The Auburn swimming and diving team cruised to a sweep of the South Carolina Gamecocks on Senior Day at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center on Saturday. Auburn’s men downed the Gamecocks 170-124, while the women posted a 177-118 victory over South Carolina.
Auburn’s senior class added wins throughout the day as Zane Grothe took the men’s 500 freestyle, while Emily Bos swam the 200 back for the first time since 2010 and picked up the victory. James Disney-May collected a first-place finish in the men’s 50 free at 19.87.
The Auburn men (3-3, 2-1 SEC) and women (4-2, 2-1 SEC) both won 12 of the 16 events on Saturday. Joe Patching was double winner for the Auburn men. The freshman took the 100 back and 200 IM with times of 48.35 and 1:49.94. Auburn’s freshman combined to earn seven individual wins on the day in eight events, respectively.
On the women’s side, freshman Allyx Purcell returned to her winning ways by sweeping the women’s 50 and 100 free with times of 22.61 and 49.85, respectively.
The Tigers swept the men’s and women’s relay events. Auburn’s women went three-up in the 200 medley relay, while Auburn’s men claimed the top two spots for the Tigers. With the meet in hands, the Tigers capped off the day by sweeping the 400 free relay.
In diving, Auburn’s Fraser McKean took the top spot on the 1-meter board with a score of 346.28, ahead of John Santeiu IV’s 341.78. Santeiu took second for the men on the 3-meter with a 381.75, just .45 points behind South Carolina’s Cole Miller. Cinzia Calabretta took the win for Auburn in the women’s 3-meter, with a six-dive score of 313.65.
QUOTING HAWKE:
“I thought today we got back and focused on our team. We focused really well at the task at hand and turned in good swims. We’re on track with our training plan and I’ve been pleased with how we’ve performed at practice throughout the last week. We’re always focused on getting to SECs with our best ahead of us and I think we’re heading in that direction.” – Auburn head coach Brett Hawke on team’s performance
“The senior class is the cornerstone and foundation of our program. This group has put a lot of time and energy into making this program what it is.” – Hawke on Auburn seniors
“They continue to get better and work hard. Cam Jones and Natasha Lloyd joined us at the hallway point and they are still getting used to the yards, but I think they’ve got a lot of good swims ahead of them and surprise a lot of people at SECs. You can look at our times across the board and we’ve kept getting better from Texas to Florida to South Carolina. We are going to show up at SECs ready to go.” – Hawke on freshman class and upcoming SEC Championships
SENIOR CLASS:
Prior to the meet, Auburn’s 12 seniors were recognized on the pool deck for their accomplishments during their time as a Tiger. The men’s seniors are Marcelo Chierighini, James Disney-May, Zane Grothe, Peter Haas, Spencer Kerns, TJ Leon and John Santeiu IV. Auburn’s women’s seniors are Emily Bos, Siena DeVenuto, Haley Krakoski, Aubrey Peacock and Hallie Stupp.
GLAD TO BE HOME:
The Tigers competed in their first home dual meet of the season and just its third home event of the year. Auburn’s men took home first place at November’s Auburn Invitational, while the women claimed second at the mid-year meet.
UP NEXT:
The Tigers travel to Athens, Ga. for the 2014 SEC Championships at the Gabrielsen Natatorium. The five-day event starts on Feb. 18 and runs through Feb. 22.
The South Carolina swimming and diving teams dropped a pair of decisions to Auburn on Saturday afternoon in an SEC dual meet at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center.
The Gamecock men fell to the 10th-ranked Tigers by the score of 170-124, wrapping up the regular season at 6-2 overall and 1-2 in the SEC. On the women's side, Carolina lost to No. 15 Auburn, 177-118, to finish the year at 4-4 and 0-3 in the conference.
South Carolina finished the day with eight wins, with six coming in the pool and two on the boards. Sophomore Marwan El Kamash led the way for the Gamecock men as he touched first in the 1,000 freestyle with a mark of 9:25.04 and finished second in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:30.87.
"It was a tough meet," Gamecock head swimming coach McGee Moody said following the day's events. "It's always hard to travel and race against Auburn. We had some very good swims and some places we have to improve on. I am sure we can get things worked out in the couple of weeks before the SEC Championships."
Senior Michael Flach recorded a first-place finish for the Gamecocks in the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:48.78, while junior Alex Vance grabbed first in the 200 breaststroke in 2:03.89. South Carolina also came up just short of wins in several races, as junior Michael Covert placed second in both the 100 backstroke (49.62) and 200 backstroke (1:49.62) and freshman Kevin Leithold took second in the 100 freestyle (44.66).
In the women's events, junior Victoria Mitchell had a solid day to pace the Gamecocks. She claimed first in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:57.20 and finished runner-up in the 1,000 freestyle with a personal record of 10:01.26, which is the sixth fastest time in school history. Senior Amanda Rutqvist touched the wall first in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:16.78, and senior Abby Galbreath captured first in the 200 IM in 2:06.30. Junior Elisabeth Worrell placed second in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:04.37.
On the boards, the Gamecocks won two events. Junior Cole Miller took first on the three-meter springboard with a score of 382.20 and finished third on the one-meter with a score of 322.35. Junior Patricia Kranz won the women's one-meter board with a score of 292.20 and placed second on the three-meter with an identical score of 292.20.
"We had a pretty good day today," head diving coach Todd Sherritt said. "We split events with Auburn. Patti (Kranz) won the low board and Cole (Miller) won the three-meter. Auburn has one of the best teams in the country. I felt pretty good about today. We are in great position for conference championships."
The Gamecocks will now begin preparations for the SEC Championships, which will be held Feb. 18-22 in Athens, Ga.
