Auburn held its senior meet on Friday against arch rival, Alabama. The results of the meet were split. No. 9 Auburn men took down No. 15 Alabama, 184-116. No. 13 Auburn women lost to No. 8 Alabama, 155-145.
The meet started out strong when the men took first and third in the 200-meter medley relay and the women finished first and second.
In the men’s first individual event, the 1000-meter freestyle, Mason Mathias broke the school record finishing in 8:51:45.
While Auburn didn’t take first in the women’s 200-meter medley relay, the fact that it finished with two top-three teams instead of only one gave Auburn more points in that race then Alabama.
The women made a strong statement in the first individual events as they swept the 200-meter freestyle race. This caused an eruption from the crowd as the girls hit the turn into their final lap. The roars continued all the way up until the men’s event.
The men made their strong statement when the Stoffle brothers, Aidan a senior and Nate a sophomore, finished first and second in the 100-meter backstroke race.
In the men’s 100-meter breast, junior Reid Mikuta had a come from behind win as he posted a time that was only .23 seconds from his own school record.
The women put up a complete sweep taking first through fourth in the 200 butterfly. The men’s 200 butterfly came down to one one-hundredth of a second.
At the first break, Auburn women led Alabama with a score of 74-57. The men’s team also led Alabama with a score of 73-39.
Coming out of the break, Auburn women took second and third in the 100-meter free while the men swept second through fourth in the same event.
Auburn divers Ashlynn Sullivan and Abigail Farrar grabbed first and second in women’s three-meter diving.
Nate Stoffle struck again in backstroke but this time in the 200-meter race. He grabbed second place behind Andrew Simmons who took first. This extended the men’s lead to 110-59 over Alabama.
After this, Auburn men took first and second in the one-meter diving.
Towards the end of the meet, Alabama started to close the gap on the women’s side — putting its score within five of Auburn.
The men, however, extended their lead when they finished in second, third and fourth in the 500-meter freestyle.
After taking second and third in the 200-meter Individual Medley (IM), Alabama pulled ahead on the women’s side by five.
The Tigers diving team will take on Georgia Tech and Miami in a Tri-Meet in Atlanta on Jan. 27. The swim team will host an invitational event in Auburn in Feb. 3.
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Lily has been with The Plainsman for three years and started out as a Sports Writer before becoming the Operations Editor. She graduates in May of 2024 and is from Washington, D.C.
