Auburn Swimming Picks Up Wins Over LSU, Alabama

Photo Credit: Peter H. Bick

TUSCALOOSA – The Auburn swimming and diving teams recorded wins over SEC rivals Alabama and LSU Saturday afternoon at the Alabama Aquatic Center. The Auburn men topped Alabama, 167-133, and LSU, 222-75. Alabama beat LSU, 220-80. The Tiger women took down Alabama, 174-126, and LSU, 176-124. The LSU women topped Alabama by 10 points, 155-145.

Joe Patching, Michael Duderstadt and Fraser McKean led the Auburn men’s team with multiple wins, as Patching won three events and Duderstadt and McKean won two. Patching got to the wall first in the 200 free (1:37.91), 200 back (1:45.32) and 400 IM (3:53.04), while Duderstadt swept the breaststroke events with a 54.24 in the 100 and a 1:59.31 in the 200. McKean swept the diving events, scoring 364.10 points in the 1-meter and 362.20 points in the 3-meter.

On the women’s side, Jillian Vitarius swept the 100 back (54.09) and 200 back (1:56.88), while Ashley Neidigh doubled in the 1000 free (9:53.66) and 500 free (4:53.00). Auburn also got wins from Alexander Hancock (200 fly, 1:47.81), Allyx Purcell (100 free, 50.23), Annie Lazor (200 breast, 2:13.21) and Arthur Mendes (100 fly, 47.56).

Auburn won both the opening 200 medley relays, as Vitarius, Natasha Lloyd, Megan Fonteno and Purcell topped the women’s race in 3:38.98 and Patching, Duderstadt, Mendes and Kyle Darmody topped the men’s field in 3:13.97.

Kristian Gkolomeev and Brian Westlake had standout swims for the Crimson Tide as both swimmers picked up two individual wins. Gkolomeev got to the wall first in both the 50 and 100 free, posting times of 19.65 and 44.38. Gkolomeev is one of only a handful of swimmers to have broken 20 seconds in the 50 free this season. Westlake outlasted the field in the 500 free (4:31.11) and 1000 free (9:17.56). In the 1000, he out-touched Auburn’s Grant Schenk by just .04.

Emma Saunders (200 free, 1:48.13), Connor Oslin (100 back, 48.13), Kaylin Burchell (100 breast, 1:01.00) and Mia Nonnenberg (400 IM, 4:14.96) also won events for Alabama.

LSU earned wins from Amber Carter in the 50 free (22.90) and 100 fly (53.56), Alex Bettridge in the women’s 1-meter (325.40) and 3-meter (304.20) and Kara Kopcso in the 200 fly (1:59.89).

Auburn’s Allyx Purcell, Alex Merritt, Megan Fonteno and Valerie Hull claimed the final 400 free relay in 3:21.24; teammates Michael Duderstadt, Kyle Darmody, Jacob Molacek and Allen Browning touched first in the men’s relay in 2:56.92.

Results: Auburn, LSU vs. Alabama

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