Nov. 15, 2017
by Dan Froehlich, Auburn Media Relations
The first time Indiana resident Aly Tetzloff laid eyes on the NCAA and SEC Championship banners hanging in the James E. Martin Aquatics Center, she knew she was coming to Auburn.
A 12-year-old attending her first swimming camp, Tetzloff, now a junior, came to Auburn's summer swimming camp not knowing a thing about Auburn. But by the time she left, she might as well have bled Orange and Blue.
As a 4-year-old, Tetzloff wanted to be a gymnast. But there was a problem. She was, according to her mom, too tall.
"My mom pushed me out of the tumbling, gymnastics stage into swim lessons," Aly said. "I think I took one summer lesson and they told my mom, 'You need to put her on the team.'"
That led Aly to joining her local club swimming team when she was 6 and her place in a state cup meet before she was even 10.
Fast forward just a few more years, and Aly and her cousin are swimming laps in Auburn, pushed here by a mother just looking to do something different, to go somewhere out of her comfort zone.
"I really wanted to go to a camp because all of my little competitor friends were going to them," she said. "My mom knew about the multiple NCAA and SEC Championships. 'Why not go to a school that has produced these great swimmers?' my mom said."
By the time Aly had wrapped up her first Auburn swim camp, she was hooked.
"I told my mom I wanted to come back."
Unfortunately, she never made it back for another swim camp, but instead returned five years later, this time to join Auburn's powerhouse program.
Now in her third year at Auburn, Tetzloff is lighting up the scoreboard with wins and career best times.
Just five dual meets into the 2017-18 season, she has already shown the country that she is going to be one of Auburn's top swimmers. She has won the 100 backstroke each time she has swam it this season, has won the 100 butterfly twice and the 200 IM once. She also has recorded NCAA B cuts in all three of those events as well as the 100 free.
Three times in four weekends she has already posted personal bests in the 100 back, shaving precious time off her previous best (53.80) in the season-opener against Wisconsin and Tennessee (53.58), a rarity, and again the following weekend against Texas A&M (53.37). The following weekend at home against Alabama, she did it again, dropping her time to 53.28, which is currently 14th-fastest in the country.
"Honestly I didn't expect that," Aly said.
This weekend Tetzloff, who leads off Auburn's medley relays in addition to her various individual events, will face some stiff competition as Auburn's women head to the Georgia Tech Invitational, which will include Alabama, Florida State, Georgia Tech and South Carolina, among others.
"I think it's pretty obvious I have a lot of front-end speed," she said. "Everyone knows that's my racing style. I like to take it out fast and see what I can bring it home in. That's what I like about the 200 IM. My best strokes are up front, fly and back, back-to-back, so I really like that event."
As the season progresses, the goal is for Tetzloff and her teammates to add to the banner collection in the Aquatics Center rafters, perhaps touching the heart of another young swimmer at camp down the road.
"Deep down I knew I always wanted to come here," she said. "My mom joked that if she would have taken me to a swim camp at Stanford, would I have gone there? But my heart has always belonged here."
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The Georgia Tech Invitational is a three-day event held at Georgia Tech's McAuley Aquatics Center, Nov. 16-18. The prelims will take place at 9:30 a.m. CT with the finals set for each night at 4:30 p.m.
Each session will be live streamed via ESPN3 and live stats are available at .
The order of events is as follows:
Thursday, Nov. 16
200 Free Relay
500 Freestyle
200 IM
50 Freestyle
Women's 3-meter
Men's 1-meter
400 Medley Relay
Friday, Nov. 17
200 Medley Relay
400 IM
100 Butterfly
200 Freestyle
100 Breaststroke
100 Backstroke
Women's 1-Meter
Men's 3-meter
800 Freestyle Relay
Saturday, Nov. 18
1650 Freestyle
200 Backstroke
100 Freestyle
200 Breaststroke
200 Butterfly
Platform Diving
400 Freestyle Relay