March 23, 2012
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FEDERAL WAY, Wash. - Junior Kyle Owens earned a spot in the championship finals of the 100-yard backstroke, and four other Tigers advanced to consolation finals on Friday in the second day of prelims at the 2012 NCAA Men's Swimming & Diving Championships.
Auburn enters the second night of finals at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in fifth place with 106.5 points and will look to add to that total with five total individuals and two relays competing tonight.
Owens, the SEC Champion in the 100 back, was one-hundredth of a second better than his season-best time in today's prelim with a 46.02 to qualify second overall. It will be his second appearance in the 100 backstroke final at the NCAA Championships; he finished fourth at last year's meet. He will be joined tonight by senior Max Murphy, who will swim in the 100 backstroke B-final for the first time after qualifying 13th with a career-best time of 46.94.
Sophomores Zane Grothe and James Disney-May turned in strong swims in the 200 freestyle to give Auburn its first finalists in the event since 2007; both will swim the consolation final. Grothe turned in a time of 1:35.16 to tie for 11th place, and Disney-May made it in with the 16th and final qualifying spot with a 1:35.43, just .04 ahead of the 17th-place finisher.
Drew Modrov clocked a 1:36.67 to finish in 30th place overall in the 200 free, and freshman Allen Browning posted a 1:37.59 to take 39th overall.
Junior Stuart Ferguson will swim the consolation final of the 100 breaststroke for the second time in three years as he qualified 13th overall with a time of 53.12. Chris Manning clocked a 54.95 to finish 28th in the prelims.
The 200 medley relay team got the morning off to a good start for the Tigers as the team of Owens, Ferguson, Marcelo Chiergihini and Karl Krug posted a time of 1:24.80 to earn the fourth overall seed in tonight's final. Auburn was just slightly off its seed time of 1:24.38, which came in ranked second.
In the 100 fly, Chierighini posted a time of 47.49, and TJ Leon went a career-best 47.63. Neither advanced to finals; Chierighini finished 30th overall and Leon took 33rd place. Auburn had no entries in the 400 IM.
An update after 3-meter diving will follow later this afternoon on AuburnTigers.com.
The second night of finals gets underway at 7 p.m. PT (9 p.m. CT). ESPN3 will carry a live broadcast of the competition, and live stats will be available through NCAA.com. Fans can follow @AuburnSwimming on Twitter for updates from the pool throughout the meet.
Auburn Swimming & Diving
2012 NCAA Men's Championships - Day 2 Prelims Results
March 23, 2012
Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center - Federal Way, Wash.
Auburn Prelims Results
200 Medley Relay: 4. Kyle Owens, Stuart Ferguson, Marcelo Chierighini, Karl Krug (1:24.80)
100 Butterfly: 30. Marcelo Chierighini (47.49); 33. TJ Leon (47.63)
200 Freestyle: T11. Zane Grothe (1:35.16); 16. James Disney-May (1:35.43); 30. Drew Modrov (1:36.67); 39. Allen Browning (1:37.59)
100 Breaststroke: 13. Stuart Ferguson (53.12); 28. Chris Manning (54.95)
100 Backstroke: 2. Kyle Owens (46.02); 11. Max Murphy (46.94)