Auburn Swimming and Diving Teams Compete in SEC Championship, Men Win

The Auburn Men and Women's Swimming and Diving teams competed in the Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championship from Feb. 18 to 20 at the Gabrielsen Natatorium in Athens, Ga.

The men's team finished first and the women's team finished third with 568 points, behind no. 1 Georgia and no. 2 Florida.

The men's win with 784 points makes 14 consecutive wins, setting a record for number of consecutive wins.

"It was amazing to see them win. They jumped in the pool and celebrated with the coaches," said junior and Auburn swim team hostess, Erica Schirm.

Auburn's men were ahead by 13 points as the final event, the 400 free relay, of the championship began. Adam Brown, Chris Fox, Kohlton Norys and Gideon Louw secured the championship title for the Tigers with their NCAA qualifying time of 2:49.63 and the Florida Gators finished second with a time of 2:49.95.

"Florida was winning at the beginning of finals Saturday night, so Auburn really had to pull it together to win," Schirm said.

Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace won the women's 100 freestyle with a time of 47.93, the fastest time in the nation this year.

Gideon Louw also finished first in the men's 100 freestyle with a time of 42.36.

Diver Vennie Dantin finished second in the women's platform diving with a total of 311.15 points.

Diver Kelly Marx was named SEC Diver of the Year, and coach Jeff Shafer was named SEC Male Diving Coach of the Year.

"It was exciting to see the team win. The atmosphere in the stand with the swimmers' parents was amazing," said Schirm. "They were all so excited."

The Women's team will compete in NCAA championships in March in West Lafayette, Ind. Micah Lawrence automatically qualified for NCAA's in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 59.29. The women's 400 medley relay with Melissa Marik, Micah Lawrence, Ava Ohlgren and Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace also qualified for NCAAs with a time of 3:31.83.

The Men's team also competes in NCAAs in March in Columbus, Ohio. Automatic qualifiers include Gideon Louw in the 50 Free, Adam Brown in the 50 free, Adam Klein in the 100 breaststroke, Tyler McGill in the 100 butterfly and Pascal Wollach in the 100 backstroke.

Th Men's 200 medley relay qualified with Jared White, Michael Silva, Jordan Anderson and Gideon Louw with a time of 1:24.41.

The 400 medley relay with Pascal Wollach, Adam Klein, Tyler McGill and Adam Brown with a time of 3:07.01.

The 200 freestyle relay with Adam Brown, Karl Krug, Chris Fox and Gideon Louw with a time of 1:16.16.

The winning 400 freestyle relays also qualified for NCAAs.