March 25, 2016
Final Stats in HTML | Final Stats in HTML | Saturday Heat Sheet | Photo Gallery
Joe Patching set the school record in the 400 IM when he placed third in the B Final of the 400 IM on night three of the 2016 Men's Swimming and Diving Championships on Friday at Georgia Tech's McAuley Aquatic Center.
"I have been real close before and this morning I was real close again," Patching said of setting the school record. "Tonight I had something else in that last hundred. I don't know what it was; I managed the breaststroke a little bit better and then gave it all I got. Going head-to-head against some of the best IMers in the country gave me a bit more motivation."
Patching, a junior from Ascot, England, touched in 3:41.79 in the B Final, besting Eric Shanteau's 3:42.44 from the 2005 NCAA Championships and giving Patching the school record in both IMs. Patching, who swam a 3:42.75 in the morning, is the first Auburn swimmer to final in the 400 IM at NCAAs since Andrew Mitchell in 2008.
Swimming in the championship finals of the 200 medley relay, Auburn brought home an eighth-place finish, touching in 1:24.51. It was Auburn's third top-eight relay of the meet.
Hugo Morris dropped his time by .15 seconds from the morning in swimming a 1:33.71 to finish fifth in the B Final and 13th overall in the 200 freestyle. His finish is the best by an Auburn swimmer at the national championships since Zane Grothe finished 13th in 2013 and marks a huge jump from his 31st-place showing a year ago.
Michael Duderstadt tied for 10th in the 100 breaststroke after touching in 52.27 on Friday night, .22 seconds better than his prelims time (52.49). It marks the second straight year that he finished 10th in the event and the third straight in which he was a consolation finalist, finishing 12th in 2014.
In the team race Auburn is in 12th with 111 points. Texas leads the meet with 366 points.
"The last day is a tough day for everyone," Patching said. "We've been training all year for this and we have a big day tomorrow. We are just going to try and clinch every point we can."
The meet concludes on Saturday with 9 a.m. CT prelims and 5 p.m. finals. Events contested will be the 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, 400 free relay, platform diving and the 1650 freestyle.
NCAA Champion & Auburn Results
400 IM (prelims/finals)
1. Josh Prenot (Cal) -- 3:39.10/3:35.82
11. Joe Patching -- 3:42.75/3:41.79
200 freestyle (prelims/finals)
1. Townley Haas (Texas) -- 1:32.45/1:30.46
13. Hugo Morris -- 1:33.86/1:33.71
100 breaststroke (prelims/finals)
1. Fabian Schwingenschlogl (Missouri) -- 51.53/51.29
t10. Michael Duderstadt -- 52.49/52.27
200 medley relay
1. Alabama -- 1:22.28
8. Auburn -- 1:24.51 (Darmody 21.40/Duderstadt 23.72/Mendes 20.41/Holoda 18.98)
Team Standings
1. Texas -- 366
2. California -- 271
3. Florida -- 255
4. NC State -- 197
5. Georgia -- 162
11. Auburn - 111