Feb. 18, 2016
Thursday was moving day for the Auburn women's swimming and diving team as the Tigers moved from ninth place to fifth with a day full of solid swims. Auburn came into the night with 217.5 points and left the Mizzou Aquatic Center with 354.5 points. The men's team saw the gap between it and Florida widen but the Tigers remain in second place, 54 points behind.
"This morning in our meeting we talked about how we had seven girls that had not raced individually yet as of last night; six of those girls scored points for us tonight and the seventh swam faster than she's ever swum while at Auburn," Associate head coach for women Lauren Hancocksaid. "That was an injection of energy and an injection of performance that we somewhat saved until this day and it really paid off."
The Auburn women wasted little time picking up quality points when Zoe Thatcher (4:14.12) and Annie Lazor (4:16.46) finished 13th and 14th, respectively, and Bailey Nero took 23rd (4:17.89) in the 400 IM. The three finishes tallied 29 points and was enough to vault Auburn up to sixth place.
Auburn's biggest points grab came one event later - in the 100 butterfly - when Aly Tetzloff placed seventh (52.38), Sarah Reynolds placed 13th (53.57), Caroline Baddock took 14th (53.58) and Alex Merritt took 18th (53.71), giving the team 57 points. Tetzloff's finish was the first top-eight finish in the event for Auburn since Olivia Scott took second in 2013.
"When you have five athletes scoring in any one event you are going to pass people," Hancock said. "Those five girls represented three different training groups. It's all about stepping up and doing it for the team."
Maddie Cox, who is competing in the SEC Championships for the first time, brought home an 11th-place finish, scoring 292.75 on the 3-meter, and Morgan Mullins scored 270.00 to place 21st, giving Auburn 20 more points.
The women closed out the night by collecting 27 points in the 200 free. Jillian Vitarius won the B Final in 1:46.25 while Erin Falconer swam a personal best 1:46.67 to finish 18th.
In the men's team race, Auburn maintained its footing on second place thanks to six top-eight finishes, including three on the medal stand.
"Right now it seems to be a two-team race between us and Florida," Associate head coach John Hargis said. "Florida is an unbelievable team and our guys are swimming as expected. We just have to keep plugging away. It's like a boxing match between us and Florida - they jab and we jab back. Ultimately we have to continue to jab and see what happens over these next two days."
Hugo Morris recorded the highest finish of his career in the 200 free, finishing second in 1:33.65. Peter Holoda joined him in the Championship Final, finishing eighth in 1:36.20. Zach Apple finished 23rd in 1:37.62.
"Guys this morning stepped up big," Hargis said. "We knew we needed swims and Peter had a monster swim and Hugo followed that up with a great swim as well. They came in tonight in a good situation. Hugo laid it out there and put himself in position to win."
Joe Patching narrowly missed sweeping the IM events, finishing the 400 in third in 3:42.71, the second-best time in school history. Sam Stewart was just three places behind him in sixth in 3:45.43. Jordan Jones finished 20th (3:52.61).
"Joe knew he needed to create space between him and the field at the 200 and so that's what he did," Hargis said. "I think he forced the backstroke maybe a hair much, and maybe the fly a bit much and that's what cost him in the end. But another best time, and a bronze medal, we'll take it. He laid it out there and we're proud of him."
Arthur Mendes also grabbed his best finish in the 100 fly, swimming a 45.98 to place third. Luis Martinez was eighth (46.61) and Liam McCloskey was 12th (46.99).
Individual swimming continues on Friday with the 200 butterfly, 100 backstroke and 100 breaststroke. The men's platform prelims and finals will also be contested as will the 400 medley relay. 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 400 IM
1. Sydney Pickrem (TAMU) -- 4:05.32
13. Zoe Thatcher -- 4:14.12
14. Annie Lazor -- 4:16.46
23. Bailey Nero -- 4:17.89
Men's 400 IM
1. Jay Litherland (UGA) -- 3:40.33
3. Joe Patching -- 3:42.71
6. Sam Stewart -- 3:45.43
20. Jordan Jones -- 3:52.61
Women's 100 Butterfly
1. Sarah Gibson (TAMU) -- 51.17
7. Aly Tetzloff -- 52.38
13. Sarah Reynolds -- 53.57
14. Caroline Baddock -- 53.58
18. Alex Merritt -- 53.71
Men's 100 Butterfly
1. Caeleb Dressel (UF) -- 44.80
3. Arthur Mendes -- 45.98
8. Luis Martinez -- 46.61
12. Liam McCloskey -- 46.99
Women's 3-Meter Diving
1. Kahlia Warner (UF) -- 383.75
11. Maddie Cox -- 292.75
21. Morgan Mullins -- 270.00
29. Carly Scheper -- 258.40
Women's 200 Freestyle
1. Brittany MacLean (UGA) -- 1:43.64
9. Jillian Vitarius -- 1:46.25
18. Erin Falconer -- 1:46.67
Men's 200 Freestyle
1. Matias Koski (UGA) - 1:33.43
2. Hugo Morris -- 1:33.65
8. Peter Holoda -- 1:36.20
23. Zach Apple -- 1:37.62
Women's Team Scores
1. Texas A&M -- 657.5
2. Tennessee -- 645.5
3. Georgia -- 584.5
4. Florida -- 426
5. Auburn -- 354.5
Men's Team Scores
1. Florida -- 723
2. Auburn -- 669
3. Georgia -- 572
4. Alabama - 449
5. Missouri -- 429
Additional Auburn Quotes
Lauren Hancock
"We talked about how the morning swims set us up to score points at night. Those six girls plus the rest of the team really stepped up and put us in position to score us enough points to move from ninth to fifth tonight."