Auburn swimming and diving wrapped up the dual meet season Friday, Jan. 29, by facing off against Florida State and Wisconsin. In total, Auburn was able to win 14 events with key contributions from Maddie Cox, Michael Duderstadt, and Justin Youtsey.
Auburn was able to sweep the Seminoles, but the men walked away with a win over Wisconsin while the women did not.
The men came into the event ranked seventh in the nation and will likely jump into a higher ranking following this event. The women entered the day ranked 11th in the country but lost to the 17th-ranked Wisconsin team.
“Both the men and women showed up today to race and compete,” said men’s coach Brett Hawke. "The men are gaining confidence each meet they go into. Beating Florida last week really gave them a boost and you can tell they have really gone to another level and that's a good thing going into SECs.”
Youtsey and Cox were able to lead a sweep in the diving events for the Tigers. Youtsey, who was recognized before the meet as a senior on the team, scored 399.95 on the 3-meter and 368.05 on the 1-meter, a personal best. Cox scored a personal best of 313.65 on the 3-meter, and also contributed a score of 283.35 on the 1-meter.
Perhaps the biggest story of the day was Michael Duderstadt, the reigning SEC Swimmer of the Week, who continued his dominance and won the 100 breast for the fifth time this season. Duderstadt also secured a win in the 100 freestyle and swam the breaststroke leg of the winning 200 medley.
On the women's side, Natasha Lloyd and Annie Lazor came up big for the Tigers in numerous events.
Lloyd just barely out-touched Lazor in the 100-meter, winning by .55 seconds. In the 200-meter, the two flipped roles and Lazor came in first to out-touch Lloyd by .22 seconds.
"Annie and Tash are training partners, and ever since Georgia they have been so in sync and swimming lights out," said women's associate coach Lauren Hancock. "The way the breaststroke is timed in the event is perfect for them.”
The SEC Swimming and Diving Championship will take place at Missouri from Feb. 15-20.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
