ATLANTA – It was a successful road trip for the Auburn swimming and diving team Saturday thanks to a pair of wins over Georgia Tech.
The No. 14 Auburn women were especially dominant, winning all 14 swimming events and both diving events to earn 202 points in a 202-93 victory over the Yellow Jackets.
"I'm really happy with the way the women performed," Auburn head coach Gary Taylor said. "My message to them prior to the meet was, 'You're the better team on paper. Come out, dominate start to finish and handle your business.' I thought the women absolutely did that."
The Tigers started strong with a 1-2-3 sweep in the 400 medley relay. Junior Sonnele Oeztuerk, the first leg of that relay, also picked up individual wins in the 100 back and 500 free.
Other two-race winners for Auburn included senior Julie Meynen who won both the 100 and 200 free and junior Jaden Bellina who took first in the 200 fly and the 200 IM. For Bellina, it was the second and third races she's won this season.
On the men's side, it was a much tighter matchup, but the Tigers still found a way to prevail with a 166-134 victory that included seven swimming wins and two diving wins.
"Just like last week, the men stepped up and performed well," Taylor said. "I wouldn't say it was a crisp meet. I wouldn't say it was an easy meet. But we found a way to win on a day when everything didn't just happen for us and it didn't come easy. It was an ugly win, but it's important to find ways to win ugly and scratch and claw until the end of the meet.
"That was important. This is a meet that if we performed this way last year, I don't think we win. We found a way to get it done today, so I'm proud of our men."
Thomas Heinzel (100 free), Santiago Grassi (100 fly), Lleyton Smith (100 back), and Spencer Rowe (100 breast) were among the individual winners for Auburn. Sophomore Brogan Davis also earned a huge win in the 200 IM with a season-best time of 1:50.76.
DIVING RECAP
It was a clean sweep for Auburn in the four diving events Saturday.
Senior Alison Maillard led the women with wins in both the 1-meter and 3-meter competitions. Maillard narrowly missed her personal best with 347.55 points on 3-meter, and then she was steady once again with 310.50 points on 1-meter.
"A really strong performance," head diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. "She did one of her best ever two-and-a-half pikes to finish that list on 3-meter, so that was really encouraging. She also hit both of her backs and gainers, which is a step in the right direction."
On the men's side, sophomore Conner Pruitt earned two victories with 372.90 points in the 1-meter competition and 382.20 points in the 3-meter competition.
"Conner was pretty solid on both springboards," Shaffer said. "He could've been a little sharper on some of his finishes but pleased with the overall performance. He competed against a really good freshman at Georgia Tech. That was good to be pushed."
WHAT'S NEXT
The men's and women's swimming teams will be back in the pool next Saturday for the final home dual meet of the season against Gardner-Webb. The meet, which will also include Senior Day festivities, is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. CT from the James E. Martin Aquatics Center.
The divers won't compete again until a dual meet at Florida on Saturday, Jan. 25.