AUBURN, Ala. – Competing in their home pool for the first time in 2021, the Auburn swimming and diving program split Wednesday's dual meet against Florida State.
The Auburn women won for the second straight time, notching a 186-114 victory over the 22nd-ranked Seminoles. And on the men's side, the Tigers – who were missing some key swimmers and divers – lost, 180-120, to a top-20 Florida State squad.
"I thought the kids came in today with good energy, enthusiasm," Auburn head coach Gary Taylor said. "The women had an opportunity to go out and really shut the door early, and they absolutely got that done. On the men's side, in light of the situation, we had our opportunities to win the meet, and now we have to start to learn to get our hands on the wall first.
"But with that being said, I'm proud of the effort. I'm proud of the performances start to finish. And it's something we can definitely continue to build from and grow both programs."
WOMEN
It was a fast start for the Auburn women who began the meet with a win in the 200 medley relay and followed it with back-to-back 1-2 finishes in the 1000 and 200 freestyle events. The Tigers placed first in 10 of the 14 swimming events.
Carly Cummings, Emily Hetzer and Averee Preble were all double-event winners. Cummings swept the 100 and 200 breaststroke and also swam the breaststroke leg of the winning 200 medley relay team. Hetzer and Preble combined to win the 200, 500 and 1,000 freestyle events as well as the 200 butterfly (Preble).
The freshmen continued to show progress as well with individual wins coming from Emma Steckiel (100 free), Kensley Merritt (200 back) and Hannah Ownbey (400 IM).
"Our freshmen women did a really good job of filling out our depth and getting some wins there as well," Taylor said. "And our junior and senior women – we continue to lean on them, and they continue to get the job done."
MEN
The Auburn men were not at full strength for Wednesday's meet, but the Tigers held their own in large part because of strong contributions from the freshmen class.
Michael Bonson won the 1000 freestyle for the second straight meet and placed second in the 500 freestyle. Reid Mikuta just missed winning the 100 breaststroke and took second in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke events. And Mikkel Gadgaard, a freshmen from Denmark, might have been the most impressive.
Gadgaard won the 200 freestyle and placed second in the 100 freestyle. Swimming in the 400 IM for the first time this season, he lost by less than a tenth of a second, finishing in 3:53.65. And then he swam the anchor leg on the winning 400 freestyle relay.
"Across the board, just like the women's team, our young guys continue to step up and get better from one meet to the next," Taylor said. "I'm proud of the effort. You always want to win, but I'm proud of the effort. They certainly left it in the pool and on the boards."
DIVING
Wednesday's meet marked the 2021 debut for the Auburn divers.
Florida State's Samantha Vear won both women's events, but the Tigers went 2-3-4 in each competition. Gretchen Wensuc and Maia Goldstein earned NCAA Zone qualifying scores on 1-meter while Ashlynn Sullivan and Wensuc did the same on 3-meter.
On the men's side, freshmen David Vargas and Hunter Kebler each posted personal bests. Vargas scored a 325.80 to finish second on 1-meter while Kebler placed second in the 3-meter event with 323.10 points. Both were zone qualifying scores.
"I'm pleased with the progress we're making and how they stepped up and competed today," head diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. "Several Zone qualifying scores, so that was encouraging. And good progress, good corrections on a lot of dives that is going to make us better."
WHAT'S NEXT
It's a short turnaround for Auburn as the Tigers will host Florida on Saturday in the second dual meet of the week. The first event is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. CT. Saturday's meet is also this year's Senior Meet, so the seniors will be recognized beforehand.
Auburn S&D splits Top 25 battle with Florida State
