AUBURN, Ala. – After a week off from competition, Auburn Swim and Dive is poised for an epic dual in Baton Rouge on Thursday against LSU.
Head coach Ryan Wochomurka and his Tigers have been putting in the work since the team last swam at the USC Invite in Los Angeles and will be taking a full squad of swimmers and divers to the Bayou.
It's been nearly two years since Auburn has got toe-to-toe with LSU in a dual format. Back in 2019, both the men and the women bested LSU 185-108 and 187-111, respectively.
Reid Mikuta, Kalle Makinen and Casey Cullen are all coming off award-winning efforts.
Mikuta, Auburn's breaststroke specialist, nearly hit the Tiger's first A cut of the season at the USC Invite in the 100 breast. His 51.41 was just .01 seconds off the NCAA pace and is the fastest time in the country heading into the meet. Mikuta's swims in Southern California earned him SEC Swimmer of the Week.
Makinen, who picked up Freshman of the Week honors, showed what that Finland native is capable of. His 43.48 in the 100 free and 19.71 in the 50 free are both top-15 times in the nation.
Cullen also picked up SEC Freshman of the Week on the Women's side. Dialing up a pair of impressive finishes in the 500 free and 400 IM had the Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania native feeling spry, leading to her best swim of the weekend in the 200 fly. Hitting the wall at 1:58.89, the youngster already owns a top-20 time in the country.
Of course, Auburn's five victories across six duals wouldn't have been possible without strong relays for both the Men and Women. The Tiger men own four Top-10 relay times in Division I swimming after the USC Invite, including the 200 free, 200 medley and 400 medley which all rank as the second-fastest times so far.
The Auburn Women have been equally impressive, boasting four top-10 relay times. Their 200 free also comes in at No. 2 in the nation while the 400 free relay ranks third.
Thursday will mark the first official meet for Jeff Shaffer's divers. Virginia transfer and All-American Walker Creedon makes his debut in the Orange and Blue while sophomore Abigail Farrar eyes to keep the momentum going after qualifying for NCAA Zones a season ago.
The action is slated to begin at Noon CT inside the LSU Natatorium. Fans can follow along on Meet Mobile and DiveMeets.com.