Natalie Hinds Shines As Florida, Auburn Split

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Photo Courtesy: Andy Ringgold/Aringo

It was a day of upsets in Gainesville, Florida as Auburn (No. 7 men, No. 9 women) and Florida (No. 3 men, No. 15 women) went head to head. The meet was contested in a 50-meter pool – the Olympic distance.

The Tigers beat the Gators in a tight men’s meet by a score of 154.5-145.5. In the women’s meet, Florida dominated. The Gators beat the Tigers 192-108.

Auburn head coach Brett Hawke was excited with the Tiger men’s showing.

“It’s a big win for us. It’s a statement win,” Brett Hawke said in a press release. “We haven’t beaten Florida in five years.”

Auburn started off the day hot, taking the first three spots in the women’s 200-meter medley relay. The team of backstroker Jillian Vitarius, breaststroker Natasha Lloyd, butterflier Aly Tetzloff and freestyler Allyx Purcell posted a winning time of 1:56.68.

In the men’s relay, three teams finished within a half a second of each other. Auburn took the top two spots, and the Gators touched in third. The top Tiger relay posted a time of 1:42.46. The team consisted of backstroker Kyle Darmody, breaststroker Michael Duderstadt, butterflier Luis Martinez and freestyler Peter Holoda. Duderstadt led the way for the Tiger men. Along with helping Auburn to a win in the 200-meter medley relay, the junior won the 100 (1:04.44) and 200-meter breaststroke (2:23.12).

Natalie Hinds set the pace for the Florida women, taking three individual events. The senior touched first in the 50-meter freestyle (26.10), 100-meter freestyle (57.03) and 100-meter butterfly (1:02.06).

Despite the team’s loss, sophomore Caeleb Dressel had another strong day for the Gator men. The U.S. National Team member won the 50 (22.49) and 100-meter freestyle (50.94).

Annie Lazor was the bright spot for the Auburn women. The senior won the 100-meter breaststroke (1:11.18), 200-meter breaststroke (2:31.66) and finished third in the 200-meter individual medley (2:23.39).

The Gators ended the day with a sweep of the 400-meter freestyle relay. In the women’s race, Hinds teamed up with Amelia Maughan, Elisavet Panti and Ashlee Linn to win with a time of 3:54.03.

In the men’s race, Pawel Werner, Corey Main, Dressel and Jack Blyzinskyj took first with a time of 3:24.01.

The Tigers are back in action Jan. 29 against Florida State and Wisconsin. Florida swims again on Jan. 30 against Tennessee.

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