Men grab second, Women seventh to close out SEC Swim and Dive Championships

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Men grab second, Women seventh to close out SEC Swim and Dive Championships

Auburn University Athletics

12–16 minutes

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COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Auburn Swim and Dive rounded out the 2023 SEC Championships and did so with authority. The men tallied 1089.5 points to claim second, its highest finish since 2016. Meanwhile, the Women's 688 points and seventh-place finish were 104 more than a season ago.

  The Auburn women, and specifically Daisy Platts, could not have kicked off Saturday's morning session any better. Platts qualified No. 1 overall in the 200 back with the fourth-fastest performance in school history at 1:51.63.

  Meanwhile, Meghan Lee continued her strong SEC showing, grabbing a spot in the B final. Kensley Merritt and Ellie Waldrep each managed a spot in the C final.

  Platts dialed up a 1:52.62 to finish fourth in the evening. Lee dropped time to pick up 14^th, Waldrep notched 20^th and Merritt came in at 24^th.

  Fresh off a school record leading the 100 back in the 400 medley relay a night ago, Nate Stoffle backed up his performance with another solid one in the 200 back, qualifying fourth overall. Older brother Aidan Stoffle made it a brotherly affair in the A final, snagging the sixth spot.

  Lleyton Smith slid his way into the B final and Andrew Simmons made his way into the C final.

  Aidan would go sub-1:40.00 in the finals to secure fourth. Nate grabbed seventh while Smith secured 13^th and Simmons dropped time to grab 19^th.

  Both Polina Nevmovenko and Lexie Mulvihill dropped time in the 100 free to secure spots in the evening's B final.

  Nevmovenko kept shaving off time in the finals, swimming a 48.55 to slide up to 10^th place. Mulvihill would finish in 16^th.

  On the men's side, Logan Tirheimer's sprint program continued to shine, leading the way with a 42.59 and 10^th overall in qualifying. Freshman Kalle Makinen was right behind him with a 42.62.

  Tirheimer also got the best of Makinen in the final, grabbing 14^th while Makinen hit the wall in 16^th.

  Four Tigers earned a second swim in the women's 200 breast. Junior Brynn Curtis led the pack at 2:10.56 to slide into the B final. Hannah Ownbey joined Curtis in the B final as well.

  Freshman Ainsley Jones and sophomore Anastasia Makarova gave the Orange and Blue some representation in the C final.

  Swimming side-by-side in the final, Ownbey and Curtis swam identical 2:11.24's to finish tied for 15^th. Makarova won the C final at 2:11.40 and Jones grabbed 19^th overall.

  Much like the 100 breast, it was job done for Reid Mikuta in the 200. His 1:53.54 was the fifth-fastest time in prelims. Henry Bethel and Jacques Rathle each made the B final. Rathle's 1:55.76 makes him the 10^th-fastest performer in program history.

  Mikuta dropped 0.41 seconds in the final to hit the wall sixth. Rathle and Bethel would dial up 15^th and 16^th finishes, respectively.

  Auburn's distance group did not disappoint in the mile on Saturday. Emily Hetzer paced the bunch, as she has all season long, swimming a season-best 16:03.46 to grab seventh. Averee Preble also went for a season-best time, hitting the wall at 16:11.93 to finish 16^th.

  Mason Mathias didn't stop the distance party. His 14:42.99 in the mile is only second to volunteer assistant Zane Grothe and earned him fourth place. Meanwhile, Grant Davis' 14:51.37 came in at eighth and is now the third-fastest performance in school history.

  Nevmovenko, Mulvihill, Rebekah Hamilton and Platts closed out the meet with a solid swim in the 400 free relay. Their 3:15.22 was good enough for eighth.

