March 9, 2007
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -
The Auburn women's swimming and diving team put itself in position to make a run at its second straight NCAA Championship and fifth in the last six years during a strong showing Friday night at the University Aquatics Center. The Tigers, who set four school records and had individual victories from Ava Ohlgren in the 400 IM and Rachel Goh in the 100 back, trail Arizona by 32 points entering the final day of competition, but with some of Auburn's best events yet to come.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>
Last year, Auburn trailed <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Georgia by 53 points (379-326) entering the final day before rallying to win. This year the deficit isn't as great, as Arizona leads with 375 points and Auburn is second with 343. California (261.5) is in third place, followed by Stanford (250) and Georgia (195).
"I couldn't be more proud of our team tonight," said co-head coach Dorsey Tierney-Walker. "We showed a lot of heart and I'm looking forward to tomorrow."
Ohlgren, seeded 13th entering the meet, stunned defending champion Whitney Myers of Arizona by shattering her personal best with a school-record time of 4:04.08. Ohlgren, whose best mark of the season entering the meet was 4:15.01, broke the previous Auburn record of 4:04.48 set by Kirsty Coventry in 2005. She became the third Auburn woman to win the 400 IM NCAA title, joining Maggie Bowen (2001, 2002, 2003) and Coventry (2005).
"I didn't really know what to expect, but I was really happy with the outcome," said Ohlgren. "I just tried to go out there and swim my race. Our coaches told us to just go out there and get our personal best times and do what we can, and that's what I did."
"What a fantastic swim against a great field," said Tierney-Walker. "It's great to see her win her first national title."
Ohlgren was not the only swimmer who excelled in the 400 IM, as Julie Stupp set a personal best with a time of 4:07.32 to finish fourth, while Adrienne Binder placed sixth with a time of 4:10.08. In the consolation finals, Anne Amardeilh finished in 4:15.52 to place 14th.
Rachel Goh repeated as NCAA champion in the 100 back, breaking another school record set by Coventry in 2005. Goh, whose previous best was 52.34 set while winning the SEC title last month, raced to a time of 51.97, bettering Coventry's mark of 52.32.
"It was really exciting for me," said Goh. "Of course I wanted to defend my title. But I swim my races not for myself but for the other 19 girls on the team. I rely on them and they rely on me."
"What can you say about Rachel," said Tierney-Walker. "She's the defending champ and I thought she composed herself very well tonight."
Melissa Marik, who surprised the field by making the 100 back final after being seeded 44th, finished eighth with a time of 53.82, while Margo McCawley earned a 14th-place finish during the consolation final with a time of 54.13.
Emily Kukors broke her own school record in the 200 free that she had set during the prelims when she posted the fastest qualifying time of 1:43.96. Although she improved to 1:43.72 in the finals, she was edged by Arizona's Lacey Nymeyer, who won in 1:43.49. Kukors, who was a distant third with 50 yards to go, made up more than six tenths of a second on Nymeyer during the final 50 yards, but couldn't quite complete the comeback. Still, she improved on last year's third-place finish.
In the final event of the night, Auburn just missed another title, finishing second in the 800 free relay with another school-record time of 7:01.05, breaking the previous school mark by .06 seconds. The Tigers trailed California by more than three seconds after two legs, but Kukors exploded for a 1:43.39 split, making up more than four seconds on Cal's swimmer and giving Auburn the lead. But Adrienne Binder was edged during the last 50 yards as Cal won by just .16 seconds.
Lynnsey Segraves reached a championship final for the first time in her career, and it came in her second-best event. Segraves had a personal-best score of 334.95 in the prelims to finish eighth and reach the final, then improved on that mark with a score of 347.90 in the finals, finishing in sixth place.
"It feels so great," said Segraves. "I have been so humbled and so honored to represent Auburn. I don't think it could have come at a better time - my senior year - and I'm just ecstatic."
Corey Gerlach, the SEC champion on the 3-meter board, had a disappointing prelim session, finishing 13th with a mark of 313.75. But a strong final dive that pushed her into the consolation final helped propel her to a strong performance in her second session, as she finished second in the consolation final with a season-best score of 356.05 to finish 10th overall.
"That was really exciting and rewarding to watch," said head diving coach Jeff Shaffer. "A senior in her last NCAA championships stepping up and making her first final, and then competing to the best of her ability. I couldn't be happier for Lynnsey. Corey was a little off in the prelims but bounced back in the consolation finals. Obviously that's the performance that we had hoped for in the prelims, but both divers scored us some valuable points in a tight team race, and I'm proud of their effort."
In the 200 medley relay, the team of Goh, Kara Denby, Margo McCawley and Kukors swam a season-best time of 1:38.06 to finish third. It was an improvement of two spots from last year's NCAA meet when the Tigers finished third.
The final day of competition begins with prelims Saturday at 11 a.m. in the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly and 400 free relay. The 1650 free prelims and the platform diving competition will take place later in the day. Live results can be found on the Minnesota athletics website at www.gophersports.com.
2007 NCAA Championships
Day Two Winners and Auburn Finishes
Women's 200 medley relay
1. Arizona (Degolia, Chandler, Jackson, Kelly), 1:36.09
3. Auburn (Goh, Denby, McCawley, Kukors), 1:38.06
Women's 400 IM
1. Ava Ohlgren, 4:04.08
4. Julie Stupp, 4:07.32
6. Adrienne Binder, 4:10.08
14. Anne Amardeilh, 4:15.52
Women's 100 fly
1. Dana Vollmer (CAL), 50.69
Women's 200 free
1. Lacey Nymeyer (AZ), 1:43.49
2. Emily Kukors, 1:43.72
Women's 100 breast
1. Jessica Hardy (CAL), 59.43
Women's 100 back
1. Rachel Goh, 51.97
8. Melissa Marik, 53.82
14. Margo McCawley, 54.13
3-meter Diving
1. Cassidy Krug (STAN), 372.90/4:20.90
5. Lynnsey Segraves, 334.95/347.90
10. Corey Gerlach, 313.75/356.05
Women's 800 free relay
1. California (Vollmer, Silver, Hayter, Reilly), 7:00.89
2. Auburn (Ohlgren, Ewing, Kukors, Binder), 7:01.05
Team Scores
1. Arizona - 375
2. Auburn - 343
3. California - 261.5
4. Stanford - 250
5. Georgia - 195