ATHENS, Ga. – Danny Schmidt set the school record in the 200 fly and two Auburn divers earned places in finals in the women’s platform as the Tigers gained ground on Friday at the 2025 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships. With one day of competition remaining, the men moved up to sixth place with 427.5 points and the women remain ninth with 407.5 points.
Sophomore Carissa Rinard kicked off Friday with a solid 1:57.53 to make her way into the C final. Rinard came back in the evening session to swim a 1:58.37 to finish 24th overall.
The only thing Danny Schmidt hadn’t done during the championships was post a school record. The German checked that box quickly during the 200 fly. His 1:40.43 set the new mark to beat for the Orange and Blue and qualified Schmidt into the evening’s A final.
While not a record, Schmidt did manage the third-fastest swim in the 200 fly in program history, hitting the wall at 1:41.27 to finish fifth overall.
Newly minted Men’s SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Mason Mathias added a C final in the 200 fly to his resume with a 1:43.99. Twenty minutes after the awards presentation, Mathias showcased his skills in the pool, winning the C final and becoming the seventh-fastest performer at 1:42.14.
Lora Komoroczy wasted little time making her way into the A final of the 100 back with a solid 51.68. Ellie Waldrep barely missed the B final but her 52.80 gave the senior the top seed in the C final.
Komoroczy dropped a season-best and the fourth-fastest performance in Auburn history with a 51.21 to grab fifth place. Waldrep’s 52.37 was good enough for 18th.
The men’s 100 back has featured Nate Stoffle in the A final each of the past three seasons and Friday would be no different. With a 45.16, Stoffle qualified fifth overall. Tate Cutler (46.46) and Sohib Khaled (46.74) each made the C final.
In the evening session, Stoffle delivered a 45.07 to snag fifth. Including his performance on Friday, Stoffle now owns 10 of the 15 fastest swims in program history in the 100 back. Cutler (46.48) and Khaled (46.70) took 20th and 21st, respectively.
A stout 59.23 from Anastasia Makarova in the 100 breast locked her place in the A final. Olivia Dinehart went 1:00.81 to qualify 19th and make the C final. Her 59.68 in finals delivered the Russian International eighth place. Dinehart finished in 22nd at 1:00.72.
Henry Bethel dialed up a season-best 52.72 on the men’s side, good enough to get the Georgia native a second swim in the C final.
John Fox’s diving group couldn’t have had a better day in the women’s platform. Chloe Brothers went for a personal best and became Auburn’s No. 4 performer all-time with a 302.30 in prelims. Brothers was joined in the A final with Emilly Hallifax who dialed up a 268.65 to qualify. Kyleigh Kidd (228.10), Kayla Walsh (219.65) and Abigail Farrar (214.60) each finished inside the top 24 to put points on the board.
After a moderately slow start in finals, Hallifax picked up steam to produce a 303.40 for fifth place, missing a podium by less than a point. Brothers’ 250.05 solidified eighth for the freshman.
Rounding out the evening, Komoroczy, Makarova, Morgan Carteaux, and Polina Nevmovenko combined for a 3:31.23 for seventh.
Stoffle, Bethel, Schmidt and Ryan Husband provided a similar effort for a 3:05.44 for seventh.
The remaining schedule of events is below:
Saturday, Feb. 22 (200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 1650 free, Men’s Platform, 400 FR)
8:30 a.m. CT – Prelims
11:30 a.m. CT – Diving Prelims
12:40 p.m. CT – Diving Consolation Finals
2:30 p.m. CT – 1650 heats
4 p.m. CT – Finals