Oct. 18, 2008
AUBURN - With a total of six events for both men and women, the Auburn swim team returned to the pool Saturday at the War Eagle Invitational.
In the men's 100 freestyle, senior Matt Targett showed his dominance as he finished first with a time of 42.79 seconds - beating out his nearest competitor by nearly three seconds. His time reached the NCAA B standard for the race, which is his second B standard hit after his provisional time in last night's 50 freestyle.
Auburn Assistant Coach and sprinting specialist Brett Hawke commented that having Targett perform so well at such an early point in the season is a promising sign.
"It's great for our team," Hawke said. "Matt is our team leader this year and the rest of the guys look up to him. For him to throw down those standards already is a real big boost for our team."
Logan Madson took the spotlight in the men's 200 butterfly as he touched in with 1:49.95. Madson and teammates Robert Looney, Andrew Mitchell, and Will Dove took the top four places in the event, respectively.
Later, in the 100 breaststroke, junior Michael Silva placed first with a time of 56.83 seconds. Sophomore Adam Klein took second in the race while Mitchell finished in third.
In the men's 200 backstroke, junior Pascal Wolloch came in first place as he swam a time of 1:50.83 and was followed by Mitchell in second, at 1:51.16, for his third top-three finish of the day.
In the finale of the day, junior Will Dove swam a 4:02.76 to take the win in the 400 IM.
For the women's 100 freestyle, junior Ava Ohlgren took second place with a time of 51.82 seconds while senior Emile Ewing touched at 51.88 seconds for third. Amanda Weir, a former Georgia swimmer and 2004 Olympian, won the race while swimming for Swim Atlanta.
Junior Melissa Marik won the 200 butterfly at 2:03.59 while teammates Melanie Roberts and Maggie Bird tied for third with a time of 2:07.45.
Freshman Micah Lawrence finished the 100 breaststroke in 1:04.05 to take second and was followed by Abby MacGregor (1:05.21) and Josefin Wede (1:06.65) taking third and fourth, respectively.
In the women's 200 backstroke, sophomore Erica Meissner found first with a time of 2:01.52. Immediately following the 200 back, she took first place again in the 400 IM in 4:26.78.
Considering where the season-opening meet falls in the team's training schedule, coming in the intensive early-season portion, the coaching staff was pleased with the results they were seeing.
"At this time of year, the team can be pretty beaten down because of the training and practice," Hawke said. "But, we feel pretty good with where we are at. We saw some things this weekend that we need to address, but overall this was a constructive meet to compete in."
The War Eagle Invitational will continue Sunday morning in the James E. Martin Aquatics Center, but Auburn will not have any participation in the final day. The Tigers return to action on Nov. 14 with the team's first dual meet, swimming against SEC rival Georgia in Athens, Ga.