Auburn’s Swim & Dive team travelled east for the NCAA Zone B diving championships for an action-packed four-day tournament at Gabrielson Natatorium in Athens, Georgia.
February 28th, Auburn hosted the “Last-Chance” meet to allow swimmers a final opportunity to drop time and qualify for the anticipated NCAA Championships. The James E. Aquatic Center brought in nothing but the best, as the Tigers showed out.
Auburn’s very own breaststrokers stole the show as Zoey Zeller, a Junior studying Political Science, swam a 2:08.69 in the 200m Breast, which places her as the No. 4 performer in the event in the history of the program. The stands erupted when 100m breaststroke Uros Zivanovic made a program record as the second-fastest for the event with a 51.10. 200m Men’s Breast swimmer Maston Ballew teased the all-time school record; he was a mere 0.01 of a second away from claiming the title when he swam a 1.52.10
Two freshmen, Bradford Johnson and Mark Schumann, made a name for themselves that weekend. Johnson marked himself as the 9th-fastest performer in the 100 fly with a time of 45.52, and Schumann advanced to No. 7th all-time after completing his event in 3:43.46 seconds.
Senior, Kalle Makinen, notably moved up to 5th all-time for the 100 back with a time of 45.22.
Most notably from the event, three individuals: Danny Schmidt, Lora Komoroczy, and Sohib Khaled all competed with season-best records and are potential candidates for the aforementioned NCAA qualification.
Sunday, Monday and Tuesday featured Women’s 1-Meter, 3-Meter and Platform competitions. For men, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday highlighted their 1-Meter, 3-Meter, and Platform events.
Kicking off the championship, senior Kylie Kidd secured the team not only a top-12 but also an opportunity for her to attend the 1-Meter NCAA Championship with a 274.55.
For the preliminary session, Juliette Landi set the pace for Auburn as 8th overall with a 274.40. A previous Auburn NCAA qualifier, Emily Hallifax, followed in pursuit, placing 12th with a 269.20. On the second list are Kylie Kidd (initially 267.40) and Maria Faoro (266.05).
On Monday, Auburn kept its name on the board. Not only did it mark the first day of competition for the men, but also records, most notably from Ethan Stewart and Juliette Landi. After six dives, Landi managed to earn fifth place with a 334.25 and anchored down a spot in the NCAA Championships. Kylie Kidd secured another place, this time in ninth, going into the finals. On the second list are Maria Faoro and Chloe Brothers. Additionally, for the men, Ethan Swart, Ben Wilson and Talan Blackmon made their way to the finals.
On the final day, Tsvetomir Ereminov, a freshman, leapt his way to a position in the championships.
After the four-day-long championship, six Tigers qualified for the 2026 NCAA Championships. The following student-athletes are anticipated to compete for the National title in their respective events: In platform, Chloe Brothers, Emily Hallifax, Tsvetomir Ereminov; In 3-meter, Juliette Landi; In 1-meter, Ethan Swart; In 100 breast, Uros Zivanovic, Maston Bellew (also qualified for 200 breast and 400 IM); In 100 fly, Daniel Krichevsky (also qualified for 100/200 free), Abdalla Nasr (also qualified for 200 fly).
Relay alternates are as follows: Kalle Makinen, Sohib Khaled, Luke Bedsole, and Warner Russ.
Two separate championships will be held for the men’s and women’s teams. The Women’s 2026 NCAA Swim & Dive Championships are expected to begin on March 18th at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, GA. Ten Auburn female athletes are expected to compete. The Men’s 2026 NCAA Championships occur at the same venue, later that week on March 25th, with the same number of athletes present as the women’s, ten student-athletes.
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