The historically dominant Auburn Tigers swim and dive team will head to Knoxville, Tennessee, this Saturday to participate in the 2026 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships for the remainder of the week, beginning Monday, Feb. 16.
The Tigers are among the favorites on both the men’s and women’s sides, along with returning champion Texas and perennial powerhouse Florida.
Auburn’s men’s team ranks just outside the national top 10 at No. 13, but it will look to solidify its status as one of the top teams in the SEC.
Senior Danny Schmitt will aim to build on his historic performance at last year’s SEC Championships. The German-born Schmitt has recorded top-three times in every 200-yard event in school history except the backstroke. His time of 1:40.43 in the 200-yard butterfly last season is a school record, and he also holds the school’s second-best time in the 400-yard individual medley (3:40.29).
Also watch for breakout star Daniel Krichevsky. The true freshman from Hod Hasharon, Israel, recorded Auburn’s third-best 200-yard freestyle time last November.
On the men’s diving side, Auburn’s electric duo of sophomore Ethan Stewart and junior Talan Blackmon will look to continue their dominant tenures. Both Stewart and Blackmon have recorded all-time top-10 scores in both the one-meter and three-meter dives over the past two seasons.
The women’s swimming and diving team also ranks in the national top 25 this season, currently No. 19 nationally and No. 6 in the SEC.
Auburn has had dominant performers in a variety of events this season, most notably Russian-born graduate student Elizaveta Klevanovich in the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle, Hungarian-born sophomore Lora Komoroczy in the 100-yard backstroke and sophomore Audrey Crawford in the 200-yard breaststroke.
All three have recorded top-five times in school history in their respective events. Juliana Strojnowska has also emerged as a top performer in the freestyle events. Over the past two seasons, the sophomore from Vancouver, Canada, has posted top-10 times in school history in the 200-yard, 500-yard and 1,000-yard freestyle events.
Auburn’s women’s diving team could have one of the most accomplished cores of athletes of any of the school’s teams.
Sophomore Emily Halifax of Nice, France, has posted impressive scores dating back to last season, when she recorded the school’s fifth-highest 1-meter dive score and second-best platform dive score.
Senior Kyleigh Kidd and sophomore Chloe Brothers also rank in the school’s all-time top 10 for platform diving. Auburn’s freshman tandem of Maria Faoro and Juliette Landi could prove to be key contributors at the championships, as they are the only two Tigers this season to record top-10 all-time scores in diving events.
Auburn will have a week to showcase its swimming and diving talent among SEC peers as it looks to capture its first SEC championship since its conference-record 16-season streak ended in 2012. The Tigers will compete all week on SEC Network+.
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Jonathan is a freshman majoring in industrial and systems engineering. He started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2025.
