Meet of the Week Preview: Texas at Auburn

By Jason Marsteller

PHOENIX, Arizona, January 10. AFTER a holiday training hiatus, SwimmingWorldMagazine.com's Meet of the Week program returns full force with an epic battle between top Division 1 powerhouses Auburn and Texas. The two will meet on Jan. 11 at 3 p.m. in Auburn, Ala., as the No. 3/3 Tigers play host to the No. 1/12 Longhorns.

We will also put the spotlight on Division 3 Emory (Collegeswimming.com Rankings: Men: #2, Women: #1) as they swim against Division 2 Tampa (M: #16, W: #13) on Jan. 12.

Next week, we will feature:
Jan. 19, 2007, Ohio State at Penn State (W)
Jan. 20, 2007, Indianapolis at Grand Valley State
Jan. 20, 2007, Hartwick at St. Lawrence

Here is a quick preview of the Auburn/Texas match-up:

Date and Time: Thursday, January 11, 2007 – 3 p.m.
Location: Auburn, Ala.
Facility: James E. Martin Aquatics Center
CSCAA Rankings (as of Dec. 15):
Men
Auburn: 3
Texas: 1

Women
Auburn: 3
Texas: 12

Auburn's Last Time Out:
Auburn's last significant action came at the 2006 U.S. Open held in West Lafayette, Ind., from Nov. 30 – Dec. 2, 2006. At the meet, the college team walked away with a trio of titles – all in women's events.

Hayley Peirsol won the lone individual title with a 4:13.78 in the 400-meter freestyle, while a pair of relay squads got the job done in the 400 free and medley events. In the freestyle, Ava Ohlgren, Julie Stupp, Melissa Marik and Emily Kukors clocked a 3:50.02, while Marik, Abby MacGregor, Stupp and Kara Denby won the medley in 4:17.36.

The top finish for the men belonged to the 400 free relay of Tyler McGill, Scott Goodrich, Pascal Wollach and Bryan Lundquist, who took third in 3:30.63.

Looking forward with Auburn head coach David Marsh:
On the men's side, this should really be a terrific meet. Texas' quality will be very hard to overcome. If you go down their dual meet lineup, they have National Team caliber athletes at every turn. In the sprints, they have an NCAA Champion in Garrett Weber-Gale all the way to the 1000, where they have one of the best in Michael Klueh. There is just no let up against them. It is the same old story between our programs coming into this meet. At the 2004 NCAAs, they had the loaded top end and we relied on our depth to gather points rather than dominate races. If we are going to have a chance, it will be how our depth performs.

Just like everyone else, we are coming off heavy training through Christmas. It is a significant transitional time for everyone. I am not sure how my group will respond yet coming off the last couple of weeks of intensive training. We will have some respond really well, and some will be tired. Having NCAAs a week early has changed some of the planning and training. We are trying to squeeze in more quality training.

What is great about this meet is we will know more about where our team is after swimming a meaningful meet. Texas is worth of its number one ranking. If I had a vote, I would vote them there right now. Where they have gone from being a good team to a great team is with this freshman class with swimmers like Rick Berens and David Walters. That group is certainly among the most up-and-coming groups in the country.

On the women's side, I am excited that Kim Brackin agreed to bring out her women for this meet as well. Even though Kim has taken it on the chin a bit this year, I know she has a vision for that program. Facing great competition is the way to go about it. She has a great team that will give us a great meet. Our women's team should begin to come together at this point.

Texas' Last Time Out:
At its own Texas Invitational, the men finished second behind Arizona, 787-696.50, while the women took third with 551 points behind first-place Arizona (859) and second-place Stanford (763).

During the deeply-competitive meet, the Longhorns managed to score a pair of event titles. Elizabeth Tinnon won Texas' only individual title of the meet with a 59.96 in the 100 breast, while the men's 800 freestyle relay of Michael Klueh, Dave Walters, Rick Berens and Matthew McGinnis hit the wall in 6:28.29 for the victory.

UT had a couple of near misses with runner-up finishes in the men's 200 free relay (Garrett Weber Gale, Matthew Lowe, McGinnis, Tyler O'Halloran – 1:20.46), men's 100 fly (Berens – 46.93), men's 400 medley relay (Klueh, Lowe, Daniel Rohleder, Weber Gale – 3:14.69), men's 200 medley relay (Thomas Sacco, O'Halloran, Berens, Weber Gale – 1:28.45), women's one-meter diving (Mary Yarrison – 278.40), women's 800 freestyle relay (Elaine Ferritto, Katie Robinson, Alex Basso, Connie Brown – 7:19.62), men's 1650 free (Klueh – 14:55.08) and women's 100 free (Brown – 49.18).

Looking forward with Texas men's head coach Eddie Reese:
This time of year, you can never be sure how your swimmers will perform. Christmas training demands are different for each individual as well as the different teams. This meet is usually fairly fast and competitive.

