Feb. 20, 2014
 | ||||||||||
|
ATHENS, Ga. - Eighteen Auburn swimmers returned for finals on the third day of action at the 2014 SEC Championships in Athens, Ga., at Gabrielsen Natatorium on Thursday night.
After holding the lead for the first two days of the competition on the men's side, Auburn dropped to second as Florida's wins in the 200 free and 400 IM put the Tigers down 52 points heading into Friday. Auburn has 721.5 points heading into Friday as Florida leads the men's side with 773. Despite falling out of first place, the Tigers have some of their strongest events left in the competition and are still in the hunt.
"There was some tough racing out there tonight. We're definitely feeling the effects of the competition," Auburn head coach Brett Hawke said. "We just need to get some rest and start from scratch in the morning. We've got a good morning coming and we've got to be prepared to race tough. It's going to be a tight race to the end; we're in it and happy to be in it."
Auburn's women made the biggest jump of the day in the team standings, moving up from ninth to fifth in part to six swimmers getting return swims in the 100 fly and Shanna Schuelein's seventh-place finish in the 3-meter diving final. The Tigers enter the final two days of competition just 88 points back of fourth-place Tennessee as Georgia continues to lead the field at 879 points.
"It was a big day for the women. We knew if we could continue to put girls in finals we'd have a chance to move up on the scoreboard. I'm excited to see what they can do over the final two days," Hawke said.
Auburn's trio of Marcelo Chierighini, Cameron Jones and Arthur Mendes put together solid times for the Tigers in the 100 fly championship final. Mendes posted his best SEC Championships finish in an individual event taking fourth place in the A-final at 46.24, a new personal best. Jones, a freshman from Southport, Australia that joined the team in January as a mid-year enrollee, was impressive finishing fifth as the top freshman in the championship final at 46.68, just .02 off of breaking into the Auburn record book. Chierighini led early with a fast 20.9 split of the blocks and finished tied for seventh at 46.83.
Senior TJ Leon returned for the consolation final and took 16th overall with a swim of 47.89. Junior Kevin Behrens was 24th overall in the 100 fly, posting a time of 48.19 in the evening session.
Senior Zane Grothe led the way for the Tigers in the men's 200 with a seventh-place finish in the championship final at 1:35.49. In the consolation final, Auburn's Alexander Hancock was 13th overall with a time of 1:36.09, while Tommy McKee was 15th in 1:36.87. Allen Browning scored a point for the Tigers in 24th with a swim of 1:37.52.
In the men's 400 IM, Jordan Jones took 15th overall at 3:50.49 as the lone Tiger in the event after posting a personal-best time in the morning prelims.
In the night session on the women's side, senior Aubrey Peacock led the way with a 10th-place finish overall, second in the consolation final, at 53.04 to climb into 10th in Auburn history in the 100 fly. Alexandria Merritt took 12th overall touching in 53.43. Sarah Reynolds took 14th nearly topping a personal best at 53.67, while Megan Fonteno finished seventh in the B-final for 15th in 53.76.
Auburn's diving contributed big points to help vault the Tigers' women up on the scoreboard as Shanna Schuelein finished seven appearing in her first SEC Championship final on the 3-meter. The junior posted a score of 326.55 for a personal best in the prelims and then beat that mark in the final with a six-list score at 341.40.
The Tigers also got contributions from Carly Scheper's personal record score of 313.60 in the prelim session to earn an 11th-place finish, while Cinzia Calabretta was 311.45 for 12th overall. Morgan Mullins added a 21st-place finish to score for Auburn at 287.40.
"That was great job on the women's side. I'm very proud of them," Auburn diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. "I tried to tie in to what the guys did last night and make them realize if they step up they can do the same thing. The one thing Shanna has done in the past is be a bit conservative, but I told her to let the tiger out of the cage and she did a great job tonight setting a personal best in the prelims and then doing it again in the finals."
Sarah Reynolds won the consolation final for the Tigers in the 400 IM, nearly besting a PR set earlier in the day and cruising to the victory with a 4:10.65. Ashley Neidigh appeared in B-final and took 16th overall at 4:19 after also setting a PR in Thursday's early swim.
Jillian Vitarius was out in front early in the consolation final of the 200 free and touched in 1:46.96 to improve on her personal best as the sophomore was 12th overall, fourth in the B-final. Haley Krakoski finished with a 1:47.93 to take 21st.
Auburn now turns its focus to the 200 butterfly, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke and platform diving prelims on Friday morning. The Tigers will also put the SEC's fastest 400 medley relay team this season on the blocks in Friday night's finals.
For the latest updates on Auburn Swimming and Diving, follow the Tigers on Twitter, @AuburnSwimming or like Auburn Swimming and Diving on Facebook.
Auburn Swimming & Diving
2014 SEC Championships - Day Two Prelims
February 20, 2014
Gabrielsen Natatorium - Athens, Ga.
Men's Team Scores: Florida 773.5, Auburn 721.5, Georgia 588, Texas A&M 382, Tennessee 374, Alabama 352, Missouri 343, South Carolina 293, Kentucky 278, LSU 255.
Women's Scores: Georgia 879, Florida 642, Texas A&M 614, Tennessee 439, Auburn 351, Arkansas 286, LSU 285, Missouri 281, Alabama 248, Kentucky 236, South Carolina 150, Vanderbilt 94
Men's 400 IM
15. Jordan Jones (3:50.94)
Women's 400 IM
9. Sarah Peterson (4:10.65)
16. Ashley Neidigh (4:19.47)
Men's 100 Fly
4. Arthur Mendes (46.24) (PR)
5. Cameron Jones (46.43)
T7. Marcelo Chierighini (46.83)
16. TJ Leon (47.89)
24. Kevin Behrens (48.19)
Women's 100 Fly
10. Aubrey Peacock (53.04) (PR)
12. Alexandria Merritt (53.43)
14. Sarah Reynolds (53.67)
15. Megan Fonteno (53.76)
22. Madison Martin (53.790
23. Valerie Inghels (54.19)
Women's 3-Meter Diving
7. Shanna Schuelein (341.40)
11. Carly Scheper (313.60)
12. Cinzia Calabretta (311.45)
21. Morgan Mullins (284.70)
Men's 200 Free
7. Zane Grothe (1:35.49)
13. Alexander Hancock (1:36.09)
15. Tommy McKee (1:36.97)
24. Allen Browning (1:37.01)
Women's 200 Free
12. Jillian Vitarius (1:47.04) (PR)
21. Haley Krakoski (1:47.93)