March 17, 2018
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Auburn's women's swimming and diving team finished out the 2018 NCAA Championships on Saturday night at Ohio State, finishing 16th.
"There was a lot of great swimming out there," head coach Brett Hawke said. "There were a lot of best times, a lot of swims that we hoped to get and we did and then a couple of near misses."
As a team, Auburn earned 21 All-America honors from eight individuals, with Aly Tetzloff leading the way with six. The 21 honors are the most for the program since the 2012 season (34) and Tetzloff's six are the most since Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace collected seven that same season.
Auburn's 82.5 points were the most for the program since it scored 87 to finish 13th in 2013. It also marked the 29th consecutive NCAA Championship that Auburn has scored in, dating to the 1990 championships.
"This team is improving," Hawke said. "To be 33rd two years ago and 18th last year and now 16th, we are definitely getting better. The nucleus of the team is young and strong and hungry."
200 Backstroke
Erin Falconer (1:52.43) and Sonnele Oeztuerk (1:52.54) finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in the consolation finals. Both times are ranked among the top-15 performances in school history.
Falconer's prelims time of 1:51.52 is the third-fastest performance in school history while Oeztuerk's 1:52.13 is the fifth-fastest. Falconer's finals time is now tied for the 11th-fastest, matching what she did at SECs this year, while Oeztuerk's is now 12th.
100 Freestyle
Aly Tetzloff finished seventh in a time of 47.58, which is tied for the 13th-fastest performance in school history. She had made it to the finals off of a 47.17 prelims time, which seeded her third. The seventh-place finish is the highest for an Auburn swimmer since Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace won the event in 2012. It also represented a huge jump in placing for Tetzloff as her previous best was 35th last year.
Tetzloff, who tied for sixth in the 50 free and took seventh in the 100 free, is the first Auburn swimmer to finish in the top eight in both sprint freestyle events since Vanderpool-Wallace in 2012 (third in the 50, first in the 100).
Platform
Freshman Erin Norton just missed a second list, finishing 18th with a score of 246.60, 4.80 points shy of making it into the top 16. Sophomore Alison Maillard finished 30th (232.35).
"Another near miss today," diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. "I thought Erin did a great job and she was right in there until the last dive. She ducked her head and over-rotated a little bit or she might have been top eight with a little stronger finish. I'm really proud of her performance as a freshman and that will really set her up for great success in the coming years.
"Alison got a little hyped up on her first dive and over-rotated but she came back strong with a great front three-and-a-half pike and was solid on all her other dives," Shaffer said. "You just can't do a dive for 28 points in round one of a five dive contest."
400 Freestyle Relay
Auburn closed out the championships with an 11th-place finish, clocking a 3:13.56. Aly Tetzloff led off with a 48.06 in what was her fourth swim of the day, followed by Erin Falconer, also swimming for a fourth time, in 48.72. Senior Ashton Ellzey took third leg duties and clocked a 49.01 in her final swim before Julie Meynen anchored in 47.77, moving the team up from fifth to third in the heat.
2018 NCAA S&D Championships
NCAA Champions & Auburn Finishes
1650 Freestyle
1. Katie Ledecky (STAN) ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 15:07.57
200 Backstroke
1. Kathleen Baker (CAL) ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 1:49.57/1:47.30
13. Erin Falconer ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 1:51.52/1:52.43
14. Sonnele Oeztuerk ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 1:52.13/1:52.54
100 Freestyle
1. Simone Manuel (STAN) ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 47.08/45.65
7. Aly Tetzloff ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 47.17/47.58
27. Julie Meynen ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 48.72
42. Ashton Ellzey ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 49.27
200 Breaststroke
1. Lilly King (IND) ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 2:05.49/2:02.60
44. Carly Cummings ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 2:12.59
46. Breanna Roman ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 2:12.79
200 Butterfly
1. Ella Eastin (STAN) ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 1:51.76/1:50.01
26. Bailey Nero ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 1:56.34
Platform
1. Olivia Rosendahl (Northwestern) ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 327.15/346.15
18. Erin Norton ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 246.60
30. Alison Maillard ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 232.35
400 Freestyle Relay
1. Stanford ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 3:07.94 (Hu ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 47.49, Eastin ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 47.13, Drabot ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 47.85, Manuel ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 45.47)
11. Auburn ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 3:13.56 (Tetzloff ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 48.06, Falconer ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 48.72, Ellzey ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 49.01, Meynen ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 47.77)
All-America Honors
Haley Black - 100 Fly HM, 400 MR HM
Ashton Ellzey - 400 FR HM
Erin Falconer - 200 Back HM, 400 FR HM, 800 FR HM, 400 MR HM
Jessica Merritt - 400 FR HM, 800 FR HM
Julie Meynen - 400 FR HM, 400 MR HM
Sonnele Oeztuerk - 200 Back HM, 800 FR HM
Breanna Roman - 100 Breast HM, 400 MR HM
Aly Tetzloff - 50 Free, 100 Free, 100 Fly HM, 400 FR HM, 400 MR HM, 800 FR HM
Team Standings
1. Stanford ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 593
2. California - 373
3. Texas A&M - 299
4. Michigan - 267
5. Louisville - 232
16. Auburn ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 82.5