Texas Men, Auburn Women Win Battle of #1's

It was a night of number-ones.  The No. 1-ranked Auburn women's swimming and diving team showed why they are the best in the country Thursday as the Tigers dominated No. 16 Texas, 157-80.  The top ranked Longhorn men picked up two wins apiece from junior Michael Klueh and sophomore Ricky Berens as they  dealt five-time defending NCAA Champion Auburn a 129.5-113.5 defeat Thursday at UT's Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.

"This was a team victory, and everybody played a part," said UT coach Eddie Reese, now in his 30th season with the Longhorns. "Auburn did a great job today. It's tough to travel and swim fast, but they did a super job. Both teams would like to have swum faster, but both teams kept working hard throughout the meet."

The Auburn men took the initial Medley Relay.  Scott Goodrich gave the Tigers a lead they'd never relinquish. With just 50 yards remaining, Auburn had built up over a three second lead allowing Cesar Cieloto coast home in a pedestrian 45.01.

Klueh scored UT's first initial victory in the 1000 freestyle, where he was victorious in 9:14.36.  Auburn's Will Dove and Robert Looney snapped up second and third-place finishes to maintain a six point lead.

The Longhorns quickly erased that lead with Dave Walters ran down teammate Matt McGinnis to lead a 1-2-3-4 finish in the 200 freestyle.  The pair along with Ryan Verlatti and Peter Jameson put the Longhorns up by seven.

Auburn regained the lead in the 50 freestyle even without Cesar Cielo.  The Auburn staff opted to leave reigning NCAA Swimmer of the Year for the final relay but still went 1-2 the Alexei Puninski and Scott Goodrich topping a field where all five scorers went under 21.0.0

In the 200 IM Tyler McGill poured on the speed in the final lap, but it wasn't enough to overcome Texas' Berens who notched his first win of the day.  Caleb McDermott's back-half charge was enough to overcome Auburn's Andrew Mitchell. With the win, Texas took a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

Berens notched his second victory at the expense of McGill in the 200 butterfly, winning in 1:46.42.  Klueh added a NCAA "B" cut to also finish ahead of McGill and give the Longhorns a prohibitive 17-point lead with just six events remaining.

The 100 freestyle gave Auburn a glimmer of home though.  Cielo celebrated his 21st birthday with a convincing win.  He and Puninski left McGinnis in their wake.  Cielo picked up an "A" cut with his time of 43.09.  Any momentum that was gained, however slipped away when Dan Rohleder and Sean Patton edged Auburns Kohlton Norys in the 200 backstroke.  All three dipped under 1:47.

Klueh essentially put the meet away scored his second victory in the 500 freestyle in 4:23.91.  Walters took second in 4:29.02 thus giving Texas nearly a 30 point lead meaning Auburn would have to win out to secure the win.

The next two events gave them hope.

Wins by Kelly Marx on the 3 Meter Board and Jon Hiett and Adam Klein's 1-2 finish in the 200 breaststroke meant a 1-2 finish in the 400 Freestyle Relay would give the Tigers a come-from-behind victory.

Auburn split Cielo and Puninski and the pair put Auburn up 1-2 after the leadoff leg.  Steve Scheren and Goodrich kept the Tigers just a couple of hundred yards away from victory.  Jeremy Harris dashed those hopes, however.  His 44.86 split moved the Longhorns between the two Auburn squads and Berens put the final stamp on the win in the event and the meet with his 43.39 split.

On the women's side, Auburn co-head coach Dorsey Tierney had an easy night against her alma mater. The youthful Longhorns were no match for the top-ranked Tigers. 

The Auburn women won every single swimming event on the night - most by a large margin.  Auburn also went 1-2 in the 200 Medley Relay, 100 Free, 200 Free, and 200 Breaststroke.  The only victories for the Texas ladies came from diver Kathryn Kelly.

"Kat had a career day on the three meter, but she knows she can do a lot better than that, and that’s very promising,” said UT diving coach Matt Scoggin. “(UT freshman) Kayla Torske had a nice comeback event in the three-meter. She stumbled on the one but was solid on the three."

In all during Thursday’s meet with Texas, Auburn’s women posted 12 NCAA provisional times and a NCAA automatic qualifying time from Emily Kukors as she won the 400 IM with a time of 4:10.97. Her time is also the sixth-fastest all-time at Auburn.

Freshman Micah Martindale also had a big night as she won the 1,000 free with a time of 9:46.41. Her time ranks fourth all-time at Auburn.

Texas Sophomore Susana Escobar notched a trio of runner-up finishes.

"Susana (Escobar) had an outstanding meet, not surprisingly,” Texas head swimming coach Kim Brackin said. “We have been setting the bar high for her, and she continues to jump for it. It was great to see the 200 freestyle from Brie Powers and see that desire in those last 25 yards to beat someone. Hee-Jin Chang turned a corner in her training with her confidence level. She truly wants to be a great swimmer.”

“We saw a much more mature Alison Soelter, in regard to racing, today,” Brackin added. “She had a really nice 400 IM and a great 200 breaststroke.”

“I feel that about 90 percent of our team raced well,” Brackin concluded. “I’m excited about the attitude of the team and its enthusiasm to race. But, in order to be competitive, we can’t be at 90 percent. We need 100 percent of the team on the same page.”

Auburn returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 12 with the completion of its Texas roadtrip. The men take on No. 20 Texas A&M while the women face off against No. 6 Texas A&M and No. 12 Southern Methodist.   The Longhorns stay home to face Georgia.