Sept. 21, 2012
="" alt="Twitter Logo" border="0" class="imported">@AuburnSwimming on Twitter | 
="" alt="Facebook Logo" border="0" class="imported">Auburn Swimming & Diving on Facebook
AUBURN, Ala. - In an exciting Orange & Blue Meet that came down to the final relay, the Orange team edged out the Blue team 207.5-197.5 Friday afternoon as the Auburn swimming & diving team kicked off the 2012-13 season.
"The biggest thing we saw was great energy early on from a very tired group," Auburn associate head coach Frank Bradley said. "That's obviously where everyone is at this point. It was very nice to see some freshmen step up; (they were) not worried about anything except racing hard. I think overall, as a staff, we're happy with where we're at. We've just got to continue to work and get better."
Freshmen accounted for four individual wins in the 22-event meet. Alexandria Merritt earned a win for the Orange team in the women's 150-yard butterfly, Caitlyn Forman and Jillian Vitarius went 1-2 in the women's 150 backstroke, and Jordan Jones touched first in the men's 300 IM. Freshman diver Carly Scheper also had the top dive in the women's platform event.
Junior Olivia Scott put on a strong performance as well, running away from the field to win the women's 300 IM by more than five full seconds. She also swam the leadoff leg in the 200 medley relay, leading the team of Lauren Norberg, Valerie Inghels and Becca Jones to a win.
"The women's backstrokers, Caitlyn and Jillian, they did great," Bradley said. "It was really fun to watch them race. We were really excited about them when we recruited them. Olivia Scott really stood out today, too. It was a fun day, fun to watch."
Auburn's veterans also put on some strong performances. The race of the day came in the men's 150 freestyle where distance specialist Zane Grothe made up almost a full second over the final 50 yards to chase down a pair of 2012 Olympians, juniors James Disney-May and Marcelo Chierighini. Grothe, swimming for the Orange team, touched in 1:14.14 while Disney-May and Chierighini tied for second in 1:14.27. Grothe also won the 300 free earlier in the meet while newcomer Antton Haramboure was second.
Katie Gardocki (300 free), Micah Lawrence (150 breast) and Becca Jones (150 free) were the other women's winners, and Stuart Ferguson (150 breast), Alex Hancock (150 fly) and Kyle Owens (150 back) earned the other men's victories. The team of Brandon Siemasko, Ferguson, Hancock and Chierighini gave the Blue team an early lead with a win in the 200 medley relay.
Junior John Santeiu IV had the top dives for the Auburn men on all three boards, and sophomore Shanna Schuelein posted the top scores in the women's 1- and 3-meter dives.
With Orange holding an 18-point lead after diving, the Blue team cut it to a 5-point deficit with a 1-2 finish in the women's 200 freestyle relay. The team of Haley Krakoski, Megan Fonteno, Sarah Reynolds and Lindsey Norberg took the top spot, and the team of Hannah Riordan, Forman, Tryshia Centeno-Rosa and Aubrey Peacock took the second spot, edging out the Orange relay by .03 seconds. But the men's team of TJ Leon, Disney-May, Owens and Grothe clinched the win for the Orange team with a victory in the 200 free relay.
The Tigers will begin the 2012-13 regular season three weeks from today on Friday, Oct. 12, as longtime rival Alabama visits the James E. Martin Aquatic Center for an SEC showdown.