March 19, 2010
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Auburn women's swimming and diving team sit in 10th place with 87 points after the second day of the 2010 NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. The meet is being held at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center on the campus of Purdue University.
Stanford holds first with 266.5 points and is trailed by Georgia with 262.5 points in second. Arizona is third (259.5), while California (256) and Florida (236) close out the top five teams.
"Today was a struggle for the team," head coach Brett Hawke said. "We had a bad preliminary session and had to do the best we could tonight during the finals. We're hoping to bounce back tomorrow and qualify swimmers in individual events to score more points."
Auburn picked up its first All-America honors of the night in the 200 medley relay to extend its streak of All-Americans in the event to 11-consecutive years. The team of Melissa Marik, Micah Lawrence, Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace and Hannah Riordan took 12th in a time of 1:38.99.
Sophomore diver Vennie Dantin reached her first-ever NCAA finals, qualifying for the consolation finals on the 3-meter springboard with a 16th-place finish in the prelims with a score of 311.80. Dantin earned All-America honorable mention after taking 15th with 304.70 points.
"I'm pleased that Vennie (Dantin) stepped up today and was able to dive in the consolation finals," head diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. "She missed a pair of dives that have been solid for her all year, but I'm pleased we were able to contribute in team points. We're better than we've showed these last two days and tomorrow is another day for us to prove that."
The 800 free relay of Ava Ohlgren, Caitlin Geary, Katie Gardocki and Maggie Bird concluded the day with a 13th-place finish of 7:11.48 to earn All-America honorable mention honors.
The final day of competition is set for Saturday with the preliminaries beginning at 11 a.m. with the 200 back and is followed by the 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly and 400 free relay. Platform diving prelims will start at 1:30 p.m. Live results are available at www.purduesports.com
Auburn Swimming and Diving
2010 NCAA Championships - Day Two Finals
Friday, March 19, 2010
Boilermaker Aquatic Center; West Lafayette, Ind.
Auburn Top Finishers - Women: 200 Medley Relay - 12. Marik, Lawrence, Vanderpool-Wallace, Riordan (1:38.99); 3-meter - 15. Dantin (304.70); 800 Free Relay - 13. Ohlgren, Geary, Gardocki, Bird (7:11.48).
Day Two Notes & Quotes
-Sophomore Vennie Dantin picked up her first-ever All-America honor, finishing 15th on the 3-meter springboard with a score of 304.70
-The Tigers have earned All-America honors in the 200 medley relay for the last 11 years.
-The 800 free relay earned All-America honors with a 13th-place finish. Auburn has finished in the top 16 in the race every year since 1996.
Auburn All-Americans - Day Two
Maggie Bird - 800 Free Relay Honorable Mention
Vennie Dantin - Three-meter Honorable Mention
Katie Gardocki - 800 Free Relay Honorable Mention
Caitlin Geary - 800 Free Relay Honorable Mention
Micah Lawrence - 200 Medley Relay Honorable Mention
Melissa Marik - 200 Medley Relay Honorable Mention
Ava Ohlgren - 200 Medley Relay Honorable Mention, 800 Free Relay Honorable Mention
Hannah Riordan - 200 Medley Relay Honorable Mention
Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace - 200 Medley Relay Honorable Mention