Day 1 in the pool went well for the Tigers. Could they match or improve upon that performance on Day 2?
Well, after Day 2's finals, the Auburn men have moved into first place ahead of Tennessee with 301 points (25 points ahead of UT), and the women moved to third place with 228.5 points, behind Georgia and Tennessee.
The Tigers got off to a solid start in the prelims. The Women's 500m Freestyle was up first and Katie Gardocki qualified ninth with a time of 4.43:31, getting her into the consolation final tonight. Siena DeVanuto's time earned her second alternate. Both girls' times were season bests. The men were up next in the 500m Free and the Tigers' Zane Grothe, Chris Kramer, and Chris Parker finished 11th, 14th, and 17th respectively.
The Women's 200m Individual Medley saw seven Tigers swim in the event. Sarah Peterson qualified for the consolation final finishing 12th overall with a time of 2.00:23. The men had a total of 8 swimmers compete in the 200m IM, including the SEC's top seed in Kyle Owens. Owens swam the fifth-fastest time in the country so far this year en route to becoming the top qualifier for the final. He was joined in the final by teammate Allen Browning.
One if the highlights of the morning session was the Women's 50m Freestyle event where everyone wanted to see what Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace would do. She certainly didn't disappoint, posting a 21.46 in her prelim heat. Her time was the fastest in the nation this year! She was joined in the final by Hannah Riordan, who qualified seventh overall with a 22.24.
Then it was the men's turn to provide a little excitement. Five Auburn caps were spread across the pool in a single heat. Karl Krug (19.55), Chris Manning (19.57), Marcelo Chierighini (19.60), TJ Leon (19.76), and Max Murphy (20.36) were all in the same heat! In the finals, Five Auburn swimmers were chasing after the championship. Drew Modrov, Krug, Manning, James Disney-May, and Chierighini qualified 2-6 in the prelims.
Did Owens top his qualifying time and bring home the title? Just how low did Vanderpool-Wallace get her time? Auburn had a total of eight swimmers (six men and two women) competing in championship finals last night. Nine more Tigers (five men and four women) swam in consolation finals.
Check out the full results of the finals at AuburnTigers.com.
Be sure to follow UTSports.com for live streaming of Day 3 or join Auburn's live blog of the finals at AuburnTigers.com.