ATLANTA, Ga. – Head coach Ryan Wochomurka and the Auburn Tigers couldn’t have asked for a better way to start the new year. The Orange and Blue earned a pair of victories on Tuesday, besting Georgia Tech 216-84 on the women’s side and 203.5-96.5 on the men’s.
Lora Komoroczy, Anastasia Makarova, Abby Gibbons and Lexie Mulvihill kicked off the day with an authoritative win in the 200 medley relay and never looked back. The quartet pieced together a 1:37.80, setting the tone for the rest of the afternoon in the McCualey Aquatic Center.
Not to be outdone, Nate Stoffle, Henry Bethel, Kalle Makinen and Logan Tirheimer equaled the women’s effort in the opening relay, touching in ahead of everyone with a 1:24.78.
Auburn’s distance group was sheer dominant on Tuesday. Julia Strojnowska dropped a 9:51.28 in the 1000 free to pick up her first win of the afternoon. Aislyn Barnett locked up the silver with a 10:16.56.
Strojnowska would make it 2-2 in the afternoon, grabbing another win in the 500 free with a 4:51.20.
On the men’s side, the Tigers conjured up their first sweep of the day. Mason Mathias (9:04.29), Grant Davis (9:07.81) and Michael Bonson (9:12.25) locked out the podium with strong swims.
Mathias wouldn’t be denied a second win in the 500, sliding in at 4:21.24 ahead of Bonson and Davis.
Seniors Polina Nevmovenko and Jon VanZandt kept the momentum rolling in the 200 free. Nevmovenko’s 1:46.41 was more than enough for the victory. Meanwhile, VanZandt led an Orange and Blue sweep with a 1:35.51 to outswim his teammates Ryan Husband and Warner Russ.
After the diving break, it was VanZandt with some outside smoke in lane eight during 100 free that saw him pick up his second win of the day with a 43.65 to lead Husband and Makinen for another 1-2-3 finish for Auburn.
Nevmovenko would follow up with a second victory as well in the 100, touching in at 48.98.
Freshman Lora Komoroczy picked up right where she left off in the fall. Her 52.72 in the 100 back led the charge with Ellie Waldrep and Kyla Maloney right behind. Later in the 200, It was Maggie McGuire’s 1:56.63 that was good enough for second place.
Nate Stoffle kicked off his individual events with a dominant 46.11 in the 100 back. The Georgia native would go 2-2 with a 1:42.79 in the 200.
Makarova wasn’t about to let the wins stop just yet for the Tigers. Her 1:00.14 in the 100 breast was almost two seconds faster than the next swimmer. Freshman Audrey Crawford owned the 200 with a 2:13.48, followed closely by Zoey Zeller at 2:14.10.
In the 200 fly, it was Carissa Rinard staking her claim with a stellar 1:58.07 to lead Auburn. Gibbons and Crawford were close behind to make sure the podium was once again nothing but Orange and Blue. Crawford’s big afternoon continued during the 200 IM, touching in at 2:01.25 for the victory.
German native Danny Schmidt propelled himself to victory during the men’s 200 fly with a sturdy 1:46.02. Schmidt clocked a 1:46.21 later in the 200 IM to take the silver.
The sprints belonged to both Lexie Mulvihill and Kalle Makninen. Mulvihill touched in at 22.50, while Makinen went 19.74 to earn his win.
Over in the diving well, it was a huge afternoon for both Whit Andrus and Kyleigh Kidd. Kidd secured a win on the 3-meter with a career-high 339.75 on the 3-meter. Meanwhile, Andrus unleashed a monstrous 391.13 for second.
When it came time for the 1-meter, Kidd led Auburn again with a 281.70 for second place. Abigail Farrar and Emily Hallifax weren’t far behind in third and fourth, respectively.
Ethan Swart paced the Tigers on the men’s side with a strong 362.10 to lock in second place. Whit Andrus and Talan Blackmon followed in behind the freshman.
Shortly after the diving break, Atlanta native Britton Spann gave the hometown fans something to cheer about in the 200 breast. Spann dropped a 1:59.74 to edge out Jacques Rathle and Danny Schmidt.
Auburn put the pedal to the metal in the 100 fly, Morgan Carteaux (52.82) paced everyone in the field as the Tigers took first through fourth with Gibbons, Komoroczy and Lawson Ficken all swimming well.
When it came time for the men’s race, Sohib Khaled managed to out-touch Stoffle for the win with a 47.29.
Ending the day in style, Wochomurka’s relays put a stamp on the afternoon. Nevmovenko, Klevanovich, Kate Murray and Mulvihill combined for a 3:17.73 while Makinen, Husband, Tirheimer and VanZandt clocked a 2:53.60 as each earned the win in the 400 free relay.