Feb. 19, 2016
Needing a near-perfect night to cut the gap on first-place Florida, the Auburn men's swimming and diving team got one.
Hugo Morriswon the 200 butterfly.
Michael Duderstadt won the 100 breaststroke.
Then the Hungarian Hammer, Peter Holoda, made sure that if the Tigers weren't going to win the 400 medley relay, they certainly wouldn't finish anywhere other than second.
Entering the fourth night of the five-night SEC Swimming and Diving Championships, Auburn trailed first-place Florida by 54 points. By the time Auburn walked out of the Mizzou Aquatic Center on Friday night, the deficit was sliced to a very manageable 30 points with five events remaining.
"We talked about the possibilities of this group and what we are capable of and we really showed that tonight," Auburn head coach Brett Hawke said. "It's just an expression of all the hard work and the belief that we ultimately have in ourselves as a team. There were some amazing performances tonight."
Morris claimed Auburn's first 200 butterfly event in over a decade, touching in a school and SEC record 1:40.59. The last Auburn man to win the 200 fly title was Jeremy Knowles in 2004.
Morris was not alone in having a great 200 fly as Arthur Mendes swam a personal-best 1:42.02 to finish fifth and Luis Martinez placed 15th (1:45.08).
Duderstadt, who was seeded second in the finals of the 100 breaststroke, brought home Auburn's second individual title of the night and its third of the championships with a 51.94. His title was the 13th all-time in Auburn history in the event and its first since Stuart Ferguson in 2011.
"All this hard work that has built up and it finally comes down to one moment," Duderstadt said. "The only reason I knew I had touched first is because I looked over at the team and they were going nuts."
Holoda entered the water as the anchor of the 400 medley relay with Auburn trailing both Florida and Alabama. Florida owned over a three second lead on Auburn and Alabama a .15 second lead. Holoda then sliced his way to a 41.13 anchor leg, one of only two anchor legs under 42 seconds (Missouri was the other), to chase down Alabama and give the Tigers a runner-up showing, putting Joe Patching, Duderstadt and Arthur Mendes back on the podium for the team's fourth relay silver medal at these championships.
For Auburn it was a night that was full of posing on the podium as Annie Lazor also tied for third in the 100 breaststroke in a personal-best 59.68 and Scott Lazeroff won a bronze medal on the platform (377.10) after reaching the finals by just .05 points in the prelims over Florida's Sam Smith, 335.40 to 335.35.
"I honestly can't remember my swim, I just remember being up on the blocks and thinking, `I'm going to be on the podium tonight,' so that was a great feeling to have," Lazor said.
"It was a cliff-hanger for most of the time," Auburn diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. "That was probably Scott's worst performance all year on platform. I think he got caught up diving in finals and forgot that he had to dive in the prelims. Fortunately he hit his last dive and by five-hundredths of a point he gets a second chance to perform in the finals. I thought in the end he did a great job."
With one day of swimming left, Auburn has 952 points to Florida's 982 in the men's team race. Georgia is in a distant third with 802 points.
In the women's team race Auburn is in fifth place with 538 points, but is lurking just seven points behind fourth-place Missouri (545 points).
Kristen Murslack got the night started off in exciting fashion, touching in a personal-best 1:58.96 in the 200 butterfly C Finals.
One event later it was senior Sarah Reynolds dropping a personal-best, touching in 52.69 in the championship final of the 100 backstroke.
Individual swimming concludes on Saturday with the 1650 freestyle, 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle and 200 breaststroke. The women's platform prelims and finals will also be contested as will the 400 freestyle relay.
