The No. 9 Auburn women had no trouble against No. 24 Arkansas. The Tigers defeated the Razorbacks by a score of 142-95 in a Friday dual meet at Auburn’s pool.
The Tigers began the day with a win in the 200-yard medley relay. The team of backstroker Jillian Vitarius, breaststroker Natasha Lloyd, butterflier Aly Tetzloff and freestyler Ashton Ellzey posted a time of 1:40.07, nearly three seconds ahead of the top Arkansas relay.
In the 1000-yard freestyle, Auburn’s Zoe Thatcher took the win with a time of 10:00.57. Arkansas picked up second and third place finishes from Anna Mayfield and Aiden Lister, respectively.
The Tigers took first, second and third place in the 200-yard freestyle. Caroline Baddock led the charge, edging out teammate Erin Falconer with a time of 1:50.59.
After anchoring the 200-yard medley relay, Ellzer had no trouble in the 50-yard freestyle. She posted a time of 22.90, seven-tenths of a second ahead of Auburn teammate Shannon McKernan, who touched second.
The 400-yard individual medley came down to a touch. Auburn’s Annie Lazor beat teammate Bailey Nero by just one-tenth of a second. Lazor touched in 4:18.57.
In one-meter diving, Auburn’s Maddie Cox finished first with a score of 288.00. Arkansas divers Nicole Gillis and Shelby Bartlett took second and third, respectively. Cox also took the win in the three-meter with a score of 296.63.
The Tigers continued to dominate in the 200-yard butterfly. Nero took the race in 2:01.39, and Auburn sophomore Caroline Baddock finished second with a time of 2:02.05.
After the butterfly was the 100-yard freestyle. For the second time in the meet, the Tigers took the top three spots in an event. Allyx Purcell won for the Tigers with a time of 50.23.
Vitarius picked up another win for Auburn, touching first in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:58.51. Arkansas’ Chloe Hannam finished in second.
The Razorbacks’ drought ended in the 500-yard freestyle. Mayfield picked up the win for Arkansas with a time of 4:48.96. The Razorbacks also had swimmers finish in third and fourth place.
Arkansas’ Madison Strathman won the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:17.07. Auburn’s Natasha Lloyd actually touched first in the event in 2:14.72, but the Tigers four swimmers swam exhibition.
Like the 200-yard breaststroke, Auburn swam exhibition in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The Razorbacks finished first with a time of 3:34.97. The team consisted of Annah Carney, Chelsea Tatlow, Rachel Stoehr and Lister.
Auburn is back in action Jan. 23 against Florida. Arkansas swims next on Jan. 22 in a quad meet against Vanderbilt, Houston and Clemson.