Feb. 19, 2016
Auburn will have six different swimmers swimming for an individual SEC Championship on Friday night following the morning prelims session. Auburn will send two men to the 200 butterfly Championship Final, two women to the 100 backstroke final and 2 women into the 100 breaststroke A final. In all Auburn will have nine men swimming tonight and eight women.
Three out of four Auburn entries in the men's 200 butterfly swam personal bests during this morning's prelims. Hugo Morris, the only one not to, is seeded second (1:42.46) while Arthur Mendes is seeded fourth after dropping his best time by .21, which puts him fifth in school history. Luis Martinez (1:44.72) will swim in the B Final while Liam McCloskey (1:47.18) is the first alternate.
All three swimmers that swam the 100 backstroke will return, with both Jillian Vitarius (52.58) and Sarah Reynolds (53.02) swimming in the Championship Final and Caroline Baddock in the B Final after she posted a personal-best 53.22.
Annie Lazor and Natasha Lloyd each swam personal bests to advance to the Championship Final of the 100 breaststroke. Lazor lowered her best time by .03 seconds to 59.73 and is seeded third while Lloyd dropped her best by .38 and is now just the eighth Auburn swimmer to go under a minute in the event. She will be seeded fifth. Beatriz Travalon will swim in the B Final after touching in 1:01.36.
Kyle Darmody will swim the A Final of the men's 100 backstroke after touching in 46.26 this morning. Joshua Booth, who swam a personal best 47.39, and Taylor Copeland (47.47) will be in the B Final.
Michael Duderstadt will swim in lane five of the men's 100 breaststroke Championship Final after swimming the second-fastest time of the morning (52.43). Jacob Molacek (53.94) will swim in the B Final and Tommy Brewer (54.22) in the C Final after Brewer hit a personal-best this morning.
Bailey Nero (1:58.45) and Kristen Murslack (1:59.01) will both return for tonight's 200 butterfly. Nero finished the morning 14th and will swim in the B Final while Murslack, who swam a personal best, is seeded 21st and will swim in the C Final.
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. (men's) and 4:30 p.m. (women's).
AUBURN PRELIMS FINISHES
Women's 200 Butterfly
14. Bailey Nero ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 1:58.45
21. Kristen Murslack ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 1:59.01
28. Alex Merritt ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 2:00.44
31. Maddie Martin ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 2:00.71
41. Jessica Hodgson ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 2:02.55
Men's 200 Butterfly
2. Hugo Morris ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 1:42.46
4. Arthur Mendes ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 1:42.79
12. Luis Martinez ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 1:44.72
25. Liam McCloskey ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 1:47.18
Women's 100 Backstroke
7. Jillian Vitarius ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 52.58
8. Sarah Reynolds ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 53.02
12. Caroline Baddock ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 53.22
Men's 100 Backstroke
6. Kyle Darmody ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 46.26
12. Joshua Booth ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 47.39
14. Taylor Copeland ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 47.47
31. Ziv Kalontarov ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 49.31
Women's 100 Breaststroke
3. Annie Lazor ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 59.73
5. Natasha Lloyd ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 59.90
13. Beatriz Travalon ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 1:01.36
Men's 100 Breaststroke
2. Michael Duderstadt ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 52.43
14. Jacob Molacek ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 53.94
18. Tommy Brewer ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 54.22