March 24, 2012
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FEDERAL WAY, Wash. - Senior Max Murphy and sophomore Marcelo Chierighini advanced to the championship finals of their respective events as the final day of competition got underway Saturday at the NCAA Men's Swimming & Diving Championships.
Auburn will head into the last night of finals at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in sixth place and looking to gain ground on fifth-place Michigan. The Wolverines are 20.5 points ahead of the Tigers in the standings.
Murphy made the most of his final individual event as a collegian as he earned a berth in the 200 backstroke championship final. His time of 1:42.14 was the eighth-best in the prelims session, and equaled the best of his career since the end of the technical suit era. Junior Kyle Owens could not earn a third individual All-America honor as he posted a 20th-place time of 1:43.52.
Chierighini, meanwhile, earned his second berth in the 100 freestyle championship final. He posted a time of 42.31 to earn the second overall seed in tonight's finals; he finished eighth at last year's championships. Senior Drew Modrov missed a return swim by .03 seconds as he finished 17th overall in a time of 43.23. James Disney-May was 25th in 43.56, Karl Krug took 27th in 43.61, Chris Manning was 47th in 44.45, and TJ Leon took 48th place in 44.50.
In the 200 breaststroke, junior Stuart Ferguson barely missed the consolation final, posting a time of 1:56.73 to finish 19th, just .63 seconds out of the final qualifying spot.
The Tigers ended the morning on a high note as the 400 freestyle relay team of Krug, Disney-May, Modrov and Chierighini won their heat in a time of 2:51.06 to qualify second overall. Modrov exploded off the blocks and took the lead midway through the third leg of the race, and Chierighini pulled out to an insurmountable lead in the final 100 to post a season-best time for the Tigers.
Sophomore Zane Grothe will swim the final heat of the 1650 freestyle with tonight's finals, and sophomore John Santeiu will compete in platform diving preliminaries beginning at 1:30 p.m. PT.
Finals begin at 7 p.m. PT (9 p.m. CT), and ESPN3 will carry a live broadcast of the event. Live results are available through NCAA.com, and fans can follow @AuburnSwimming on Twitter for updates from the pool.
Auburn Swimming & Diving
2012 NCAA Men's Championships - Day 3 Prelims
March 24, 2012
Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center - Federal Way, Wash.
Auburn Prelims Results
200 Backstroke: 8. Max Murphy (1:42.14); 20. Kyle Owens (1:43.52)
100 Freestyle: 2. Marcelo Chierighini (42.31); 17. Drew Modrov (43.23); 25. James Disney-May (43.56); 27. Karl Krug (43.61); 47. Chris Manning (44.45); 48. TJ Leon (44.50)
200 Breaststroke: 19. Stuart Ferguson (1:56.73)
400 Freestyle Relay: 2. Karl Krug, James Disney-May, Drew Modrov, Marcelo Chierighini (2:51.06)