AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn Swim and Dive couldn't have asked for anything better to begin the new year. The No. 9 men and No. 19 women each emerged victorious over SEC foe Texas A&M as the Tigers begin 2023 on the right foot.
SCORES
Men,
#9 Auburn 167.5, #8 Texas A&M 132.5
Women,
#19 Auburn 172, #15 Texas A&M 128
WOMEN
From the first moments of the day, the Auburn Women took control and never looked back. In the opening 200 medley relay, Daisy Platts, Anastasia Makarova, Claudia Thamm and Lexie Mulvihill outpaced the field to earn the win. Meghan Lee, Hannah Ownbey, Abby Gibbons and Emma Steckiel weren't too far behind, though. A 1-2 finish in the opening event was a sign of things to come for the rest of the afternoon.
Emily Hetzer has been brilliant in the distance events this season. After a second-place finish in the 1,000, the Haymarket, Virginia native brought home the win in 500.
Following a 2-3 finish in the 200 free from Polina Nevmovenko and Payton Marvin, Auburn returned to its winning ways in the 100 back. Kensley Merritt, Ellie Waldrep and Daisy Platts made it a clean sweep in the event. Kyla Maloney even threw in a little 54.71 for the fourth-fastest time of the day.
The Orange and Blue clinic in the backstroke wasn't over, though. Meghan Lee, Maloney and Platts served up yet another sweep later in the afternoon in the 200 back to grab a stranglehold on the meet.
Lee, along with Casey Cullen, dialed up huge efforts in the 200 fly for a 1-2 finish. The 100 fly was highlighted by Claudia Thamm, Abigail Gibbons and Avery Bargeron collecting second through fourth.
Turns out Mulvihill madness still exists in 2023. Lexie Mulvihill brought her domination in 50 free into the new year, collecting another win in the event on Wednesday. She'd finish second in the 100 but teammate Emma Steckiel wasn't too far behind, collecting third in both events.
Ownbey and Makarova returned to the blocks for the 100 breast for a 2-3 finish. When it came time for the 200, though, it was Brynn Curtis and freshman Ainsley Jones who stepped into the spotlight. Curtis secured the win while Jones missed out on second place by just .30 seconds.
Ownbey rounded out her day in arguably her best event, the 200 IM. The junior hit the wall first by nearly a full second. Lee and Valerie Tarazi came in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Bookending a ferocious outing, Mulvihill, Thamm, Steckiel and Nevmovenko captured the 400 free relay to end Wednesday the only way Auburn knew how - with another win.
MEN
Much like the women, the men kicked off their meet with a roar from the crowd in the 200 medley relay. Aidan Stoffle, Reid Mikuta, Nate Stoffle and Kalle Makinen were not to be denied, picking up the men's first victory of several against a top-10 opponent.
The Tiger's distance group was back to business inside James E. Martin Aquatic Center. Mason Mathias snagged second in the 1,000 and 500 free. Meanwhile, Michael Bonson secured top five in both events.
Mathias wasn't quite done impressing the home crowd, though. The Leeds, Alabama native clocked a third-place finish in the 200 fly, edging out teammates Seth Maschmeier and Evan McInerny.
Christian Sztolcman, Ryan Husband and Mikkel Gadgaard made sure to pile up the points in the 200 free. The trio hit the wall second, third and fourth. Sztolcman returned to winning form in the 100, with him and Makinen taking first and third, respectively.
Auburn's dominance in the backstroke is not exclusive to just the women. Aidan Stoffle, Nate Stoffle and Lleyton Smith flew to the final wall for a sweep on the men's side in the 100 back. Later in the 200, it was Andrew Simmons and Nate Stoffle grabbing second and third for an important haul of points.
The Stoffles brought the house down once again in the 100 fly. Aidan picked up his second win of the day while Nate took second.
If there was any doubt Reid Mikuta was going to handle business in the 100 breast, he put it to bed quickly. Mikuta hit the wall almost a second ahead of the closest swimmer but it was Alejandro Flores who snuck in front of Henry Bethel to secure third. Mikuta would go on to snag second in the 200 breast later in the meet.
Transfer Mihalis Deliyiannis was trending in the right direction before the winter break. On Wednesday, Deliyiannis kept his momentum going in 50 free, touching in at 20.16, just one-tenth ahead of Kalle Makinen.
With the lead in hand, Simmons and Jacques Rathle made sure the Aggies weren't thinking about a comeback anytime soon. The duo locked in second and fourth in the 200 IM before the final relay.
A nearly perfect day in the pool culminated in Auburn's most resounding win of the afternoon. Aidan Stoffle, Kalle Makinen, Ryan Husband and Christian Sztolcman glided their way to win in the 400 free relay, besting Texas A&M by almost three seconds.
DIVING
Speaking of winning, Jeff Shaffer's diving crew collected a few trophies of their own. First, it was Ashlynn Sullivan grabbing a win in the 3-meter with a 319.43. Conner Pruitt would equal the effort on the men's side, piling up a 408.83.
Whit Andrus also put together a solid outing in the 3-meter. A 344.25 gave the sophomore third place on the afternoon.
Sullivan would lead the way in the 1-meter as well, cranking out a 278.18 for third place. Pruitt also set the pace for the Tigers in the 1-meter for the men. His 341.10 was good enough for third.
DECK TALK
Head coach, Ryan Wochomurka
"It's good to be racing again after a little bit of a layoff. For a majority of our kids, this is their first meet back since before Thanksgiving. To have a top-10 opponent on the men's side and a top-15 opponent on the women's side really helps from a competitive standpoint. It gives us great insight as to the things we need to clean up and improve as we look forward to the next weeks and months to come. What you do in January and February is all preparation for Championship Season. I'm proud of the way the men and women fought all day long and it resulted in a great win in the end."
Gallery: (1-4-2023) Swim and Dive vs. Texas A&M (1/4/22)
Tigers outshine Texas A&M for a pair of top-15 dual wins
