SEC Weekly Meet Recap: Alabama-Missouri Split Ranked Battle

Alabama's Anton McKee. Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

By Dan D’Addona.

In an anticipated early showdown in the SEC, the No. 10 Alabama men’s swim team defeated No. 12 Missouri 183-144.

The No. 23 Missouri women beat No. 26 Alabama 167-132.

The meet was an early season meeting of NCAA heavyweights. Alabama’s men were sixth at the national championships last season while Missouri was eighth.

Senior Anton McKee and junior Luke Kaliszak led the way for the Alabama men. McKee took first in both the 200 breaststroke (1:59.26) and the 400 individual medley (1:59.26). Kaliszak won the 100 backstroke (47.42) and swam legs on the winning 200 medley relay (1:26.92) and 200 freestyle relay (1:21.25).

Senior Connor Oslin and freshman Robert Howard also swam legs on the winning 200 medley and freestyle relays while senior Pavel Romanov filled out the medley relay and senior Alex Gray anchored the free relay.

Freshman Daniel Kober picked up his first Crimson Tide win, winning the 1,000 freestyle with a time of 9:21.80. Senior Alex Gray picked up top honors in the 200 freestyle (1:38.02) while junior Will Freeman posted a 4:34.69 to win the 500 freestyle. Junior Taylor Charles won the 200 butterfly (1:49.71) and Christopher Reid won the 200 backstroke (1:45.44).

Missouri was led by Michael Chadwick and diver Kyle Goodwin.

Chadwick swept the 50 and 100 free races. His winning 50 free time of 19.81 stands as the fastest time in the country this season, while he also clocked a 43.28 in the 100 free. Goodwin tallied scores of 329.48 on 1-meter and 382.43 on 3-meter to win his first two event titles of the season.

In the women’s meet, senior diver Lauren Reedy broke Missouri’s 3-meter springboard school record.

Rachel Hayden claimed wins in both the 100 and 200 events. She swam a 50.98 in the 100 free and a 1:49.90 in the 200 free.

Reedy notched her school record 381.98 on 3-meter, besting the old mark of 376.05 set by Loren Figueroa in 2011, and give her possession of both springboard records. The senior also notched a 313.95 on 1-meter to win that event.

Junior Alexa Beckwith took second behind Reedy on 1-meter with a 298.28 and junior Madeline McKernan placed second on 3-meter with 307.73 points.

Alabama junior Mia Nonnenberg won three individual events, pushing her season total to eight wins in three meets. Nonnenberg won the 1,000 freestyle (10:08.29), and went on to earn victories in the 500 free (4:55.45) and the 400 individual medley (4:14.78).

Junior Bailey Scott won in the 50 freestyle after posting a 23.23 while junior Hannah Musser earned her fifth butterfly win of the season after taking first in the 100 butterfly in Columbia.

Florida edges Florida State

This meet was Swimming World’s ACC Meet of the Week. For a full story, click here.

Auburn sweeps Kentucky

Freshman Julie Meynen picked up four victories in her first home meet, while seniors Joe Patching and Michael Duderstadt earned three wins each to lead Auburn to a sweep of Kentucky.

The Auburn men won 10 events to down the Wildcats 171-129, while the Tiger women claimed wins in 11 races to earn a 178.5-121.5 victory. Both Auburn teams improved to 2-0 for the dual meet season.

Meynen led Auburn to sweeps in the 50 freestyle (23.00) and 100 freestyle (49.52). She was also part of two winning relays, swimming the anchor leg on the 400 medley relay (3:40.95) that included Aly Tetzloff, Natasha Lloyd and Bailey Nero. Meynen took the second leg on the 200 freestyle relay that won in 1:32.84, swimming alongside Ashton Ellzey, Tetzloff and Robyn Clevenger.

Tetzloff picked up three wins, getting two as part of the relays and another in the 100 butterfly with a time of 54.54. She was also Auburn’s top finisher in the 100 back with a 54.96. Senior Natasha Lloyd took the top spot in both breaststroke events with a 1:02.21 in the 100 and a 2:15.23 in the 200, and she got a third win in the medley relay.

Senior Ashley Neidigh earned two individual victories, clocking a 1:49.52 to lead an Auburn 1-2-3 finish in the 200 free and following that up with a 4:49.48 in the 500 free. And junior Zoe Thatcher posted a 9:58.74 to win the 1000 freestyle by 14 seconds.

Nero earned a win in the 200 fly with a time of 2:00.72.

On the men’s side, Patching won all three of his individual events, claiming victories in the 200 free (1:37.65), 200 back (1:44.69) and 200 IM (1:49.03). Duderstadt also picked up three wins, taking first in the 100 breast (55.49) and contributing to victories in the 400 medley relay (3:16.50) and 200 freestyle relay (1:15.25).

Kentucky tops South Carolina

A day after facing Auburn, Kentucky swept South Carolina with the men winning 196-104, and the women 197-103.

The women’s squad posted a first-place finish in all but three events throughout the day, including two sweeps. The first sweep came in the 100-yard backstroke and the second in the 400-yard individual medley. Freshman Asia Seidt won both events, with her mark of 54.90 in the 100 back earning NCAA consideration. Her 4:21.88 time in the 400 IM is less than two seconds shy of the provisional standard.

Bridgette Alexander’s first-place finish of 1:58.66 in the 200-yard backstroke qualifies as her second B cut in the event after posting a 1:58.49 at Auburn.

Haley McInerny had an impressive showing for the Wildcats, turning in the top times in both butterfly events

On the men’s side, the Wildcats swept three races and had four athletes win multiple events. Senior Kyle Higgins swept the butterfly events for the second-straight meet. His 1:45.96 finish in the 200 fly marks his second NCAA B standard in the event on the season.

Arkansas sweeps Drury

In the first meet under Neil Harper, the Arkansas swimming and diving team defeated the Drury Panthers, 128-77, on Friday at the Arkansas Natatorium to begin the 2016-17 season.

The win marked Arkansas’ 12th consecutive victory against the Panthers and extended the Razorbacks’ non-conference dual meet win streak to 23, dating back to the 2011-12 season.

In her collegiate debut, Ayumi Macias claimed first-place victories in the 500-yard and 1,000-yard freestyle with times of 4:56.94 and 10:07.49 in the two events, respectively. Senior Aiden Lister placed second in both events as well with times of 4:57.80 and 10:10.57.

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