March 25, 2011
MINNEAPOLIS - The Auburn men's swimming and diving team is in sixth place at the NCAA Championships after Friday's finals. The Tigers scored 68 points, for a two-day total of 178.5.
California is in the lead with 352 points. Texas is in second place with 288.5 points while Stanford is third with 278.5. Arizona is in fourth with 214 points while Florida rounds out the top five with 213 points.
"Overall, we are not happy with where we are, it is not where we would like to be," said Auburn head coach Brett Hawke. "We had some good individual efforts today that will hopefully carry over into tomorrow. We will meet as a team tonight, regroup and come back out tomorrow."
Auburn led off the night by taking third in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:24.56, marking the sixth year in a row for the Tigers to finish in the top three of the relay.
The team of Kyle Owens, Adam Klein, Adam Brown and Marcelo Chierighini swam the relay for the Tigers. Brown had the fastest butterfly leg of anyone in the race, moving Auburn from fourth to third.
"It felt really good, we knew we would have to go out and swim very fast in this race," said Brown. "It was a good relay, great to get a top-three, but we just have to carry this momentum on from here."
Klein followed up his relay performance in the 100 breast, taking 15th overall in the event with a time of 53.82.
Auburn picked up 29 points in the 100 back with sophomores Owens and Tony Cox in the championship final. Owens finished fourth, clocking in at 45.63 - a time that ranks fourth all-time at Auburn. Cox placed seventh with a time of 46.30.
"All year I have been training with the best swimmers to prepare for this," said Owens. "I wanted to swim fast and it just clicked today. All year, I have been getting faster and faster and it really just clicked for me today. It was a very good race."
Senior Dan Mazzaferro picked up seven points for the Tigers on the 3-meter springboard, finishing second in the consolation finals to take 10th overall. Mazzaferro tallied a score of 380.75 in the consolation round, giving him his second career top-10 finish in the event at NCAAs.
"We are happy about the finish, but it is kind of bittersweet because Dan was so close to making the championship final," said Auburn diving coach Jeff Shaffer. "I was proud of Dan for keeping his composure and diving through the consolation round. He is disappointed, but that's the way it is. His best event is tomorrow, so hopefully today's experience will motivate him through that."
Action at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships continues at 12 p.m., Saturday with prelims in the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, 400 free relay and platform diving. Fans can follow along with live results and a free live streaming video at www.ESPN3.com.
Follow Auburn Swimming and Diving on twitter at twitter.com/AuburnSwimming.
All-America Honors
Adam Brown (50 Free, 200 FR, 200 MR, 400 MR HM)
Marcelo Chierighini (50 Free HM, 200 FR, 200 MR)
Tony Cox (100 Back, 400 MR HM)
Stuart Ferguson (400 MR HM)
Zane Grothe (500 Free)
Adam Klein (100 Breast HM, 200 MR, 400 MR HM)
Karl Krug (50 Free, 200 FR, 400 MR HM)
Chris Manning (200 FR, 50 Free HM)
Dan Mazzaferro (3-Meter HM)
Drew Modrov (50 Free HM, 200 MR)
Kohlton Norys (200 FR, 50 Free HM, 400 MR HM)
Kyle Owens (100 Back, 200 MR, 400 MR HM)
Jared White (400 MR HM)
Results
200 Medley Relay
3 - Kyle Owens (21.09), Adam Klein (24.00), Adam Brown (20.47), Marcelo Chierighini (19.00) - 1:24.56
100 Breast
15 - Adam Klein - 53.82
100 Back
4 - Kyle Owens - 45.63
7 - Tony Cox - 46.30
3-Meter Diving
10 -Dan Mazzaferro -380.75
800 Free Relay
DQ - Zane Grothe, Kohlton Norys, James Disney-May, Kyle Owens