March 27, 2008
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. - The Auburn men's swimming and diving team qualified two relays and two individuals Thursday afternoon in the first day of preliminaries of the 2008 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in Federal Way, Wash.
The three-day meet is taking place at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center.
Highlighting the session was Auburn junior Cesar Cielo as he swam the 50 freestyle under 19 seconds twice to give him seven 50 free times under 19 seconds in his career - more than any other person ever in the event.
The Tigers opened the preliminary session by taking third in the 200 free relay, an event that Auburn has won the last two years. The team of Cielo, Scott Goodrich, Steve Scheren and Luke Weniger swam a 1:17.14. Cielo led Auburn out of the gate by swimming an 18.97 leadoff in the relay. Arizona won the preliminary, finishing in 1:17.05.
Auburn also qualified a pair of swimmers in the 50 free. Cielo led the way by winning the preliminary heat with at time of 18.79 - his fastest time so far this season. Senior Alexei Puninski also qualified for the championship final, coming in fourth overall in the preliminary with a time of 19.39. Puninski's time is a career best and ranks ninth all-time at Auburn.
Also swimming in the 50 free was Goodrich and Scheren. Goodrich finished 19th overall with a time of 19.68, missing the finals by seven-hundredths of a second. Scheren was 34th with a time of 19.95.
Rounding out Auburn's qualifiers on the opening day was the 400 medley relay team. The team of Kohlton Norys, Michael Silva, Weniger and Puninski touched in at 3:09.16, the team's second-fastest time of the season, to finish ninth overall and advance to the consolation final.
Norys led Auburn off with a 46.72 100 backstroke split on the relay, a time that ranks third all-time at Auburn.
Auburn also had swimmers trying to qualify in the other two events of the opening session, the 500 free and the 200 IM.
Will Dove was Auburn's top swimmer in the 500 free, touching in at 4:20.50 to finish 19th overall and miss qualifying for finals by less than a second. Dove's time is good enough for fifth all-time at Auburn.
Freshman Robert Looney also swam in the 500 free, clocking a 4:21.69 to finish 24th. His time is fast enough for eighth all-time at Auburn.
Sophomore Tyler McGill nearly qualified for the consolation finals in the 200 IM, finishing in a tie for 16th with a time of 1:46.04. But, McGill lost in a swim-off with Texas' Caleb McDermott to miss out on the finals appearance. His time is good enough for 10th all-time at Auburn.
Also competing in the 200 IM were freshman Andrew Mitchell (T19th, 1:46.33) and sophomore Silva (42nd, 1:49.29).
The diving event for the opening day was the 1-meter springboard. Both of Auburn's divers qualified for the consolation finals by finishing in the top 16.
Kelly Marx led the way, finishing 11th with a score of 324.50. Dan Mazzaferro followed in 12th with a 320.65.
Action in the 2008 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships continues at 9 p.m. CT tonight with finals in the opening-day events.
Fans can follow the meet this week with live stats at www.ncaaswim.com/men08/. A live video Web cast will also be available by going to www.SwimmingWorldMagazine.com.
2008 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships
Day 1 Auburn Preliminary Results
200-Yard Freestyle Relay
3 - Cielo (18.97), Goodrich (19.25), Scheren (19.57), Weniger (19.35) - 1:17.14
500-Yard Freestyle
19 - Will Dove - 4:20.50
24 - Robert Looney - 4:21.69
200-Yard Individual Medley
T16 - Tyler McGill - 1:46.04 - (Swim-off (L) - 1:48.09)
T19 - Andrew Mitchell - 1:46.33
42 - Michael Silva - 1:49.29
50-Yard Freestyle
1 - Cesar Cielo 18.79
4 - Alexei Puninski - 19.39
19 - Scott Goodrich - 19.68
34 - Steve Scheren - 19.95
1-Meter Diving
11 - Kelly Marx - 324.50
12 - Dan Mazzaferro - 320.65
400-Yard Medley Relay
9 - Norys (46.72), Silva (53.68), Weniger (46.52), Puninski (42.24) - 3:09.16