AUBURN, Ala. – Saturday should have been the final day of the NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. It was an opportunity for the Auburn women to compete, to set more records and possibly to make podium or win a national title on the biggest stage.
It was also supposed to be the last time the seniors competed for Auburn. The men who qualified for NCAAs would have swam their last race for the Tigers the following week.
Instead, that final race took place last week in the James E. Martin Aquatics Center.
Head coach Gary Taylor broke the news to his student-athletes last Thursday that because of efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19, the NCAA S&D Championships had been canceled.
"There's nothing that prepares you for that," Taylor said. "You just do the best you can to be that voice of reason and clarity. And then at that moment, too, I also realized that I'm giving a statement and this is something that ends people's careers. It is over. They won't represent the 'AU' and get to walk out the door on their own terms."
So Taylor got all the seniors together, men and women, and asked them to put on their white swim cap with the "AU" logo on the side. He then had them all swim a 50 freestyle, down and back, while their teammates cheered for them on both sides of the pool deck.
Thank you to these AMAZING SENIORS. Your love of the 🔷🔶 will never be forgotten. War Eagle Forever #ROOTS #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/ueymcX40yw
— Auburn Swim & Dive (@AuburnSwimDive) March 12, 2020
For Robyn Clevenger, Claire Fisch, Santiago Grassi, Jessica Merritt, Julie Meynen and Owen Upchurch, this was the last time they would get to race wearing the "AU." Fellow senior Alison Maillard also qualified for the NCAA Championships in all three diving events, and her career was over as well.
"In that moment, I wanted to celebrate our senior class and what they meant to the program," Taylor said. "I don't think anything we were going to do was going to make it all better, but I did feel like it was really important to have that moment and celebrate everything they've done for this program.
"This group absolutely bled orange and blue, and they were all in for their teammates, for Auburn swimming and diving and most importantly for Auburn University. They gave their blood, sweat and tears for this program and what more would you ever want to say about a senior class. I'm so appreciative of everything they've done and what they stood for and what they've been all about during my two years here at Auburn."
There were plenty of emotions that day and nothing will take away the heartache of ending a season that way, but Taylor also understands this is bigger than athletics. It's his job as the head coach to be strong and help his team understand that through a difficult time.
"There are so many emotions that go into it – heartache, sorrow, frustration, maybe anger," Taylor said. "But those emotions needed to turn really quickly to understanding civic duty and social responsibility, and it's our responsibility as head coaches and as a program, an athletic department in general, to be at the forefront in terms of our voice of reason."
The 2019-20 season is over. The seniors will move on. But they will forever be a part of the Auburn Family, and they will always remember their last swim together. Afterwards, Grassi said it best.
"Even if I knew this was going to be the ending four years ago, I wouldn't have chosen any other place."