March 21, 2008
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Auburn remains in second place following the second day of the 2008 NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships in Columbus, Ohio. For a shot at their third NCAA title in a row, the Tigers will have to overcome a 117-point Arizona lead as the meet enters its final day on Saturday.
Auburn trailed Arizona by 32 points last year heading into the final day and trailed Georgia by 53 points in 2006. The Tigers bounced back both times in the third day to take the NCAA title.
"Today was a very tough day for us," said head coach Richard Quick. "I take full blame for not preparing the team to perform better. We had some great swims from Ava Ohlgren in the 400 IM and Emily Kukors in the 200 free, but I think out 800 free relay is an example of how things are going. You come in ranked first and end up eighth."
Co-head coach Dorsey Tierney-Walker echoed Quick's sentiments and pointed out that this is a situation Auburn has not been in for some time.
"Tomorrow is going to be a real test of our character," said Tierney-Walker. "This team has not been in this kind of situation in some time. We have a young group and at times I think they tried too hard to get back into it. But, tomorrow is a real test for them."
Heading into the final day of the meet, Arizona leads with 361 points, followed by Auburn with 244. Texas A&M is in third with 227 while Stanford is in fourth with 212. California rounds out the top five with 203 points.
Highlighting the day was sophomore Ohlgren as she finished second in the 400 IM, breaking her own Auburn record by one-hundredth of a second with a time of 4:04.07. Ohlgren entered the event as the defending champion after winning it last year as a freshman.
"Hey, a best time is a best time," said Ohlgren. "I raced hard, but it was not as smooth and relaxed as my 200 IM. I'm happy with how I finished, though."
In the relays, Auburn opened the session by finishing fifth in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:38.35. The team of Margo McCawley, Kara Denby, Alana Dillette and Emile Ewing finished behind first-place Arizona and their time of 1:35.29.
In the 800 free relay, Arizona set a new meet record with a time of 6:58.69 as the Auburn team of Ava Ohlgren, Melissa Marik, Emily Kukors and Maggie Bird finished eighth with a time of 7:06.71.
Kukors, who entered the 200 free final as the seventh seed, came in almost a minute under her preliminary time to finish fourth in the event with at time of 1:44.47.
Auburn won a pair of consolation finals, led by senior Denby. She clocked a 59.99 in the 100 breast, becoming just the second Auburn swimmer ever to break one minute, to win the B Final and finish ninth overall. Denby's time is a personal-best and ranks second all-time at Auburn.
Freshman Melanie Roberts also swam in the consolation final, touching in with a personal-best 1:01.03 to finish 12th overall.
In the 100 back, it was Marik leading the Tigers as she won the consolation final to finish ninth overall with a time of 53.31 - a time that ranks fifth all-time at Auburn. Julianne McLane followed with a 54.04 to finish 13th while McCawley clocked a 54.23 to come in 14th.
Competition resumes Saturday with the 1650 freestyle, 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, platform diving and the 400 freestyle relay. Preliminaries begin at 10 a.m. CT with finals starting at 6 p.m. CT at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.
Fans can watch live at www.ncaa.com/swimming-womens/ with live results at www.ncaaswim.com/women08/.
2008 NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships Winners and Auburn Finishes
200-Yard Medley Relay
1 - Arizona (Hailey Degolia, Annie Chandler, Brandy Collins, Anna Turner) - 1:35.29
5 - McCawley (25.26), Denby (26.78),Dillette (23.83), Ewing (22.48) - 1:38.35
400-Yard Individual Medley
1 - Julia Smit (Stanford) - 4:02.41
2 - Ava Ohlgren - 4:04.07
100-Yard Butterfly
1 - Christine Magnuson (Tennessee) - 50.70
200-Yard Freestyle
1 - Caroline Burckle (Florida) - 1:43.10
4 - Emily Kukors - 1:44.47
100-Yard Breaststroke
1 - Rebecca Soni (Southern California) - 59.19
9 -Kara Denby - 59.99
12 - Melanie Roberts - 1:01.03
100-Yard Backstroke
1 - Gemma Spofforth (Florida) - 51.78
9 - Melissa Marik - 53.31
13 - Julianne McLane - 54.04
14 - Margo McCawley - 54.23
3-Meter Diving
1 - Chelsea Davis (Ohio State) - 365.85
800-Yard Freestyle Relay
1 - Arizona (Justine Schluntz, Lacey Nymeyer, Leone Vorster, Taylor Baughman) - 6:58.69
8 - Ohlgren (1:45.41), Marik (1:48.24), Kukors (1:47.01), Bird (1:46.05) - 7:06.71