Auburn wrapped up its season in Knoxville, Tennessee in the NCAA Championships. The women placed 30th overall after going into the meet ranked 15th in the nation.
The first day consisted of the women’s 200-meter yard relay and the 800-yard freestyle relay. Meghan Lee, Anastasia Makarova, Claudia Thamm and Lexie Mulvihill swam the 200-yard medley race finishing in 1:37:00 and in 19th place overall.
Following this, the Tigers ended their three-year drought of not scoring points in the 800-yard freestyle relay, landing in 16th place. Swimmers Polina Nevmovenko, Hannah Ownbey, Emily Hetzer and Daisy Platts all earned All-American honorable mentions honors with a 7:04.82 time.
On the second day, there were no final swims but some of the athletes saw personal bests. Junior, Hannah Owenby, had a career high when she finished 45th overall. This is the highest she had placed in this event since 2021.
Mulvihill, Emma Steckiel, Rebekah Hamilton and Nevmovenko posted the fastest time of the season in the 200-yard freestyle relay. However, after review, it was found that there was an early take off on a dive, leading them to be disqualified.
Day three led to the largest leap for the Tigers. Lee led the 400-yard relay to a 14th place finish and All-American honors.
In her second swim, the 100-yard butterfly, she landed 11th overall with a 51.20, putting her into the finals. She is the first individual to do so at this years NCAA championships. In the final, she went the same time as her first swim, landing her 12th place and All-American honorable mention honors.
In the 100-yard breaststroke race, Auburn record holder Makarova finished in 59.86, placing her in 29th. Auburn almost had a second showing in the finals when she finished .01 seconds off her personal best finishing 51.75. This time put her in 17th in the 100-yard backstroke. Lee was close to her second final, finishing 20th overall with a time of 51.97.
On the last day, Auburn continued to impress. Senior Averee Preble finished the 1650-yard freestyle race in 16:02.99. This put her in eighth place overall. She was given All-American honors. This time also gave her the seventh-fastest time in Auburn history.
Hetzer also swam the 1650-yard freestyle, finishing in 16:06.04 which placed her 14th overall. In the final event of the 400-yard freestyle relay, Auburn finished in 18th, with a time of 3:15.46.
Next, the mens team will take on the NCAA from March 22-25th at the University of Minnesota.
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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.
