Feb. 16, 2006
Complete Results | Photo Gallery
Knoxville, Tenn. - After two days of exciting competition at the SEC Championship, the Auburn men are in first with 421 points and the women in second with 338 behind Georgia. The Tiger men's sprinters were the story of the day as AU managed a sweep of the 50 free and took the 200 free relay title to conclude the evening in Knoxville. Five Tigers also put together runner up finishes in individual events and the women's 200 free relay was also second.
"We thought it would be a real close meet and it is a real close meet," Auburn head coach David Marsh said. "I was very pleased to make a move after this morning. The individual medley kind of help create that and the momentum from the sprints helped us as well. Tomorrow morning is always the key day for us. If we want to make a move on Georgia on the women's side then it will happen tomorrow morning. If we want to pull away on the men's side it will also happen tomorrow. Otherwise, I am expecting this meet to come down to the last day, last session. This was a strong day for us so we should have scored a lot of points and we did and I am very pleased with that. We will have to keep improving from here."
For the fourth straight year the men's 200 free relay stood first on the podium. The dynamic team of Alexei Puninski (20.11), Cesar Cielo (19.31), Scott Goodrich (19.28) and George Bovell (19.47) posted the fastest time in the country - 1:18.17 - for the victory over the Gators to continue to increase the overall team lead. Bovell in the anchor position has been a member of the last two winning free relays and this one marks his fourth SEC relay title.
"In that relay in particular we wanted to send a message to all the other teams in the country to let them know that we are ready and are coming for them," anchor Bovell said. "It is always great to swim in a final with my Auburn teammates and to push each other for the benefit of the team."
Of the four leg's on the relay, Auburn men turned in the fastest split of the field on three. Scott Goodrich had the best split of the entire race - 19.28 - in the third position. This after, just turning in a second place finish in the 50 free.
Three AU men's sprinters stood together at the end of the evening on the podium as Cielo, Goodrich and Bovell finished 1, 2, 3 in the 50 free. This is the second time in three year's Auburn men have finished in this order as the same result occurred at the 2004 championships (Bousquet, Wochomurka, Gibb). Cielo posted the third fastest time - 19.49 - in the nation and the sixth fastest in AU history to win the event. Goodrich made a name for himself at this meet beginning with this event where he earned second, blasting to the wall in a time of 19.70. Bovell ended up third in a fast 19.82 to complete the sweep.
"This was my first time swimming in a championship meet for Auburn," Cielo said. "I just had a lot of fun out there because I was able to swim with my teammates. It almost felt like an Auburn practice with Scott and George right there with me. It was a very comfortable race. I think the results were as expected and we were very happy."
Also adding points in the 50 free were Puninski and Bryan Lundquist in the B final. Puninski swam a strong 20.03, a season high, for the win and Lundquist ended up ninth overall with a time of 20.14. When combined the AU sprinters scored 97 points in just that event.
"All I know is that we earned a lot of points from that finish," Marsh said. "That is certainly what we are most concerned with. Cesar led the way and he keeps getting better as he races more and more. I am excited about that. George didn't have quite the turn that he had in the morning and I think he has a lot better things to come down the road. Really today was quite a breakthrough for Scott, he has kind of been the sprinter pulling up from the rear but he has become part of the mix and a guy that is going to continue developing very nicely and become one of the best U.S. sprinters."
For the second year in a row Eric Shanteau was the runner up finisher behind Florida's Ryan Lochte, but this time it was a much closer race. Just over one second separated the two as Shanteau touched the wall in an SEC Championship best time of 1:44.67 and Lochte finished in 1:43.31. Shanteau trailed the NCAA Champion after the second leg but pulled even on his strong event, the breaststroke, as he flew through the water with a split of 29.65, the fastest of the field. Shanteau and Lochte were even on the first 25 yards of the free but Lochte pulled ahead in the end with a one second better free split, which made the difference in the end.
"This was a personal best swim for me at SEC's so I am happy about that," Shanteau commented. "I am happy to improve from last season's time at SEC's. I felt real good out there and am happy with my place. I am happy about how my teammates swam today and I can't argue about how it went for us as a whole today."
"We always want to consider the 200 IM the cornerstone of our program," Marsh said. "It is the event that represents the most versatility and tonight was a good example of that. I was very proud of how they swam and they raced tough which was probably the most satisfying thing."
Also competing in the championship final of the 200 IM were James Wike and Joey Schneider. Wike earned his first automatic qualifier with a fourth place finishing time of 1:45.64. Schneider ended up sixth, touching in 1:48.54.
Auburn women's distance corp racked up 61 points in the 500 free championship final from three Tigers. Adrienne Binder posted an improved automatic qualifying time as she touched the wall in 4:43.38. Teammate Hayley Peirsol was not far behind as she also bettered her `A' cut time, swimming 4:43.80 tonight. Newcomer Chelsea Haser made her mark on the SEC with a sixth place finish in an auto time of 4:45.38, to break her lifetime best record she set in the morning session. Kristen Hastrup added 16 points as she won the B final in a career best time of 4:45.81, also a `B' cut.
"We had a lot of breakout performances tonight, one being from Chelsea Haser," co-women's head coach Dorsey Tierney-Walker said. "Chelsea has been training with Adrienne and Hayley all year and she hung tough in that 500 free final more than any athlete I have seen in quite a while, especially for a freshman. It was very rewarding for the entire team to watch her do what she did today and I have she has a lot more to contribute."
