Missouri, Auburn Swimming and Diving Conclude Dual Meet Season In Columbia

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

COLUMBIA – It was a Tiger kind of day in central Missouri today, as the Missouri and Auburn swimming and diving teams competed in their final dual meets of the 2014-2015 season. The Auburn men and women took down their Southeastern conference foes in swift – and nearly identical – fashion, with the men winning 162-138 while the women’s won the meet 162-137.

Alright, time to start. Truman has his trunks on. Let's do this. pic.twitter.com/pEmyweT0XR

— Mizzou Swim & Dive (@MizzouSwimDive) January 29, 2015

Missouri didn’t make it very easy for Auburn, winning seven of the first 11 events. One of the highlights of the meet for the Missouri women’s team was beating Auburn in the first event, the 200 medley relay. Hannah Stevens, Abby Duncan, Dani Barbiea and Rachel Hayden finished just .24 ahead of Auburn, 1:40.61 to 1:40.85. It’s no surprise that the race came down to about two tenths of a second, as the best times this season from the two teams are separated by just nine hundredths of a second. Auburn swam a 1:37.81 at the Georgia Invite in December to automatically qualify in the event for the NCAA championships, while Missouri missed the cut by. 06 with a 1:37.90 at the Missouri Invite.

Another memorable aspect of the meet for Missouri was sweeping the top two spots in the women’s breaststroke events. Duncan won the 200 breast with a 2:13.34, just .12 seconds ahead of teammate Katharine Ross and six tenths better than Auburn’s Annie Lazor. Duncan and Ross switched places in the 100 breast, with Ross winning in 1:00.62 to Duncan’s 1:01.62. Lazor was third in that event as well, with a 1:01.83.

It was a great day for Missouri in men’s breaststroke as well. Sam Tierney, looking to score for Missouri at the NCAA championships, took down Auburn’s Michael Duderstadt in both distances. Tierney, currently the top-ranked 100 breaststroker in the nation with a 51.68, won today with a 53.35. That’s one of the fastest in-season swims this year and bodes well for the senior. Duderstadt also posted a quick time with a 54.19 for second. Tierney also won the 200 breast with a 1:57.44, pulling away quickly from Duderstadt, who was second with a 1:59.68.

Two of Auburn’s biggest hopes for big points at the NCAAs on the men’s side – Arthur Mendes and Joe Patching – each won two events today. Mendes, who was part of the winning 400 free relay at the NCAAs, won the 100 free in a very close battle. He touched in 43.90, taking down Missouri’s Michael Chadwick (44.14) and 100 free NCAA finalist Kyle Darmody of Auburn (44.17). Mendes, who scored for Auburn in the 200 fly last March, won the 100 fly today with a 47.28, more than a second faster than the 48.85 by teammate Alex Hancock.

Patching cruised to wins in two of his specialty events. He started with a 1:44.19 in the 200 back, his third-fastest time of the season and well off the 1:40.75 he swam in December at the Georgia Invite for sixth in the nation. Patching also won the 200 IM with a 1:48.31.

Ashley Neidigh won both distance races comfortably for Auburn. She won the 1000 free by 16 seconds with a 9:59.41 and the 500 free by just two seconds over Missouri’s Sharli Brady, 4:50.51 to 4:52.85.

After Auburn won the men’s 200 medley relay with a 1:28.11 to Missouri’s 1:28.15, Missouri responded by winning the first four individual events of the men’s meet. Ryan Baker started it off with a 9:19.29 in the 1000 free, followed by a 1:37.44 in the 200 free by Mitchell Forde. Grant Kelton and Dillon Love beat Patching in the 100 back, with Kelton winning in 47.93 and Love just a finger-length behind in 47.99. Patching was third with a 48.48. The streak ended with Tierney’s win in the 100 breast, but Missouri did not give up the meet after that.

Hugo Morris won the 200 fly with a 1:46.59, giving the Australian freshman his first collegiate victory, and a lifetime best. Missouri responded with a 2-3-4 finish: Mack Darragh (second, 1:48.10), Daniel Graviss (third, 1:48.49) and Andrew Phillips (fourth, 1:48.69) gave Missouri the needed points to keep the meet score close.

Darmody won the 50 free in 20.19, with three other swimmers also breaking 21 seconds. Chadwick was second with a 20.49, Missouri’s Matthew Margritier placed third with a 20.51 and Auburn’s Peter Holoda was fourth with a 20.56.

With the exception of Tierney’s 200 breast victory, Auburn would win the remainder of the men’s events. Logan Samuelson, who was second in the 1000 with a 9:21.70, won the 500 free with a 4:30.58, holding off the 200 fly winner, Hugo Morris, who was second with a 4:30.83. For Samuelson, the 500 free victory was the first collegiate win for the Florida native. Auburn wrapped up the men’s meet with a five-tenths victory in the 200 free relay, 1:18.98 to 1:91.51 for Missouri.

Missouri’s women’s team didn’t win as many events as their male counterparts, but stayed in contact with Auburn with plenty of athletes getting into the just-as-important second through fifth spots. Besides the wins in the breaststroke events, Missouri won both butterfly events. Erin Metzger-Seymour won the 200 fly with a 1:59.15, just touching out teammate Sharli Brady, who posted a 1:59.41. In the 100 fly, Barbiea posted the only swim under 54 seconds, winning with a 53.75. Barbiea scored in the consolation final of the 100 fly last year and will look to end her collegiate career with a top-eight finish in March.

Jillian Vitarius won both backstroke events, posting a 54.73 to win the 100 and 1:57.86 to win the 200 back. Another double winner for Auburn was Allyx Purcell, who handed the 50-100 free double with little difficulty. She won the 50 by seven tenths with a 22.64 and the 100 with a 49.60, the only swim under 50 seconds at the meet.

Auburn celebrated a 1-2-3 finish in the 200 free to put the pressure on Missouri early in the meet. Valerie Hull led the way with a 1:50.14, followed by the 1:50.35 by Zoe Thatcher and the 1:50.43 by Jessica Hodgson. McKenna DeBever had her hands full with Ross in the 200 IM, holding off the breaststroke specialist to win with a 2:02.42 to Ross’ 2:02.84.

The women’s 200 free relay was not as close as the medley relay. Auburn took the free relay with a 1:31.14 to Missouri’s 1:32.80.

In diving events, Missouri outscored Auburn 25-14 in the women’s springboard competition, while Auburn scored better in the men’s diving, 23-16. Clark Thomas, currently the Southeastern Conference’s Male Diver of the Week, won the 3-meter competition with an impressive 421.35, beating Auburn’s Fraser McKean by 36 points. McKean was dominant on the 1-meter springboard, scoring 367.13 points to beat teammate Justin Youtsey by 20 points. In the women’s competition, Alexa Beckwith and Lauren Reedy gave Missouri a 1-2 finish in the 1-meter event with scores of 285.45 and 274.80. Auburn’s Carly Scheper won the 3-meter by four points over Missouri’s Madeline McKernan, 311.33 to 307.43.

#Auburn seniors celebrating their final dual-meet win of their careers. #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/7ZAbbheeQq

— Auburn Swim & Dive (@AuburnSwimming) January 29, 2015

Auburn vs. Missouri Dual Meet – Results

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