Jan. 8, 2018
With the beginning of the championship season just a little more than a month away, Auburn picked up eight individual men's wins against a top-5 Texas team during an afternoon dual meet on Monday.
"Texas is the three-time defending National Champions and we always know it's going to be a tough meet," Auburn head coach Brett Hawke said. "To come away with some wins was outstanding."
Hugo Gonzalez won all three individual events in which he entered while Zach Apple and Tommy Brewer each won a pair of events as Auburn's No. 13 men dropped a 160-140 contest to No. 2 Texas.
Gonzalez continued his impressive freshman campaign, tying Ryan Harty for the top spot in the 100 back in 47.85, his second win in the event this season. He then returned to complete his stroke sweep, winning the 200 back in 1:42.98 to again best Harty.
"Hugo is continuing his great year. He's just a competitor," Hawke said. "You put him up there against anyone and he is going to find a way to get his hand on the wall. He's a great asset to the team."
The freshman from Rivas-Vaciamadrid, Spain, was not done there, topping all challengers in the 400 IM with a time of 3:48.02, marking the fourth time this season he has won the event and the third time this year he has won three individual events at a meet.
Apple took down NCAA record holder Townley Haas in the 200 free, out-touching the Olympic gold medalist 1:37.52 to 1:39.11. Just five events later the junior was 2-for-2 on the day, leading a 1-2 punch with Peter Holoda in the 100 free. Apple went 43.64 and Holoda 44.26. It was the second runner-up finish for Holoda on the day, who was out-touched by .06 in the 50 free, going 20.08.
"Zach's really carrying his great summer into another fantastic short course season," Hawke said. "He's really establishing himself as one of the best sprinters in the country."
Brewer earned his first win in the 100 breast in 55.39 and backed it up with a win in the 200, his second of the season, in 2:00.67.
Apple, Holoda, Brody Heck and William McKinney closed out the men's meet with a win in the 200 free relay in 1:19.43.
In the women's lanes, Aly Tetzloff won the 100 fly and took second in the 100 back. In the 100 fly, Tetzloff led an Auburn top-two finish with a time of 53.22. Haley Black was second in 53.58.
Tetzloff also posted a personal best in the 100 back, going 53.14 to take second, just ahead of Black in third in 54.87, also a personal best.
Bailey Nero won the 200 fly for the fourth time this season, going 1:58.55.
"I thought Bailey Nero was great for us," Hawke said. "She got the ball rolling for us in the 200 fly. Very composed race and a great tactical race for her."
Though she couldn't ever get to the wall first, freshman Carly Cummings was right there all afternoon, finishing second in both breaststrokes, touching in 1:02.31 in the 100 and 2:15.37 in the 200, with her 100 time just .11 seconds off a season best.
Auburn's No. 12 women dropped the dual meet to the No. 5 Longhorns, 175-117.
"Overall it was just interesting to see where we stand at this point in the season," Hawke said. "We certainly need to make adjustments going forward in terms of how much rest we give them going into SECs."
In the diving well, Pete Turnham scored a career-best 383.40 to win the 3-meter and paired it with a third-place showing on the 1-meter (330.23). Alison Maillard led the women with a second-place finish on the 1-meter (284.03). This came just three days after Auburn's divers were in Knoxville, Tenn., for the three-day Tennessee Diving Invitational.
"Pete did an outstanding job on 3-meter, which is great to see. He continues to build up his confidence," Auburn diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. "The other individuals had some quality dives but they also made some mistakes on finishing dives, which is something we have to focus on the next several weeks."
Auburn returns to dual meet action on Jan. 20, when it competes at Florida for an 11 a.m. CT meet. SEC Network will broadcast the meet on Jan. 21 at 6 p.m. CT.