Feb. 16, 2012
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace recorded the fastest time in the country this year in the women's 50-yard freestyle to highlight preliminary action Thursday morning on the second day of the SEC Swimming & Diving Championships.
In all, Auburn had eight swimmers (six men, two women) advance to championship finals in their respective events, while nine individuals (five men, four women) will swim in consolation finals tonight.
"I thought we started slow," Auburn head coach Brett Hawke said. "It was disappointing, but we came back and fought our way back into the meet and finished strong. You're going to have the ups and downs in a meet, but you've just got to ride the wave. The team's still in there at the end, so I'm happy with the way we finished."
Vanderpool-Wallace was the top qualifier in the 50 free with a time of 21.46 seconds, the fastest in the country this year and not too far off her SEC-record time of 21.34 from last year's conference meet. She will be joined in the championship by Hannah Riordan, who clocked a 22.42 to qualify seventh overall.
"She had a strong swim," Hawke said. "I expected her to be around that point this morning. We'll just see if she can squeeze out a little more tonight."
Emily Bos was just .04 seconds shy of a spot in the championship; she tied for ninth overall with a time of 22.70. And Oliva Scott took 13th and a spot in the consolation with a time of 22.83.
In the men's 50 free, five Tiger swimmers advanced to the championship, earning the second through sixth qualifying spots. Drew Modrov had the top Tiger time and second-best overall with a 19.49. Karl Krug, Chris Manning and James Disney-May weren't far behind as Krug posted a 19.55 and Manning and Disney-May both clocked times of 19.57. Marcelo Chierighini earned the sixth spot with a 19.60 to give Auburn five spots in the finals. TJ Leon barely missed the championship with a 19.76, putting him just .01 seconds out of eighth place and into the consolation final.
Kyle Owens earned the top qualifying spot in the 200 IM with a season-best time of 1:44.48, less than half a second shy of an NCAA `A' cut. It also ranks as the fifth-fastest time in the country so far this year. Freshman Allen Browning took 10th place overall with a 1:47.49, and Stuart Ferguson earned a spot in the consolation as well with a time of 1:47.71 to finish 14th. Freshman Alex Hancock barely missed a return trip for finals, finishing 17th with a `B' cut time of 1:48.67. Brandon Siemasko also earned a `B' cut with a time of 1:49.11 to take 19th place.
In the women's 200 IM, freshman Sarah Peterson qualified 12th overall with a career-best time of 2:00.23 to earn a spot in the consolation final.
Zane Grothe qualified for the consolation final in the men's 500 freestyle, posting a time of 4:24.07 to finish 11th overall. Chris Kramer will swim in the consolation as well after finishing 14th overall in the morning with a career-best 4:27.40. Sam Parker barely missed a return trip for the evening session as he took 17th overall with a time of 4:29.33.
In the women's 500 free, Katie Gardocki advanced to the consolation final, finishing ninth overall in prelims with a time of 4:43.31. Siena DeVenuto was the second alternate, taking 18th place overall with a time of 4:51.31.
Diving prelims continue throughout the afternoon, and finals begin at 5:30 p.m. ET (4:30 CT) with men's 1-meter diving. Diving live stats are available through divemeets.com. Live results and streaming video for tonight are available through UTSports.com, and Auburn fans can follow @AuburnSwimming on Twitter for updates, in addition to the live blog at AuburnTigers.com.
Diving Update - 4 p.m. ET: Two men's divers and two women's divers advanced to Thursday's finals. Senior Adam Godzinski finished seventh in the 1-meter preliminary with a score of 328.40, and sophomore John Santeiu scored 325.05 to finish eighth. Freshman Fraser McKean barely missed the finals, finishing ninth with a 314.85 but scoring nine points for the Tiger effort. Michael Beran was 19th with a 291.85.
For the women, Vennie Dantin and Anna Aguero moved on with third- and fifth-place finishes, respectively. Despite missing her first dive, Dantin recovered to score 333.50, and Aguero was steady throughout with a 322.30. Cinzia Calabretta contributed a scoring effort with a 12th-place finish, scoring 293.10, and Shanna Schuelein finished 20th with a 269.25.
Auburn Swimming & Diving Results
2012 SEC Championships - Day 2 Preliminaries
Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatics Center - Knoxville, Tenn.
February 16, 2012
Men's Qualifiers
500 Free: 11. Grothe (4:24.07); 14. Kramer (4:27.40)
200 IM: 1. Owens (1:44.48); 10. Browning (1:49.74); 13. Ferguson (1:47.71)
50 Free: 2. Modrov (19.49); 3. Krug (19.55); T4. Manning (19.57); T4. Disney-May (19.57); 6. Chierighini (19.60); 9. Leon (19.76)
1M Diving: 7. Godzinski (328.40); 8. Santeiu (325.05); 9. McKean (314.85)
Women's Qualifiers
500 Free: 9. Gardocki (4:43.31)
200 IM: 12. Peterson (2:00.23)
50 Free: 1. Vanderpool-Wallace (21.46); 7. Riordan (22.42); 9. Bos (22.70); 13. Scott (22.83)
3M Diving: 3. Dantin (333.50); 5. Aguero (322.50); 12. Calabretta (293.10)