Feb. 15, 2018
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - It was a night for medals for the Auburn swimming and diving programs on Thursday as the men's and women's teams combined for four top-two and six top-five finishes at the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships at Texas A&M.
"I'm proud of the way we came to race and the attitude we brought into the building," head coach Brett Hawke said. "We were swimming faster from prelims to finals and we put ourselves in position to get on the podium."
Zach Apple was the big winner on the evening, claiming his first SEC title with a win in the 50 free out of lane 7 in 19.08.
"This morning I went in trying to make sure I executed a good race, work the walls and see how I hit everything and I left a little bit in it," Apple said. "Tonight I flipped at the 25 and I could see the two guys next to me were at a pretty good distance. I wasn't going to let anybody beat me."
Apple, who on Wednesday set the school record in the 200 free, became Auburn's 13th different Auburn swimmer to win the event at the conference meet and it is the 20th 50 free title for Auburn's men overall.
Peter Holoda was fifth in 19.52.
Hugo Gonzalez, who had set the school record in the 200 IM during Thursday's prelims session, shaved 1.02 seconds off of his morning time to place second in the finals in 1:40.67, making him the 10th-fastest performer in swimming history.
"I'm pretty happy with the result," Gonzalez said. "I thought I was going slow but then I saw the time when I touched the wall."
"Hugo just obliterated the school record," Hawke said. "It's phenomenal to see him fulfilling his season that he has been having so far."
Aly Tetzloff rounded out the individual medalists as she posted the 15th-fastest performance in Auburn history with a 21.94 in the 50 free finals to take second. Senior Ashton Ellzey was just .21 seconds behind her, taking fifth in 22.15.
"Aly is just continuing her streak of really fast swimming," Hawke said. "Her approach to everyday, wanting to be great every day, it's easy to transfer that attitude over into racing."
The women closed out the night with a runner-up finish in the 200 free relay as Tetzloff, Julie Meynen, Elley and Robyn Clevenger clocked a 1:28.10. Tetzloff's leadoff leg of 21.87 was just shy of her personal-best of 21.83 set during the 50 free prelims and now gives her three of the top 16 50 free performances in school history.
"It's just a continuation of last night," Tetzloff said. "This morning I was really pumped to swim and represent Auburn. I wanted to go faster in the relay, and I did, and to do it with three of the other sprint girls is awesome. We really came together tonight on that relay."
Sonnele Oeztuerk shaved .66 seconds off of her prelims time, touching in 4:44.37 to finish 15th in the women's 500 free. In the men's race of the same event it was Josh Dannhauser becoming the sixth-fastest performer with the 15th-fastest performance in school history with a 4:18.22 to take 13th. That represented a 1.61 time drop from prelims as he finished 13th.
In the diving well, Scott Lazeroff scored a 322.75 to earn Auburn's highest finish in the men's 1-meter competition, finishing 11th. Pete Turnham finished 17th with a 303.75 and Logan Andrews 20th with a 278.10.
"I thought Scott did a good job being consistent but he's giving up a lot of DD (degree of difficulty)," diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. "It's the same thing we've talked about all year long, it's form and finish. In order to challenge the guys in the finals he needs to up his DD and two be a little more clean, and he's capable of doing that.
"Pete started off strong again and then faltered on back and reverse two-and-a-halves," Shaffer said. "That's something he has to get out of his head because he definitely has the skill to compete at this level and these finals."
As a team Auburn's women are in fourth place with 250.5 points. Two-time defending champion Texas A&M leads with 469 points, Georgia is second (361), Tennessee is third (337.5) and Kentucky (250) rounds out the top five.
In the men's team race Florida leads with 432 points followed by Tennessee (411) in second, Texas A&M (409) in third, Georgia (365) in fourth and Kentucky (298) in fifth. Auburn is seventh with 283.5 points.
The competition continues Friday with prelims and finals of the 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle and women's 3-meter. Prelims begin at 10 a.m. and finals begin at 6 p.m.
Livestats are available each session through 12thman.com and each session will air on SECN+.
SEC CHAMPIONSHIPS ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" THURSDAY, FEB. 15
AUBURN RESULTS (PRELIMS/FINALS)
Women's 500 Freestyle
15. Sonnele Oezturk ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 4:45.03 (PR) / 4:44.37 (PR)
26. Zoe Thatcher ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 4:47.18
50. Abi Wilder ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 4:57.67 (PR)
Men's 500 Freestyle
13. Josh Dannhauser ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 4:19.83 (PR) / 4:18.83 (PR)
27. Russell Noletto ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 4:23.51 (PR)
32. Bryan Lee ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 4:25.33 (PR)
40. Grant Schenk ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 4:29.72
44. Owen Upchurch ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 4:32.45 (PR)
Women's 200 IM
39. Caroline Baddock ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 2:00.46
43. Jessica Merritt ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 2:01.48
47. Jaden Bellina ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 2:01.84 (PR)
63. Annie Boone ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 2:05.60 (PR)
Men's 200 IM
2. Hugo Gonzalez ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 1:41.69 (PR) *SCHOOL RECORD / 1:40.67 (PR) *SCHOOL RECORD
18. Tommy Brewer ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 1:46.74 / 1:45.36
30. Foster Ballard ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 1:47.80
38. Spencer Rowe ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 1:48.59 (PR)
39. Petter Fredriksson ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 1:48.69
Women's 50 Freestyle
2. Aly Tetzloff ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 21.83 (PR) / 21.94
5. Ashton Ellzey ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 22.02 (PR) / 22.15
19. Julie Meynen ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 22.72 / 22.53
23. Robyn Clevenger ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 22.77 / 22.73 (PR)
56. Breanna Roman ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 23.82
Men's 50 Freestyle
1. Zach Apple ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 19.55 / 19.08
5. Peter Holoda ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 19.49 / 19.52
11. Santiago Grassi ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 19.92 / 19.67 (PR)
18. Liam McCloskey ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 20.02 / 19.82 (PR)
20. Luis Martinez ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 19.96 (PR)/19.85 (swim-off) (PR) / 19.90
29. William McKinney ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 20.12
36. Brody Heck ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 20.25
MEN'S 1-METER DIVING
11. Scott Lazeroff ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 322.75
17. Pete Turnham ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 303.75
20. Logan Andrews ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 278.10
WOMEN'S 200 FREESTYLE RELAY
2. Tetzloff (21.87), Meynen (22.44), Ellzey (21.84), Clevenger (21.95) ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 1:28.10
MEN'S 200 FREESTYLE RELAY
DQ ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" Apple, Holoda, McCloskey, Grassi
WOMEN'S TEAM SCORES AFTER DAY 2
1. Texas A&M 469
2. Georgia 361
3. Tennessee 337.5
4. Auburn 250.5
5. Kentucky 250
MEN'S TEAM SCORES AFTER DAY 2 x. Florida 432
2. Tennessee 411
3. Texas A&M 409
4. Georgia 365
5. Kentucky 298
7. Auburn 283.5