This afternoon's men's 1-meter final was almost a mirror image of the result from last night's 3-meter. The final outcome came down to the final dive of the competition between Auburn's Steve Segerlin, but this time with Georgia's Genya Gouzeev. Segerlin stepped up for his inward 2.5 somersault and performed it nearly flawless for a score of 74.40 and a grand total of 357.90 to take the runner-up finish for the second straight year and his second of this SEC meet. The Bulldog's Chris Colwill successfully defended his title with a score of 441.05.
"I am pleased with that result," head diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. "We did a change in the order of his list and put his inward 2.5 last. In the prelim's he had it set up pretty well but he came out early and it was nice to see him step up in another pressure situation. He had to his final dive to get second and he did. We still have a little work to do on finishing up some things but I was real pleased with how Steve competed today."
For the second y ear in a row the AU women's 200 free relay finished second behind Georgia. This year's group - Margo McCawley, Jana Kolukanova, Emile Ewing and Emily Kukors - earned the automatic qualifier with a final time of 1:30.63. The group was edged out by the Bulldogs by a mere 0.35 even though AU anchor Kukors had the faster split (22.45) to UGA's Jessica Cole's 22.70. Kolukanova had the fastest split of the quad - 22.22, better than her time in the 50 free final's earlier.
"As I told our women today, we may not be a team of superstars but we have a great team environment," Tierney-Walker said. "I think what they have been able to achieve so far just by momentum and hard work and challenging themselves to put them in a position to score is a real positive and something that we work towards. It is something that will help us be even better four weeks from now."
Kukors entered as the second seed in the 200 IM and that is exactly where she ended up in the final. Kukors swam just one one-hundredth of a second slower than the morning prelim - 1:58.98 - to grab the runner up finish in her first SEC Championship IM final. Anne Amardeilh turned in another lifetime best swim to place fifth - 2:00.80 - good enough to move her one spot on the AU all-time top performers list. Alicia Jensen, who entered the final with the fourth fastest qualifier of the B final field, placed second with career best 2:01.16.
"Anne had an outstanding IM tonight," Tierney-Walker said. "Alicia had a big drop in her time and Emily will continue to be solid and her anchor on the end of the 200 free relay demonstrates that."
Kolukanova in her final SEC Championship 50 free final turned in her highest finish of her career - third with an improved `A' cut time of 22.61. Also scoring for the Tigers were Rachel Goh and Ewing in the B final. Goh ended up eighth overall with a season best 23.24 and Ewing came in 11th (23.43).
"Jana had a good night and this was her highest finish at the conference meet in the 50 free," Tierney-Walker noted.
Daniel Slocki clocked a two-second faster final's time - 4:22.22 - in the 500 free B final from the morning prelim to win and improve two places from last year's SEC Championship, where he was ninth. Newcomer Anthony Fleming touched the wall in 4:23.80 for fourth in the B final and gain an important 11 points for the team. Georgia's Sebastien Rouault broke his own SEC record with a winning time of 4:12.90.
It was a disappointing 3-meter preliminary for the Auburn women as neither Corey Lynn Gerlach or Lynnsey Segraves qualified in the top-eight to compete in the finals. Gerlach, who is strongest on 3-meter, turned in a season low 269.25 for 10th place. It was just the second time this season she has posted a final score below the 300 mark. Segraves, who just a year ago was fifth at this level, ended up 13th with a total of 259.20. South Carolina's Allison Brennan was the winner with a score of 361.35, to sweep the springboard events.
2006 SEC Championships
Event Winner and Auburn Finishes
Men's 1-meter
1. Chris Colwill (UGA), 441.05
2. Steve Segerlin, 357.90
15. Scott Morgan, 243.50
Women's 3-meter
1. Allison Brennan (USC), 361.35
10. Corey Lynn Gerlach, 269.25
13. Lynnsey Segraves, 259.20
Women's 500 free
1. Laura Conway (UGA), 4:41.46
2. Adrienne Binder, 4:43.38
3. Hayley Peirsol, 4:43.80
6. Chelsea Haser, 4:45.38
7. Kristen Hastrup, 4:45.81
Men's 500 free
1. Sebastien Rouault (UGA), 4:12.90
7. Daniel Slocki, 4:22.22
10. Anthony Fleming, 4:23.80
Women's 200 IM
1. Mary DeScenza (UGA), 1:57.96
2. Emily Kukors, 1:58.98
5. Anne Amardeilh, 2:00.80
8. Alicia Jensen, 2:01.16
Men's 200 IM
1. Ryan Lochte (UF), 1:43.31
2. Eric Shanteau, 1:44.67
4. James Wike, 1:45.64
6. Joey Schneider, 1:48.27
7. Doug Van Wie, 1:46.54
10. Sean Osborne, 1:48.13
14. Kurt Cady, 1:48.35
15. Jon Roberts, 1:48.45
Women's 50 free
1. Kara Lynn Joyce (UGA), 21.70 (SEC record)
3. Jana Kolukanova, 22.61
8. Rachel Goh, 23.24
11. Emile Ewing, 23.43
Men's 50 free
1. Cesar Cielo, 19.49
2. Scott Goodrich, 19.70
3. George Bovell, 19.82
7. Alexei Puninski, 20.03
9. Bryan Lundquist, 20.14
Women's 200 free relay
1. Georgia (Joyce, Harm, Guilkey, Cole), 1:30.18
2. Auburn (McCawley, Kolukanova, Ewing, Kukors), 1:30.63
Men's 200 free relay
1. Auburn (Puninski, Cielo, Goodrich, G. Bovell), 1:18.17