Looking forward with Texas women's head coach Kim Brackin:
The team is really excited to head over to Auburn. It is their first opportunity to dual this them, and we're all very excited to add that caliber of a program to our schedule. I know that competing against the defending National Champions will require both our swimmers and divers to step up; Auburn is an extremely well-rounded team with great experience and confidence. I feel confident that the Longhorns are up for the challenge. Knowing first-hand how Auburn trains throughout the year, I predict that both teams could be potentially sluggish coming off training trips, but very eager to race! I think we will see some great head-to-head battles in a variety of events; the key will be to see if our depth swimmers can step up, race hard, get their hand on the wall for third and fourth and make it an exciting meet! Personally, it will be a little weird for me to stand on the opposite side of the deck I stood on for eight years! But, David, Dorsey and Jeff run a fantastic program and I am proud and excited for the challenge to take on the Tigers as a Texas Longhorn!

Top 2006-07 Times Comparison:
Men:
50 Free
AU: 20.29, Matt Targett
UT: 20.21, Matthew McGinnis
100 Free
AU: 45.03, Jakob Andkjaer
UT: 43.98, Matthew McGinnis
200 Free
AU: 1:40.25, Jakob Andkjaer
UT: 1:35.66, Matthew McGinnis
500 Free
AU: 4:33.80, James Wike
UT: 4:18.21, Michael Klueh
1000 Free
AU: 9:22.33, Will Dove
UT: 8:59.90, Michael Klueh
1650 Free
AU: N/A
UT: 14:55.08, Michael Klueh
100 Back
AU: 50.34, Bryan Lundquist
UT: 48.64, Daniel Rohleder
200 Back
AU: 1:46.89, James Wike
UT: 1:44.69, Michael Klueh
100 Breast
AU: 56.24, Sean Osborne
UT: 54.96, Matthew Lowe
200 Breast
AU: 2:05.23, Sean Osborne
UT: 2:00.76, Matthew Lowe
100 Fly
AU: 49.82, Jakob Andkjaer
UT: 46.93, Rick Berens
200 Fly
AU: 1:50.36, Tyler McGill
UT: 1:44.54, Rick Berens
200 IM
AU: 1:49.99, James Wike
UT: 1:48.86, Rick Berens
400 IM
AU: 3:54.99, James Wike
UT: 3:49.78, Michael Klueh
200 Free Relay
AU: 1:21.72
UT: 1:20.46
400 Free Relay
AU: 3:03.79
UT: 2:58.46
800 Free Relay
AU: N/A
UT: 6:28.29
200 Medley Relay
AU: 1:30.74
UT: 1:28.45
400 Medley Relay
AU: 3:18.98
UT: 3:14.69
1M Diving
AU: 348.20, Steven Segerlin
UT: 354.55, Mike Wong
3M Diving
AU: 374.85, Steven Segerlin
UT: 334.85, Mike Wong

Women:
50 Free
AU: 23.47, Emile Ewing
UT: 22.98, Connie Brown
100 Free
AU: 50.68, Kara Denby
UT: 49.18, Connie Brown
200 Free
AU: 1:48.39, Ava Ohlgren
UT: 1:47.92, Connie Brown
500 Free
AU: 4:49.99, Ava Ohlgren
UT: 4:47.52, Macie Garrett
1000 Free
AU: 9:43.62, Hayley Peirsol
UT: 9:57.42, Susana Escobar
1650 Free
AU: N/A
UT: 16:40.20, Macie Garrett
100 Back
AU: 54.29, Rachel Goh
UT: 54.83, Connie Brown
200 Back
AU: 2:00.59, Rachel Goh
UT: 2:00.89, Lindsay Voyles
100 Breast
AU: 1:04.41, Alicia Jensen
UT: 59.96, Elizabeth Tinnon
200 Breast
AU: 2:16.38, Julie Stupp
UT: 2:11.86, Elizabeth Tinnon
100 Fly
AU: 56.36, Kristen Hastrup
UT: 53.47, Connie Brown
200 Fly
AU: 2:00.55, Emily Kukors
UT: 1:58.08, Katie Robinson
200 IM
AU: 2:01.33, Julie Stupp
UT: 2:02.79, Elizabeth Tinnon
400 IM
AU: 4:15.85, Emily Kukors
UT: 4:20.18, Susana Escobar
200 Free Relay
AU: 1:33.41
UT: 1:32.10
400 Free Relay
AU: 3:20.54
UT: 3:21.64
800 Free Relay
AU: N/A
UT: 7:19.62
200 Medley Relay
AU: 1:43.18
UT: 1:40.20
400 Medley Relay
AU: 3:45.23
UT: 3:35.30
1M Diving
AU: 270.40, Corey Gerlach
UT: 306.22, Mary Yarrison
3M Diving
AU: 316.15, Corey Gerlach
UT: 340.35, Mary Yarrison

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