he Tigers wrapped up SEC Championships on Saturday night finishing in second place behind the Florida Gators. Auburn entered the final day having cut the Florida lead to 30 points, but they could not pull any closer than that.
Despite the runner up finish, it was a great final meet for the Tigers. Auburn walked away with six titles and a few new Swimming and Diving record holders. Joe Patching, who had never won a medal at the SEC Championships brought in two Titles for the Tigers. He became the first Auburn Swimmer to win the 200 IM and the 200 back.
"I came into the meet very open with what was going to come and I think the 200 IM gave me good momentum into the other races," Patching said. "To come out today and perform like that really bodes well for the rest of the season.”
Michael Duderstadt was not to be outdone as he earned his first ever SEC Championship medals as well. Duderstadt was able to sweep the breaststroke events becoming the first to achieve that since 2004 and only the fourth ever in Auburn history. He scored a personal best in the 200 breast with a time of 1:53.50, the third best time in school history.
"I was real nervous going into it but a lot calmer than I was going into the 100," Duderstadt said. "It felt real good. This was the first time in a while I swam a real solid 200 breaststroke.
The women are also not be left out of the spotlight. After finishing sixth last year, the women jumped up to fourth in this years final rankings.
"I'm extremely proud of the women," Coach Brett Hawke said. "We started this meet in ninth place and we fought all the way back to fourth. We beat some really good teams. The women showed a lot of heart, a lot of grit. We proved to ourselves that we can compete for a championship and that's what we want to be doing. We're one step closer.”
The stars of the women’s side all finished with personal bests. Ashley Nedeigh and Zoe Thatcher each clocked personal best times in the mile to place fifth and sixth, respectively. Nedeigh walked away with a time of 16:13.03 while Thatcher clocked a 16:15.24.
The Tigers are very positive as they move on to prepare for the NCAA Championships in
Atlanta next month.
"We will take a lot of momentum, a lot of positive swimming, a lot of positive energy and a lot of belief in this team," Hawke said.
To catch a full recap of the men’s events from the week tune into the hour long wrap-up show on March 2nd at 3pm CT on ESPNU. The women will be recapped on the same day at 4:30pm CT.
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