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 200 Butterfly
1. Hali Flickinger (UGA) -- 1:52.62
14. Bailey Nero -- 1:58.85
21. Kristen Murslack -- 1:58.96
Men's 200 Butterfly
1. Hugo Morris -- 1:40.59
5. Arthur Mendes -- 1:42.02
15. Luis Martinez -- 1:45.08
Women's 100 Backstroke
1. Olivia Smoliga (UGA) -- 50.80
7. Sarah Reynolds -- 52.69
8. Jillian Vitarius -- 27.77
15. Caroline Baddock -- 53.67
Men's 100 Backstroke
1. Connor Oslin -- 45.25
5. Kyle Darmody -- 46.09
12. Joshua Booth -- 47.45
15. Taylor Copeland -- 47.48
Women's 100 Breaststroke
1. Katharine Ross (MIZ) -- 58.38
T3. Annie Lazor -- 59.68
7. Natasha Lloyd -- 1:00.35
15. Beatriz Travalon -- 1:01.85
Men's 100 Breaststroke
1. Michael Duderstadt -- 51.94
13. Jacob Molacek -- 53.88
18. Tommy Brewer -- 54.15
Men's Platform Diving
1. Mauricio Robles (TENN) -- 439.90
3. Scott Lazeroff -- 377.10
13. Pete Turnham -- 303.05
15. Justin Youtsey -- 293.65
Women's 400 Medley Relay
1. Texas A&M -- 3:30.15
6. Auburn (Vitarius, Lazor, Tetzloff, Ellzey) -- 3:34.84
Men's 400 Medley Relay
1. Florida -- 3:03.86
2. Florida (Patching, Duderstadt, Mendes, Holoda) -- 3:05.44
Women's Team Scores
1. Texas A&M -- 847.5
2. Tennessee -- 828.5
3. Georgia -- 815.5
4. Missouri -- 545
5. Auburn -- 538
Men's Team Scores
1. Florida -- 982
2. Auburn -- 952
3. Georgia -- 802
4. Missouri -- 673
5. Alabama -- 667
Complete Results in PDF | Complete Results in HTML
Additional Auburn Quotes
Brett Hawke On how Friday can carry over into Saturday...
"We wanted to build momentum, build belief. We have a big task ahead of us on both the women's and men's side to move up. We've put ourselves in a position to finish higher than we did last year, and that's what we wanted to do coming into this meet. We wanted to beat ourselves and get better."
On associate head coach John Hargis...
"I want to make special mention of coach Hargis and his coaching at this meet. His coaching has just been outstanding. It's really special to see it come together like that."
On the two individual titles...
"Duder (Michael Duderstadt) is a freak athlete and I love watching him perform. He was pressured tonight and he relaxed under that pressure and he got his hand on the wall and he deserved to win that one.
"Hugo is just a racer. Hugo loves to compete and he's tough. He's an Aussie so he's built tough. He's a good kid and he would do anything for the team."
Michael Duderstadt
"I was real nervous going into the finals. Whenever I got to pool deck Brett (Hawke) sat me down and told me to focus on my race, focus on doing what you need to do, not really the end result, just the process. That calmed me down."
On winning a close race...
"It's always good to win, especially with such a good group of guys to race with. I knew it was going to be real close going in so it just felt good to get my hand on the wall first."
On how confident he feels going into NCAAs...
"Real confident. I think that was a huge confidence boost for me. The next four weeks -- we have to get through tomorrow first, the 200 breaststroke, then we'll see how the next four weeks play out."
Annie Lazor
"Wow. There was a lot of energy going into it. It's really comforting having Tash (Natasha Lloyd) right next to me. I looked at her and it's just like practice every single day. As much nerves that we in me that was a nice thing to have, a little piece of home with me."
Diving Coach Jeff Shaffer
"It's a little bit off what he consistently does but it was a tremendous learning experience that will make him better as we prepare for NCAAs. I just so proud of the effort that Justin (Youtsey) and Scott and Pete (Turnham) did all week and in all three events. If you total up the scores I think Auburn's men had the highest point total if you look school-by-school. I'm really proud of their effort and contribution to give the team a chance tomorrow."
Scott Lazeroff
"I knew I had to do it for the team. We needed some points and I had to do everything I could to get us back on our feet. I did the best that I could. I really like platform, that is my go-to event. I'm just happy I made it past prelims. I guess the diving gods gave me a little boost and let me make it to finals."
Hugo Morris
"This morning I definitely felt the races that I have been doing this whole week. I didn't let it get to me, I didn't listen to that little voice in my head. Coming out to the blocks I just wanted to turn my brain off and do what I've been training to do. The whole thing was a blur. I remember turning at 150 and thinking, `man, I could win this.' I just put my head down after that and went for it.
On winning a close race...
"I've been in close races, it's something you get used to, especially training with guys like (Joe) Patching and Duder (Michaeld Duderstadt) and Arthur (Mendes); it's like that every day."
On the team goals for the rest of the meet...
"We're looking to win SECs. If we did it would be a big upset. It's been a goal for us as a team ever since I got here last year."