AUSTIN, Texas – Auburn had one of its most successful meets in recent history at the 2019 NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships, earning a top-12 finish and its most All-America honors in a decade. The Tigers left the Texas Swimming Center with its highest finish since 2012 and 35 All-America honors from 11 women.
"They did this week what they've done all year, they swam with a lot of heart, a lot of fight and a lot of grit," first-year head coach Gary Taylor said. "They were all-in for Auburn, all-in for the family from one session and one day to the next and I couldn't be more proud of the outcome and their efforts. It literally came down to the final relay, the final swim."
Auburn wrapped up the 2019 championships with a sixth-place finish in the 400 free relay, the second top-8 relay finish of the meet. Claire Fisch (47.90), Julie Meynen (47.79), Aly Tetzloff (47.32) and Erin Falconer (48.63) combined for a 3:11.64 to earn 26 points in the team race and vault the Tigers over Texas A&M by 3.5 points in the team standings.
Auburn finished 146 points, the second-most of any SEC team behind only Tennessee (185 points/8th place), as Stanford (456.5) won a third straight team title.
Fisch (6), Meynen (4), Tetzloff (7) and Falconer (6) combined to earn 23 All-America honors among the four of them.
"Aly and Erin have been tremendous cornerstones for this team all year," Taylor said. "To see them in them in their final championship meet have their best performances, the best meet of their career, and play a role in this women's program achieving its goals, what more can I ask for."
Sonnele Oeztuerk swam the two fastest 200 back times in her career to finish sixth in the event. She had qualified with a 1:51.13, which is the second-fastest time in school history, and then followed it up with a 1:51.22 in finals. Falconer finished 15th, qualifying in 1:52.84 and touching in 1:53.00 in finals.
Fisch won the consolation finals of the 100 free with a 47.78 while Tetzloff finished 16th overall (48.38). Tetzloff (47.90) and Fisch (47.92) had qualified 11th and 12th, respectively.
Emily Hetzer swam the second-fastest mile of her Auburn career, touching in 16:01.33 to finish 15th. Her 9:42.25 split at the 1,000 yard mark was a personal best while her final time was just 0.31 seconds slower than the time she posted at the SEC meet when she finished fourth.
Diving platform at the NCAA meet for the second time in her career, Alison Maillard finished 32nd with a 222.75. The junior was 17th heading into the final round, just 0.65 points out of the top 16 before missing a back two-and-a-half.
"It's frustrating when you have a chance on your last dive to make a move and she definitely went after it and just didn't follow through with our basic skills of spotting and kicking," diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. "That's probably one of the better female platform contests in the last four or five years where the girls are starting to do more big dives and doing them well. Overall it was a very successful meet for her and I'm proud of her effort."
Maillard will now turn her attention to the international diving scene as she travels to Cuba and California over the next few weeks as she attempts to make the Chile national team.
CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES
- Tetzloff became the 16th Auburn women to earn seven All-America honors at a single NCAA Championship and the first since Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace in 2012 ... She finished her career with 15 All-America honors total, six from individual events and nine on relays
- As a team, Auburn's 11 individuals to earn All-America honors at a single NCAA Championship are the most since the 2012 team had 12 women earn the distinction … The 2019 team is also the 11th team to earn All-America honors from 11-or-more individuals
- Auburn's 35 total All-American Honors are its most at a single NCAA Championship since earning 38 in 2009
- Auburn's 12th-place finish is its highest since it finished tied for 7th in 2012
- Auburn's 146 points are the most it has scored at the championships since 2012 (249 points)
- Auburn's two top-8 relays (200 FR & 400 FR) marked the first time since 2015 Auburn has had two relays in the top eight … Auburn also scored on all five relays for the first time since 2012
The men's championships begin on Wednesday night from the same venue, though Auburn's first events will come on Thursday. Prelims for all men's sessions begin at 10 a.m. CT and finals at 6 p.m.
Auburn will bring seven qualifiers to the men's NCAA Championships in Foster Ballard (100 fly, 200 fly), Tommy Brewer (100 breast, 200 breast, 200 IM), Josh Dannhauser (500 free, 1650 free), Santiago Grassi (50 free, 100 free, 100 fly), Liam McCloskey (50 free, 100 free, 100 fly), Conner Pruitt (1-meter, 3-meter, platform) and Spencer Rowe (100 breast, 200 breast). David Crossland, Christian Ginieczki, Owen Upchurch and Matthew Yish will also travel to Austin as relay alternates.
The Championships are available to watch on ESPN3 and live stats and scoring will be available through texassports.com and divemeets.com and the Meet Mobile app.
Friday Results
1650 Freestyle
15. Emily Hetzer – 16:01.33
200 Backstroke
6. Sonnele Oeztuerk – 1:51.13 / 1:51.22
15. Erin Falconer – 1:52.84 / 1:53.00
100 Freestyle
9. Claire Fisch – 47.92 / 47.78
16. Aly Tetzloff – 47.90 / 48.38
23. Julie Meynen – 48.53
200 Butterfly
22. Bailey Nero – 1:56.05
44. Jewels Harris – 1:58.55
Platform
32. Alison Maillard – 222.75
400 Freestyle Relay
6. Auburn – 3:11.66 / 3:11.64
Team Standings
1. Stanford – 456.5
2. California – 419
3. Michigan – 314
4. Louisville – 235
5. Texas – 190.5
12. Auburn - 146
All-America Honors (11 individuals, 35 honors)
Robyn Clevenger (200 FR)
Carly Cummings (200 MR HM, 400 MR HM)
Erin Falconer (200 Free HM, 200 Back HM, 400 FR, 800 FR HM, 200 MR HM, 400 MR HM)
Claire Fisch (50 Free HM, 100 Free HM, 200 FR, 400 FR, 200 MR HM, 400 MR HM)
Emily Hetzer (1650 Free HM)
Alison Maillard (3-Meter HM)
Jessica Merritt (800 FR HM)
Julie Meynen (50 Free HM, 200 FR, 400 FR, 400 MR HM)
Bailey Nero (200 IM HM, 800 FR HM, 200 MR HM, 400 MR HM)
Sonnele Oeztuerk (200 Back, 800 FR HM)
Aly Tetzloff (100 Free HM, 100 Back, 100 Fly, 200 FR, 400 FR, 200 MR HM, 400 MR HM)
School Records
Aly Tetzloff – 100 Fly – 50.61
-- War Eagle –