ATHENS, Ga. – Saturdays are for strong performances, or at least it is for Auburn Swim and Dive.
The Tiger Women closed out a victory at the UGA Invitational, while the men hit another NCAA A cut en route to a second-place finish overall.
SCORES
Women
Auburn, 1005.5
Florida, 974
Georgia, 906.5
Florida State, 615
Georgia Tech, 471
Men
Florida, 1187.5
Auburn, 1087
Georgia, 823
Florida State, 456.5
Georgia Tech, 431
WOMEN
Distance queen Emily Hetzer finished her UGA Invitational on another high note. A 16:10.38 in the 1650 gave the Virginia native a third-place finish. Averee Preble and Lilly Byrne delivered solid swims as well, taking twelfth and fourteenth, respectively.
The Auburn women made the UGA Invite a backstroke clinic throughout the weekend. Daisy Platts, Kensley Merritt, Ellie Waldrep and Kyla Maloney all made the Championship final. Platts paced the Tigers, taking second with a 1:54.51.
It was Meghan Lee in the B relay, though, who shocked the crowd on hand with a 1:53.86.
Sophomore sprinter Lexie Mulvihill kept dropping time in the 100 free. She hit the wall at 48.73 in the Championship final to place fifth. Meanwhile, Claudia Thamm, Polina Nevmovenko, Payton Marvin and Rebekah Hamilton all did well to make the B final and score vital points for the Orange and Blue.
Anastasia Makarova turned in one of the most impressive meets as a Tiger in her career. Moving up to a tie for fifth in the 200 breast with a 2:09.35, Makarova came in second, just ahead of her teammate Brynn Curtis who dropped a 2:10.16.
Freshman Ainsley Jones also made the Championship final, dropping almost two seconds with a 2:10.67 for a fifth-place showing. Senior Hannah Ownbey, the fourth Auburn breaststroker in the final also dropped time and finished sixth.
In the 200 fly, Casey Cullen led the way, grabbing a 1:58.00 for fifth. Abigail Gibbons, Avery Bargeron and Morgan Gore all made the B final to put points on the board.
Auburn closed out the meet strong in the 400 free relay. Lexie Mulvihill, Claudia Thamm, Payton Marvin and Polina Nevmovenko clinched third. The performance, as well as the other Tiger relay was enough to keep Florida at arm's length and earn the victory.
MEN
Mason Mathias has been on fire since the National Championships in July. Mathias rounded out his weekend in the 1650 with his third top-10 swim in program history with a 14:55.62. Grant Davis and Michael Bonson also secured big points for the Tigers in the final distance event, grabbing sixth and seventh.
Saturday's evening session for the men began with a bang as Aidan Stoffle put up the second-fastest 200 back in program history at 1:39.64. Also jumping into the top 10 was brother Nate Stoffle, who hit the wall at 1:40.03 for the fifth-fastest time in Auburn history.
Lleyton Smith, Andrew Simmons, Seth Maschmeier and Fletcher Hayes all made the B final in the 200 back. Smith posted an impressive 1:40.83 to win the heat.
Sprint duo Kalle Makinen and Logan Tirheimer provided the best finishes for Auburn in the 100 free. Both went sub-43 seconds to secure sixth and seventh, respectively.
After posting a school record in the 100 breast on Friday, Reid Mikuta dialed up another stellar effort in the 200 breast on Saturday. His 1:52.80 was good enough for second place.
Henry Bethel, Alejandro Flores and Jacques Rathle each made the Championship final after impressive efforts in the morning session. In the evening, the trio secured fifth, sixth and eighth, respectively.
When it came to the 200 fly, Evan McInerny and Danny Schmidt were the two to make the Championship final. McInerny posted a 1:44.04 for fourth with Schmidt touching in at sixth. Lucas Thomas won the B final heat with teammate Rusty Jerger also scoring.
Auburn men's relays had hit NCAA A cuts in three separate races. The Tigers hit yet another in the 400 free relay thanks to Aidan Stoffle, Kalle Makinen, Logan Tirheimer and Christian Sztolcman. The 2:50.02 also clinched second place, leaving the Orange and Blue in second as a team overall.
DIVING
A terrific weekend of diving for Ashlynn Sullivan got even better after the platform. A career-best 258.30 put Sullivan in second place, while teammates Gretchen Wensuc and Abigail Farrar each put together a solid string of dives, finishing fifth and seventh, respectively. All three cranked out zones scores as well.
On the men's side, Walker Creedon had the Orange and Blue faithful making a ruckus over at the diving well. His 381.65 blew away the competition for the win. Hunter Kebler also delivered a strong performance to secure second, while Whit Andrus ended his weekend with a stellar fourth-place showing on the platform.
DECK TALK
Head coach, Ryan Wochomurka
"A good weekend. Mission accomplished on getting relays qualified for the NCAA meets. Exciting to see a few school records, multiple top 10 performances and one top time in the country. We have a lot to clean up over the holidays as we look to the second half of the year and into championship season. War Eagle!"
UP NEXT
The Toyota US Open looms for a select group of the Orange and Blue while coach Shaffer's divers await the Auburn Diving Invitationals in mid-December.