  Tirheimer, Makinen, Ryan Husband and Aidan Stoffle did the honors for the men. The quartet hit the wall in sixth with a pace of 2:50.75

  DIVING
Walker Creedon loves the Platform and it showed on Saturday in College Station. The Virginia transfer easily slid into finals with a 380.15. However, it was Whit Andrus who would make the biggest, or smallest, splash of the prelims. Needing a strong final dive, Andrus delivered and qualified eighth with a 340.85. Hunter Kebler grabbed points as well, finishing 12^th overall.

  Creedon kept the good vibes rolling into finals. He bested his prelims score with a 381.70 to come away with fourth place. Andrus would ultimately grab eighth.

  WHAT WOCHOMURKA HAD TO SAY
Head coach, Ryan Wochomurka
"This meet is a challenge, four and a half days of racing with plenty of ups and downs. It's a marathon. I saw a lot of growth on our women's side. We may not have moved up in the standings from where we were last year but gaining 104 points shows the development of where this team is headed. We're forming an identity and we're figuring out what it takes to be competitive in this league and to be competitive nationally. I'm excited about what we learned this week.

  "For the men, it was a goal all year long to come back to this meet and be competitive with the top teams in this conference. If you can be near the top of the SEC, you can be competitive nationally, and that's what they're here to do. That's what this program deserves, it's what our fans deserve and it's what our alumni deserve.

  "The exciting part is, it was nowhere perfect. There's a lot of room for improvement. There's a lot of room for growth. If we can clean those things up in the next three or four weeks as we head to the NCAA's, we're going to have a really exciting showing. Overall, I'm exceptionally proud of how everyone battled through the full four and a half days."

  SCORES
Men
1. Florida – 1488.5
2. Auburn – 1089.5
3. Tennessee – 1035.5
4. Texas A&M - 1018
5. Georgia – 828,5
6. Missouri – 725.5
7. Alabama – 667
8. Kentucky - 514
9. South Carolina – 458.5
10. Louisiana State – 337

  Women
1. Florida - 1255
2. Tennessee – 950.5
3. Kentucky – 946
4. Alabama – 791
5. Louisiana State - 775  
5. Georgia – 756
7. Auburn - 688
8. South Carolina – 587
9. Texas A&M – 583.5
10. Arkansas - 530
11. Missouri - 418
12. Vanderbilt - 169 

  SEC MEDALS
Silver
800 Free Relay (M) – Bonson, Mathias, Husband, Gadgaard (6:12.39)
100 Backstroke (M) – Nate Stoffle (45.04)
100 Butterfly (W) – Meghan Lee (51.01)

  Bronze
200 Medley Relay (M), bronze – A. Stoffle, Mikuta, N. Stoffle, Makinen (1:22.98)
200 Free Relay (M) – Tirheimer, Makinen, Deliyiannis, N. Stoffle (1:15.94)
400 Medley Relay (M) – N. Stoffle, Mikuta, A. Stoffle, Makinen (3:03.03)
100 Breaststroke (M) – Reid Mikuta (51.22)

  SCHOOL RECORDS
800 Free Relay (M) – Bonson, Mathias, Husband, Gadgaard (6:12.39)
100 backstroke (M) – Nate Stoffle (44.89*)

  UP NEXT
Those that haven't met NCAA qualification standards will head toward a last chance meet next weekend. Meanwhile, the divers will head to Knoxville, TN for zones March 5-8. The Women's NCAA Championship is slated for March 15-18 in Knoxville, while the Men's is scheduled for March 22-25 in Minneapolis.  

Players Mentioned

Whit Andrus

Diving Sophomore

Henry Bethel

Breaststroke/IM Sophomore

Brynn Curtis

Breaststroke/IM Junior

Grant Davis

Freestyle Sophomore

Rebekah Hamilton

Sprint Free Sophomore

Emily Hetzer

Distance Free Fifth Year

Ryan Husband

Freestyle Junior

Hunter Kebler

Diving Junior

Meghan Lee

Backstroke/IM Junior

Anastasia Makarova

Breaststroke Sophomore