Tiger Swimming and Diving Teams Defeat Alabama

TUSCALOOSA, Ala, November 17. THE Auburn swimming and diving teams continued their mastery of Alabama, posting dual victories over the Crimson Tide Friday at the Alabama Aquatic Center. The women defeated Alabama, 148-78, while the men swam past Alabama, 143.50-99.50.

"It's always special to win this in-state meet," Auburn head coach David Marsh said. "I'm very impressed with the improvement that Bama is showing. They seem to be getting better every year, the men's side especially. They gave us the best meet they have in a long time. To compete at the NCAA level, we're going to have to swim a lot like what they did up front."

With the wins, the teams gave Marsh a combined 30-4 record against the Crimson Tide. The men improved to 22-16 all-time against Alabama and have won their last 14 meets against the Crimson Tide. The women, meanwhile, improved to 19-2 all-time and have won their last 11 dual meets against Alabama.

The women finished the meet with three `B' provisional cut times. Ava Ohlgren earned Auburn's first `B' provisional cut of the meet, posting a time of 1:48.39 in the 200 freestyle to win the event. She joins Emily Kukors and Adrienne Binder with provisional times in the 200 free this year.
Kukors earned a provisional `B' cut in the 400 IM, taking the event with a time of 4:15.85, becoming the fifth Tiger woman to earn a provisional time this season. Tawnie Bethune became the fourth Tiger with a `B' cut in the 200 butterfly this season, finishing with 2:01.25 Friday. Chelsea Haser impressed for the Tigers, taking the 1000 free with a time of 10:02.01. She followed that up with a victory in the 500 free (4:54.65).
?"On the women's side, top to bottom, I think we competed much better than we did last week," co-women's head coach Dorsey Tierney-Walker said. "That's something we talked about.
"Chelsea Haser, in the absence of our two best distance swimmers – Adrienne Binder and Hayley Peirsol – did a fantastic job. She won the 1000 and 500 and competed very well. Maggie Bird had a very good 1000. Julie Stupp had a very good weekend."

The Auburn women (3-1 overall, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) began the meet by sweeping their first two events. They began it with a win in the 400 medley relay. Auburn's "A" team, consisting of Rachel Goh, Alicia Jensen, Bethune and Emile Ewing, took the event with a time of 3:45.23.

The Tigers' second 1, 2, 3 sweep came in the 1000 freestyle. Haser won the event and was followed by Maggie Bird (10:03.50) and Blakeley Bunch (10:21.11).

The women also took 1, 2, 3 finishes in the 200 backstroke (Ewing, Julianne McLane and Melissa Marik) and the 500 freestyle (Haser, Kristen Hastrup and Julie Stupp).

The men (3-0, 2-0 SEC), meanwhile, swept the 200 butterfly (John Scott, Tyler McGill and Jordan Anderson) and the 200 backstroke (Bartlett, John Long and Joey Schneider).

The men placed three new zone qualifiers in 1-meter diving. Dan Mazzaferro posted a 311.10, followed by Kelly Marx (305.70) and Scott Morgan (301.80).

Matt Targett won the 50 freestyle with a 20.29. Matt Bartlett came out on top in the 200 backstroke, finishing with a time of 1:51.43. The men's 200 free relay team, consisting of Targett, Steve Scheren, Bryan Lundquist and Scott Goodrich, took the event with a time of 1:21.72.

"I'd give the day to John Scott in a lot of ways," Marsh said. "He explained to the team before the day, as a Montgomery native, what the Auburn-Alabama rivalry is. He made it clear it's even more important than anybody could imagine. He set the tone for the day, then came out in the 200 fly and won that event."

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use