Tigers send out seniors with pair of dual wins over rival Alabama

Tigers send out seniors with pair of dual wins over rival AlabamaTigers send out seniors with pair of dual wins over rival Alabama

AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn swimming and diving delivered performances when it counted most, dialing up a pair of dual wins over rival Alabama on Friday inside James E. Martin Aquatics Center. Head coach Ryan Wochomurka’s Tigers earned a 177.5-122.5 win on the men’s side and a hard-fought 168-132 win on the women’s. 

The wins mark the fifth-straight victory over the Crimson Tide for the men and the second-straight triumph for the women. 

“Senior meet against Alabama. The emotions don’t get better than that,” said Wochomurka. “I’m glad we were able to capitalize on the energy in the building and rise to the moment of a meet like this. I’m proud of the way they fought. We’ve seen some things we knew were coming from a training standpoint, so it’s good to see some of those performances as we lead into the SEC and NCAA Championships.”

Nate Stoffle, Henry Bethel, Kalle Makinen and Logan Tirheimer kicked off the meet on the right foot, hitting the wall at 1:23.72 to win the opening event of the day in the 200 medley relay. 

On the women’s side, it was Lora Komoroczy, Anastasia Makarova, Lawson Ficken and Lexie Mulvihill combining for a sturdy 1:35.62 for second. 

In his final Auburn dual meet, Mason Mathias wasn’t going to leave the pool without a pair of wins in the distance events. The Leeds, Alabama native narrowly missed his school record in the 1000, clocking an 8:52.41 to pick up his first victory of the day. Mathias was back in the 500, outswimming everyone for a 4:16.81. 

It was no surprise freshman Julia Strojnowska led the women’s distance group. The Canadian finished the day with a pair of second-place finishes in the 1000 (9:50.27) and the 500 (4:48.71).

Auburn’s first shockwave of the meet came in the women’s 200 free. Senior Polina Nevmovenko led an Orange and Blue sweep with a 1:45.93. Both Isabell Ekk (1:46.66) and Maggie McGuire (1:46.73) delivered season-bests to finish second and third, respectively. 

Nevmovenko collected a season-best of her own in the 100 free, claiming her second win of the day with a 48.55. Lexie Mulvihill (49.09) found her way into third. 

Ryan Husband paced the Tigers in the 200 free with a 1:34.59.

Komoroczy has been lightning fast in the 100 back all season and Friday was no different. A 51.37 not only won the event for the freshman but now puts the Hungarian as the second-fastest performer of all time in the event in program history. 

On the men’s side, there would be no denying Nate Stoffle from two wins in his favorite events. Stoffle led a sweeping effort in the 100 back (45.88) ahead of teammates Tate Cutler (47.39) and Sohib Khaled (47.39). In the 200 back, Stoffle’s flat 1:40.00 was almost three seconds faster than the next fastest swimmer. 

The Auburn fans in attendance nearly brought the house down in the women’s 200 fly. Sophomore Carissa Rinard (1:47.46) and senior Abby Gibbons (1:57.66) both dialed up career bests to finish 1-2. 

Two-hundred-yard events typically belong to Danny Schmidt. Friday proved no different for the German native as Schmidt cruised to victory in the 200 fly with a 1:42.64. Not even an hour later, Schmidt’s 1:44.30 in the 200 IM gave him his second win of the day. 

Lexie Mulvihill paced the Tigers in the 50 free with a solid 22.25 and backed it up with a third-place finish in the 100 free (49.09) to finish out her dual meet career. 

The men’s 50 free was Kalle Makinen’s fifth win in the event this season when he touched in at 19.56. However, teammates Logan Tirheimer (19.74) and River Paulk (19.87) made it an Orange and Blue sweep to collect a major haul of points before the diving break. 

Tirheimer returned to lead the men’s effort in the 100 free, hitting the wall third at 43.24, just ahead of Makinen. 

Over in the diving well, the Auburn men collected a pair of sweeps on the afternoon. Ethan Swart proved king of the 1-meter with a 383.18, ahead of Whit Andrus (329.40) and Talan Blackmon (328.95). When it came time for the 3-meter, it was Blackmon’s turn to stand on top of the podium after a 380.48, in front of Andrus (380.33) and Travis Keith (365.33). 

Kyleigh Kidd earned her second individual win of the season in the 1-meter with a 289.80. Teammate Emily Hallifax (283.73) added important second-place points in a tight meet with the Crimson Tide. In the 3-meter, Kayla Walsh sat atop the leaderboard for the first time in her career after a 310.43. Abigail Farrar would snag third at 305.63. 

As each race became more important for Wochomurka and the Tigers, Maggie McGuire and Jade Castro stepped up in the 200 back. McGuire’s season-best 1:55.23 ensured second-place as Castro grabbed third with a season-best of her own at 1:56.77. 

Freshman Audrey Crawford equaled McGuire’s effort in the 200 breast. Crawford slammed into second with a 2:10.88 with teammates Zoey Zeller (2:10.88) and Aislyn Barnett (2:13.16) immediately behind her. 

Crawford returned in the 200 IM to secure another second-place finish (1:59.63) as Komoroczy (2:00.41) and Annika Finzen (2:00.99) took third and fourth, respectively. 

Jacques Rathle wasn’t quite able to replicate his back-to-back winning performances in the 200 breast from South Carolina and Kentucky but his 1:57.32 was good enough for third place overall. 

Perhaps locking the meet in favor of the Tigers, Lawson Ficken dialed up a little outside smoke in lane 1 in the 100 fly, clocking a career-best 52.43 to lead an Orange and Blue sweep. Komoroczy followed in second at 52.44 and Gibbons snagged third at 52.56. 

Freshman Bradford Johnson shocked everyone on hand to witness the 100 fly. He out-touched Sohib Khaled with a 46.59 to win his first individual event in his career. 

Capping off an electric win over Alabama, Nevmovenko, Kate Murray, Elizaveta Klevanovich and Mulvihill delivered the fastest time for Auburn in the 400 free relay this season with a 3:14.00. 

Makinen, Husband, Tirheimer and Jon VanZandt locked in second with a 2:51.05. 

The damage had been done on both sides, however, as the Tigers walked away with a pair of dual wins against two top-25 Crimson Tide squads. A fitting way to send out the senior class. 

“Great to send them out with a win,” explained Wochomurka. “They are phenomenal performers in the pool but they are better people. They’ve made this team better and they’ve made this program better. I’ll always be indebted to this group.”