AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn swimming and diving team will send three swimmers to the NCAA Men's S&D Championships later this month with junior Christian Sztolcman, sophomore Nik Eberly and freshman Mikkel Gadgaard all qualifying for the meet.
"There will be a strong collection of up-and-coming performers representing Auburn at the NCAA Men's Championships," Auburn head coach Gary Taylor said. "Each individual will be competing at the championships for the first time, so there's a lot of excitement in that. This is a hard-working group who will give their all to compete at a high level for Auburn."
Gadgaard earned his spot at the NCAA Championships with a new lifetime-best performance in the 500 freestyle at the James E. Martin Invitational following the SEC Championships.
With a time of 4:12.80, Gadgaard is 12th-fastest in the country this season. The freshman also broke the Auburn program record previously held by Zane Grothe (4:14.44, 2013). Gadgaard scored in the B-Final in both the 200 and 500 free at SECs last month.
"Mikkel Gadgaard has had a strong freshman season and continues to show outstanding grit," Taylor said. "His school record in the 500 free will give him confidence as he looks towards the NCAA Championships."
Sztolcman and Eberly each earned qualifying times at the SEC Championships. Eberly made the A-Final in the 50 freestyle, and for Sztolcman, he set a season best in the 200 free on the first leg of the team's 800 free relay. It will be the first NCAAs appearance for both swimmers.
"Christian Sztolcman qualified last season and now will have an opportunity to compete for the first time while Nik Eberly has shown tremendous improvement over the past two seasons and absolutely earned this NCAA berth," Taylor said.
The 2021 NCAA Men's S&D Championships is scheduled for March 24-27 in Greensboro, North Carolina, and will follow the women's NCAA meet on March 17-20.