March 28, 2015
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Auburn men's swimming and diving team capped of the 2014-15 season with a ninth-place finish Saturday at the NCAA Championships held at the University of Iowa's Campus Wellness and Recreation Center.
The Tigers got four scoring performances from three different individuals and their 400-yard freestyle relay during Saturday night's finals. Auburn's Arthur Mendes, Jacob Molacek, Michael Duderstadt and Kyle Darmody locked up the Tigers' ninth-place finish at the national meet by posting a 2:51.17 in the 400 freestyle relay championship final.
"I'm really excited about how our freshmen and sophomores performed throughout the meet," head coach Brett Hawke said. "We're really excited about the future with those two classes. Our guys stepped up tonight to get key points for us to finish the meet."
In diving, McKean put together a personal-best score of 454.85 in his final collegiate event to place fifth overall in the men's platform championship final. His finish is the best by an Auburn diver on tower at the NCAA meet since Kelly Marx took fourth in 2010.
"It was just a gutsy performance by Fraser," Auburn diving coach Jeff Shaffer said of the senior. "We needed every one of his points to stay in the top 10. More importantly, the progress he's made over the last four years has been terrific and to go out with two personal-best performances, taking sixth on 3-meter and fifth place on tower is what a coach dreams of for an athlete to go out on."
Patching took eighth place in the 200 backstroke championship final with a time of 1:40.85 to earn a first-team All-America selection. The sophomore clocked a prelim swim of 1:40.16, the third-fastest time in Auburn history, to pick up a return swim in the finals session.
Darmody posted a time of 42.77 in the 100 freestyle consolation final to cap off the three-day meet, becoming the first Tiger since Matt Targett in 2009 to earn seven All-America honors at the NCAA Championships. The sophomore has earned 12 All-America selections in his two-year Auburn career.
"We really worked Kyle all week and he came through each time," Hawke said of Darmody. "He's a little tired and beat up, but we're proud of him. Getting performances from him as well as Fraser in platform diving was outstanding to close out the meet."
Auburn secured its 23rd-straight top-10 finish at the NCAA Men's Championships, a streak that dates back to 1993. The Tigers scored 182 points in the team standings to finish ninth. Texas won the NCAA title with 528 points, followed by California with 399. Michigan (312), USC (278) and Florida (248) rounded out the top-5.
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 | NCAA Results - Day Three |
NCAA Men's Championships - Day 3 Finals
March 28, 2015
Campus Recreation and Wellness Center - Iowa City, Iowa
200 Backstroke
8. Joe Patching (1:40.85)
100 Freestyle
15. Kyle Darmody (42.77)
Platform Diving
5. Fraser McKean (454.85)(PR)
400 Freestyle Relay
7. Mendes, Molacek, Duderstadt, Darmody (2:51.17)
Auburn All-Americans (28)
Kyle Darmody (7) - 200 FR, 50 free HM, 400 MR, 200 MR, 800 FR HM, 100 free HM, 400 FR
Michael Duderstadt (5) - 200 FR, 400 MR, 200 MR, 100 breast HM, 400 FR
Peter Holoda (1) - 400 FR
Fraser McKean (2) - 3-meter diving, platform diving
Arthur Mendes (5) - 200 FR, 200 MR, 100 fly HM, 800 FR HM, 400 FR
Jacob Molacek (2) - 200 FR, 200 MR
Hugo Morris (2) - 400 MR, 800 FR HM
Joe Patching (4) - 400 MR, 200 MR, 800 FR HM, 200 back
Team Scores (Top 10): 1. Texas 528, 2. California 399, 3. Michigan 312, 4. USC 278, 5. Florida 248, 6. Stanford 209, 7. Georgia 208, 8. NC State 199, 9. Auburn 182, 10. Alabama 176
Auburn Notes
- Kyle Darmody's seven All-America honors are tied for the most by an Auburn swimmer in school history. He is the first Tiger to earn All-America honors in seven events since former Tiger Matt Targett in 2009.
- Fraser McKean was Auburn's first qualifier for the men's platform championship final since Kelly Marx in 2010
- McKean's score of 454.85 in the platform final set a personal record
- Joe Patching's time of 1:40.16 in the 200 backstroke prelims ranks as the third-best time in school history
- Auburn's men have 32 top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships in 41 appearances at the national meet