Stoffle U: Brothers Aidan and Nate Stoffle push Auburn S&D to new heights

AUBURN, Ala. – As Aidan Stoffle glided through the water in the 100-meter backstroke prelims at the 2022 NCAA Championships, there was a voice in the back of his head.

Your little brother is in the lane next to you. You cannot let him beat you.

It gave Aidan the extra boost he needed to beat his younger brother, Nate Stoffle, by 0.03 and secure a spot in the 100 backstroke final. Both brothers set personal bests in the race and moved into third and fourth all-time in Auburn history.

“It was awesome,” Aidan said. “I think it was a little better for me. Before that, he was beating me pretty handedly. I just hit the taper right for NCAAs. It was great. In the moment, I thought we both made finals, and it ended up only being me. If I hadn’t been next to him, I don’t know that I would have gone that fast.”

“He ended up kicking me out of finals, so of course I wasn’t too happy about it ,” added Nate. “But I’m glad it was my brother out of anyone else in the country to do it. I was happy for him, and he was happy for me swimming a best time.”

It was the second of what would be three times last spring where the two were side by side in a race. They swam next to each other in prelims of the SEC Championships, prelims of the NCAA Championships and again at the U.S. World Championship Trials.

“When you go to meets like that, you see a lot of Olympians and people that are succeeding at the highest level,” Aidan said. “And having (Nate) next to me, it’s at least a little bit of familiarity. It’s kind of a sense that we both belong here and we both are competing.”

While it was unique to do it on a national stage like that, the two brothers – just two years apart in age – have been swimming against each other their entire lives.

Being the older of the two, Aidan was always a little faster growing up. But Nate would compare his times to the times Aidan swam when he was that age. Once they got to high school, Nate closed the gap. Not just from Aidan’s old times but his current ones.

“It’s good pressure,” Aidan said. “Obviously, I’ve been swimming against him my whole life. We kind of do the same events. It’s had its ups and downs in that he’ll catch me, I’ll swim faster, and he’ll catch me again. I think it’s definitely brought the best swimming out of me.”

It’s no coincidence that Aidan made a huge leap from his sophomore to junior year at Auburn, the same year Nate arrived as a freshman. He set personal bests in the 100 backstroke, 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly and not only qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time but made a final in the 100 back.

Nate thrived, too. In his first year on the Plains, he earned a spot on the SEC All-Freshman Team and also qualified for the NCAA Championships. Both swimmers were on Auburn’s 200 freestyle relay that took third place at SECs.

“There’s a whole competitive aspect to it,” Nate said. “We go toe-to-toe in practice and in meets. It’s really nice to have someone right there with you that you’ve grown up with. Just competing together on a daily basis, it helps both of us get a lot better. It helps us bond more as broth

Coming into this season, Aidan and Nate have the exact same goal time in the 100 backstroke. Both are taking aim at the all-time Auburn record (44.90). They also want to medal at the SEC Championships, which begin this week, and final at the NCAA Championships next month.

More importantly, the Stoffle brothers want to help Auburn take the next step as a program.

The men have been slowly climbing under second-year head coach Ryan Wochomurka. They made progress last year at both the SEC and NCAA Championships. This year, they’re ranked No. 9 nationally heading into SECs and ready to make some noise.

“As a team, I think everyone in the locker room believes we’re easily a top three team in the SEC,” Nate said. “We’re gunning for that second position at our SEC meet, and we’re gunning for top 15 at NCAAs. We’ve kind of put the country on notice a little bit. ‘OK, they’re having a good year.’ Now it’s time to hit it and establish ourselves.”

“The last couple years have been on an upward trajectory, and I think this year is going to be that but even more than we’ve seen,” added Aidan.

The SEC Championships begin Tuesday for both the men and the women.