Auburn swimming and diving closed out its 2014-15 slate on a strong note, sweeping SEC foe Missouri in its final dual meet of the year Thursday at the Missouri Aquatic Center.
The sixth-ranked Auburn men downed Missouri, 162-138, while the No. 8 Auburn women picked up a 162-137 victory in the first-ever meeting between the two teams in Columbia, Mo. Auburn’s men and women combined to win 20 of 32 events against Missouri.
“The men didn’t travel well early, but responded well after a little bit of adversity and came back and fought hard,” head coach Brett Hawke said. “We got some key wins that we needed to and I was really happy with the way they responded to get the victory.”
“We’ve done a lot of racing in the last three or four weeks. I think everyone is ready to get some rest and start focusing in on the [SEC] championship itself. I’m really happy with where we are as a team heading into SECs.”
Auburn’s men (4-4, 4-1 SEC) started slow but finished strong by winning seven of the last eight events. Arthur Mendes (100 fly, 100 free) and Joe Patching (200 back, 200 IM) doubled for the Tigers.
Mendes picked up his first win of the year in the 100 free, touching in with a time of 43.90. The junior posted a 47.28 in the 100 fly to lead a 1-2 finish with teammate Alex Hancock (48.85). Patching cruised to victory in the 200 back by over a second, swimming a 1:44.19. He closed the day out with a quick 1:48.31 in the 200 IM , while Jordan Jones followed his teammate in second at 1:49.57.
Freshman Logan Samuelson was a bright spot for the men in the distance freestyle events, earning his first career individual win in the 500 free (4:30.58) and taking second in the 1,000 free (9:21.70). Hugo Morris provided the Tigers with a dominating victory in the 200 fly at 1:46.59. The freshman also went 4:30.83 in the 500 free to pick up key points for the Tigers. Kyle Darmody earned a win in the 50 free, clocking a 20.19.
The men also swept both relays against Missouri as the team of Patching, Michael Duderstadt, Morris and Jacob Molacek posted a 1:28.11 in the 200 medley relay, edging Missouri’s ‘A’ team (1:28.15) at the wall. Auburn closed the meet recording a 1:18.98 in the 200 free relay as Darmody, Mendes, Duderstadt and Molacek took home the win.
Auburn’s women (7-2-1, 5-1-1 SEC) also won 10 events against Missouri, getting two individuals wins apiece from Ashley Neidigh (500 free, 1,000 free) Allyx Purcell (50 free, 100 free) and Jillian Vitarius (100 back, 200 back).
Neidigh’s 1,000 free time of 9:59.41 gave the sophomore her fifth win in the event this season, finishing 16 seconds faster than the second-place finisher. Neidigh continued her performance with 4:50.51 in the 500 free to complete the distance freestyle sweep versus Missouri.
Purcell picked up her double with ease, clocking a 22.64 in the 50 free and touching in at 49.60 to get the victory in the 100 free. Vitarius went 55.41 in the 100 back to grab her first win of the day and then closed out the meet with a strong performance in the 200 back, posting a 1:57.86 to beat the rest of the field by nearly four seconds.
McKenna DeBever earned her first win of the season in the 200 IM, touching in at 2:02.42. Valerie Hull led a 1-2-3 Auburn finish in the 200 free, taking the win at 1:50.14 followed by Zoe Thatcher in second at 1:50.35 along with Jessica Hodgson placing third with a 1:50.43.
In the final event of the day, Purcell, Megan Fonteno, Ashton Ellzey and Hull posted a 1:31.14 earned the win in the 200 free relay.
In diving, Carly Scheper nearly set a season-best in the women’s 3-meter competition. The junior recorded a six-dive list of 311.33 to earn a first-place finish. Fraser McKean scored a 367.13 on the 1-meter to pick up the win, while Justin Youtsey followed up with a second-place finish at 346.73. McKean also placed second on the 3-meter, logging a 385.05.
Auburn now turns its attention to the 2015 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships. The Tigers will host the five-day meet, Feb. 17-21, at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center.
