Feb. 17, 2016
With every swim meaning so much to the team race, Joe Patching put the team on his shoulders in the 200 IM, winning the SEC title to keep Auburn within striking distance of first-place Florida after two days of the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships.
"The men are in a fight, a battle right now," Auburn head coach Brett Hawke said. "We are a couple of days in with three to go. From what we've done, I'm really happy with it, but there is a lot more to do."
Patching, who after two-plus years was still in search of his first SEC gold medal -- individual or relay -- grabbed hold of the lead on the second leg of the 200 IM and never let up, touching in a school record 1:42.21.
"Everything just came together tonight, mentally and physically," Patching said. "I just felt ready to win. When I stepped up on the block I knew I was capable of that. Looking across on that last 25 and seeing two guys chasing me down gave me all the more fight to get to the wall first."
Patching's title marked the first time Auburn has won the 200 IM since George Bovell won it in back-to-back meets in 2003 and 2004. His time of 1:42.21 was a personal best by a second and bested Bovell's school record 1:42.66 from the 2003 NCAA Championships.
"It's huge for the team, for the program," Hawke said. "It was really big for Joe to finally crack a win here at SECs. He is the hardest trainer we have on the team. To see him reap the rewards of that success is really nice."
Patching was far from being the only one collecting big points for Auburn in the 200 IM as Michael Duderstadt finished fifth (1:44.73) and Jacob Molacek finished sixth (1:44.85). Sam Stewart (1:46.48) placed 14th and Tommy Brewer 16th (1:46.96) as Auburn collected 105 points in that event alone.
In the diving well Auburn's trio of Justin Youtsey, Scott Lazeroff and Pete Turnham also chipped in major points, finishing fourth (371.20), fifth (357.25) and 12th (306.25), respectively, with both Youtsey and Lazeroff posting career bests and adding 66 points to the team total.
"Right from the prelims the guys did a great job stepping up," Auburn head diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. "Justin was real consistent and I'm real excited for him. He did four outstanding dives and two dives that we need to do better as we prepare for NCAAs, but it's great to contribute to the team race and do our part for the team."
Auburn also was able to collect a pile of points -- 71 to be exact - in the 50 free where Peter Holoda swam a 19.17 to finish second, Kyle Darmody finished seventh in 19.52 and Zach Apple won the B Final in 19.48.
After two days Auburn has 497 points, trailing only Florida's 504 points. Georgia is in third with 362 points.
"We are in it. The men can sense that we're in it," Hawke said. "They know it and we just have to come back -- it's not really about our top guys, they're swimming well, it's about our depth. Our depth has to come through tomorrow for us and that's what we'll be keying in on."
The men's scoring was rounded out with a runner-up finish in the 200 free relay in 1:16.63 and a fifth-place finish by Hugo Morris in the 500 free A Final (4:18.47).
On the women's side Auburn sits in ninth with 217.5 points. Tennessee leads the women's championships with 437.5 points and Georgia is in second with 430 points.
Auburn's women had just one top-eight finish on the night, placing fourth in the 200 free relay in 1:29.14. Aly Tetzloff led off the relay in 22.22, which is the 10th-best 50 free in school history.
The only other event that Auburn had a top-16 finish in was the 50 free where it placed three in the B Final. Aly Tetzloff tied for 11th in 22.47, Allyx Purcell was 13th (22.49) and Ashton Ellzey was 14th (22.61).
In the women's 500 free, Erin Falconer swam a lifetime best 4:46.02 to place 20th. She was one of three Auburn swimmers to swim the C Final along with Zoe Thatcher (4:45.58/18th) and Ashley Neidigh (4:47.88/23rd)
Individual swimming continues on Thursday with the 400 IM, 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle. The women's 3-meter diving prelims and finals will also be contested. The five-day meet runs through Saturday.
The SEC Championships are being broadcast live on SEC Network+. A one-hour wrap-up show will air on ESPNU on March 2 at 3 p.m. CT (men's) and 4:30 p.m. (women's).
SEC CHAMPION & AUBURN FINISHES
Women's 500 Freestyle
1. Brittany MacLean (UGA) -- 4:33.10
18. Zoe Thatcher -- 4:45.58
20. Erin Falconer -- 4:46.02
23. Ashley Neidigh -- 4:47.88
Men's 500 Freestyle
1. Pawel Werner (UF) -- 4:13.31
5. Hugo Morris -- 4:18.47
22. Alec Morris -- 4:26.14
Women's 200 IM
1. Lisa Bratton (TAMU) -- 1:54.97
22. Bailey Nero -- 2:00.18
Men's 200 IM
1. Joe Patching -- 1:42.21
5. Michael Duderstadt -- 1:44.73
6. Jacob Molacek -- 1:44.85
14. Sam Stewart -- 1:46.48
16. Tommy Brewer -- 1:46.96
Women's 50 Free
1. Olivia Smoliga -- 21.67
T11. Aly Tetzloff -- 22.47
13. Allyx Purcell -- 22.49
14. Ashton Ellzey -- 22.61
Men's 50 Free
2. Peter Holoda -- 19.17
7. Kyle Darmody -- 19.52
9. Zach Apple -- 19.48
24. Ziv Kalontarov -- 20.17
Men's 3-meter
1. Mauricio Robles (TENN) -- 459.75
4. Justin Youtsey -- 366.65/371.20
5. Scott Lazeroff -- 319.55/357.25
12. Pete Turnham -- 306.25
Women's 200 Free Relay
1. Tennessee - 1:27.36
4. Auburn -- 1:29.14 (Tetzloff, Purcell, McKernan, Ellzey)
Men's 200 Free Relay
1. Florida -- 1:16.46
2. Auburn -- 1:16.63 (Holoda, Molacek, Duderstadt, Darmody)
Women's Team Scores
T1. Tennessee -- 437.5
2. Georgia -- 430
3. Texas A&M -- 412.5
4. Florida -- 274
5. Missouri -- 244.5
9. Auburn -- 217.5
Men's Team Scores
1. Florida -- 504
2. Auburn -- 497
3. Georgia -- 362
4. Alabama - 361
5. Missouri -- 312
Additional Auburn Quotes
Brett Hawke
On the contributions of the divers...
"The divers were fantastic today. Big points for us, big momentum swing for us and it gives us a lot of confidence when the other side of the program is taking care of business."
Joe Patching
On his emotions after the race...
"That was my first-ever SEC Championship. I'd never won a relay with anyone, we've always come close -- got a couple silvers and then last year got a few bronze medals individually. That was my first ever championship. We've been working hard all year and we know that we got a great team here. I just wanted to keep the energy going. You don't think about what you're doing at the end there. You just touch the wall and all the emotions come out. That must have been built up inside and I was just happy to release it at the end."
On how this translates to his NCAA preparation...
"It was a best time by a second. I know that my preparation towards NCAAs is going really well. I'm sure after we've had another couple swims here our preparation leading into that meet is going to be going really well."
Jeff Shaffer
On the divers...
"It was great for Scott to finally get into his first SEC final after being ninth on the 3-meter. Pete put in another great performance, just missing a little bit on his entries on a few dives, but he's really coming and I think the experience will continue to make him a much stronger competitor and really help us down the road."