Feb. 14, 2017
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Maddie Cox and Alison Maillard both scored personal-bests on the 3-meter and Erin Falconer did the same to lead off the women's 800 free relay as action got started with a pair of diving and relay events on Tuesday at the 2017 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships in Knoxville.
Cox and Alison became the first Auburn teammates to final on the women's 3-meter at an SEC Championship since 2012 when the two finished seventh and eighth, respectively, on Tuesday night. Cox posted a 311.35 in the finals after advancing with a personal-best 332.35 during prelims. Maillard also posted a personal-best during prelims (326.60) before finishing eighth in finals (310.95). Miranda Telmanik finished 36th (232.60).
"It's a great accomplishment to have two girls in the finals as we hadn't done that in quite a while," Auburn diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. "Now that they've got that experience the next step is learning how to step up and perform a little bit stronger in the finals. But the first step is getting to the finals."
Falconer swam a personal-best 1:45.02 to lead off Auburn's fifth-place finishing 800 free relay. Her time, which ranks her seventh all-time at Auburn, put Auburn in fourth at the first exchange. Aly Tetzloff followed with a 1:46.71, Zoe Thatcher swam a 1:45.94 and Jessica Merritt anchored in 1:46.62 for a total time of 7:04.29.
"Erin loves to race so we put her up front because that's the place she loves the most, she loves the pressure," Auburn head coach Brett Hawke said. "She has the best walls in the business. Her turns are incredible. I'm really happy to see her swimming some fast times.
"I think the women's (800 free relay) was the best we have swam in five or six years," Hawke said.
Auburn's women had started the night with a seventh-place finish in the 200 medley relay (1:37.11) and are in fourth place in the team standings with four days remaining.
Auburn's men sit in fifth place despite taking home a runner-up finish in the 800 free relay (6:16.78). That came following a sixth-place showing in the 200 medley relay (1:24.19) with Kyle Darmody and Joe Patching swimming on both relays.
"I thought the first two events for us were solid swims overall but just a little tense; I think we were just edgy in those medley relays," Hawke said. "I think it got the nerves out and the 800 free relays were much better.
"The men really clawed their way back (in the 800 free relay) with four solid swims all around," Hawke said.
Pete Turnham and Scott Lazeroff earned the first points of the championships during prelims of the men's 1-meter diving. Turnham turned in a 338.65 to finish 10th while Lazeroff posted a 301.20 to finish 18th as it took a 346.55 to advance into the top eight finals. Justin Checchin scored a 224.20 to place 31st.
"I thought Pete did a great job, he made one error on a reverse two-and-a-half but he scored more points than he did last year on the 1-meter and it was a tough and deeper contest," Shaffer said. "Scott did five solid dives and had a breakdown in focus on his last dive. If he gets seven-and-a-halves he's right on the doorstep of diving in the finals. We have to build on our success and correct the mistakes we made as we move on."
Wednesday's prelims begin at 10 a.m. and will include the 500 free, 200 IM and 50 free.
Tuesday SEC Champions and Auburn finishes
Men's 1-meter
1. Liam Stone (TENN) 420.70/468.30
10. Pete Turnham 338.65
18. Scott Lazeroff 301.20
31. Justin Checchin 224.20
Womens' 200 Medley Relay
1. Georgia (Smoliga, Cameron, Britt, Van Landeghhem) 1:35.28
7. Auburn (Tetzloff, Lloyd, Black, Purcell) 1:37.11
Men's 200 Medley Relay
1. Florida (Blyzinskyj, Bray, Switkowski, Dressel) 1:23.44
6. Auburn (Darmody, Duderstadt, Patching, Holoda) 1:24.19
Women's 3-meter
1. Julia Vincent (SC) 377.80/400.50
7. Maddie Cox 332.35 (PR)/311.35
8. Alison Maillard 326.60 (PR)/310.95
36. Miranda Telmanik 232.60
Women's 800 Medley Relay
1. Texas A&M (Gibson, Pickrem, Portz, Rasmus) 6:57.90
5. Auburn (Falconer, Tetzloff, Thatcher, Merritt) 7:04.29
Men's 800 Medley Relay
1. Florida (Baqlah, Rooney, D'Arrigo, Szaranek) 6:12.18
2. Auburn (H. Morris, Darmody, Apple, Patching) 6:16.78
Women's Top 5 Team Scores After Day 1
1. Texas A&M 158
2. Georgia 155
3. Missouri 146
4. Auburn 141
5. Kentucky 139
Men's Top 5 Team Scores After Day 1
1. Texas A&M 188
2. Florida 165.5
3. LSU 154
4. Tennessee 144.5
5. Auburn 128