with bronze with a time of 42.44, junior Arthur Mendes took 4th, freshman Jacob Molacek took fifth, while Peter Holoda came in at 6th place.
No one could catch Florida’s Natalie Hinds in the women’s 100 freestyle, but Auburn’s women were quick from one stroke to the next as sophomore Allyx Purcell claimed 4th place with a time of 48.82 and freshman Valerie Hull finished 11th for the
Tigers. Sophomore Michael Duderstadt and freshman Zach Warner finished 7th and 10th on the men’s side, respectively.
Annie Lazor led Auburn’s women in the 200 breaststroke. The junior’s dolphin kick on the last turn brought her in at 2:09.24 for 5th place.
Auburn’s Fraser McKean got redemption on his second-place finish last year in front of this year’s home crowd. The senior was consistent with his diving throughout the meet and a tight position with little splash on his last dive landed him the top spot to close the meet with a score of 451.95.
“I have been working on that dive all year,” said senior Fraser McKean. “It came down to the last round just like it did last year. I was just thankful that I was able to pull it out and get the win this time.”
Alabama was the only one who stood a chance against Auburn’s speed in the men’s 400 free relay, but a strong anchor in Darmody closed out the competition with a gold medal for the Tigers. He finished with a time of 2:48.98.
Georgia’s women haven’t known anything but winning in the SEC for the past six years, and they kept the tradition alive this year. The Bulldog’s women capped off their 6th straight championship with a 1st-place finish on the 400 free relay. Auburn’s women finished 4th, with a time of 3:15.38.
“We had some outstanding freshman performances so that’s really good for the future, but overall there just weren’t enough,” Hawke said. “We’re going to go back and regroup and prepare for NCAA’s now because that is the next big step.”
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