GREENSBORO, N.C. – Competing for the third day in a row, the Auburn swimming and diving teams wrapped up the Wolfpack Invite on Saturday.
The women hung with No. 7 North Carolina State throughout the final day but ultimately finished second while the men closed out the meet strong to earn a fourth-place finish in a field that featured five teams ranked in the Top 25.
"Some really good performances on the final day," Auburn head coach Gary Taylor said. "I thought our team stepped up. We had some good swims this morning. We come back tonight, and we had some more really strong if not outstanding performances. And I think that's really tough at the end of a three-day, prelim-final meet. I thought we showed some real grit."
The highlight for the women came in the 100 freestyle where seniors Julie Meynen and Claire Fisch finished 1-2 for the Tigers. The two times – 47.73 (Meynen) and 48.20 (Fisch) – rank fourth and seventh respectively on Auburn's all-time list for the event.
Meynen and Fisch returned later in the meet to help lead Auburn to another victory in the 400 free relay, posting one of the fastest times in the country to this point (3:12.52).
"We had a great leadoff split by Julie," Taylor said. "Claire puts in a phenomenal relay split in that second spot. Jessica Merritt had a really strong third swim. And then Abbey Webb, I thought maybe had one of the best swims she's had all season tonight."
On the men's side, there were a handful of B-cut times, including sophomore Aryan Makhija in the 1650 free (15:15.55), freshman Lleyton Smith in the 200 backstroke (1:44.03) and Spencer Rowe in the 200 breaststroke (1:57.38).
Though Santiago Grassi just missed a B-cut in the 200 butterfly, it was another strong night for the senior who swam well in all three of his races.
"I thought he performed and acted like a captain tonight," Taylor said. "He had a tough stretch on this final evening, and I'm really proud of his performances. He went out of his way and did what he needed to do to help his team."
DIVING RECAP
For the first time all season, Auburn competed on platform Saturday. Junior Logan Andrews led the way for the men, finishing in fourth with 291.90 points.
The women had all three divers make the top five in prelims. In the finals, senior Alison Maillard (229.50) and freshman Gretchen Wensuc (227.70) finished third and fourth respectively while fellow freshman Ashlynn Sullivan placed 10th overall with 212.25 points.
"For Gretchen and Ashlynn, those were both the first two collegiate meets on platform," head diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. "I'm real pleased with the progress their making. Gretchen did get a zone qualifying score on tower, and Ashlynn just missed by two points in her prelim. So disappointed but very encouraging with the future.
"We're looking forward to a little bit of down time to rest and recover and heal our bodies and then get ready for a big push up to our dual meet with Alabama and our diving invitational."
WHAT'S NEXT
On Thursday, Dec. 5, Auburn will return home to face in-state rival Alabama in a dual meet at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center. The meet is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. CT and will feature both the men's and women's teams in action.
SCORES (Final)
Women
1. NC State: 1875.5
2. Auburn: 1703
3. Duke: 1497.5
4. Arizona State: 1378
5. Wisconsin: 1190
Men
1. NC State: 2075
2. Arizona State: 1827
3. Wisconsin: 1302
4. Auburn: 1257
5. Duke: 1197