The Indiana Hoosier men knocked off Auburn, while Auburn’s women picked up a win over the Hoosiers in meets that could both be categorized as mild upsets, based on each team’s NCAA finish last season at least.
The meet format, which featured 200s of each non-free stroke but no 100s, probably helped Indiana (the Hoosiers are typically known for longer races while Auburn specializes in sprints), but the Hoosiers were still very impressive at home. The men swept the sprint free events over Auburn’s All-American Kyle Darmody, even going 1-2 in the 100.
The women’s meet was a wild ride, with each team going 1-2 and event 1-2-3 in multiple events. The scores shifted back and forth by large margins with every event, but ultimately Auburn picked up the win with strong showings in the final two races.
Men’s meet
Indiana looked nothing short of fantastic on the men’s side. The Hoosier men, 10th at last year’s NCAAs, knocked off Auburn (6th last year) while winning 10 of 12 events.
The key races were the sprint freestyles. The Hoosiers have had a longtime Achilles Heel in the sprints, but brought in a number of big-time prospects and a new sprints coach this offseason to make up for it. It’s still too soon to tell if those moves will be enough to get Indiana to the next level, but the early returns were outstanding.
Hoosier sophomore Anze Tavcar swept the sprint free races, beating Darmody, an NCAA finalist last year as a freshman. Tavcar was 20.16 to win the 50, with Darmody 20.34 for second. Highly-touted Indiana freshman Ali Khalafalla was 20.67 for third.
Then in the 100, Tavcar went 44.09, leading a 1-2 punch with freshman Blake Pieroni (44.55). Michael Duderstadt was third for Auburn at 44.87.
Pieroni, who had a great summer season, got his first collegiate win in the 200 free, where he went 1:37.74 in a 1-2 finish for Indiana.
Another very exciting sign for Indiana was their diving prowess. IU has a storied diving program, and Hoosier fans were pumped upthis summer when freshman NCAA champ Michael Hixon transferred in from Texas for his final 3 years of eligibility. But Hixon didn’t even win a diving event in his debut – both boards went to IU freshman James Conor of Australia. Conor outscored Hixon 377.33 to 375.00 on 1-meter, and followed that up with a 415.58 win on 3-meter (Hixon was 410.55).
That means Indiana might have two young divers in the hunt for NCAA titles this year, which should bring in a truckload of points in the post-season.
Joe Patching won twice for Auburn, the only two wins the Tigers got on the men’s side. Patching had a great 200 IM swim to just eke out a win over Indiana’s Steve Schmuhl 1:48.25 to 1:48.60. He came back to win the 200 back in 1:45.75 later on. That race was a blowout victory.
But Indiana was incredibly tough in every other race. The Hoosiers showed they meant business from the get-go, touching out Auburn for the 200 medley relay title in the meet’s second event. Max Irwin was a tough 21.57 on the butterfly leg, and the freshman Khalafalla split 19.92 on the anchor leg to help Indiana go 1:28.78. Auburn was second in 1:28.86, getting run down on the freestyle leg after leading through the butterfly.
Irwin picked up the 200 fly win for IU later on, going 1:48.08. Indiana swept the distance races with Jackson Miller (9:24.99 in the 1000) and Grayson Smith (4:33.89 in the 500). The other Indiana individual winner was Tanner Kurz, who took the 200 breast in 1:58.92.
The 400 free relay also went to Indiana, with Tavcar blasting a 43.30 split to help his team go 2:58.36. Auburn was 2:59.04, getting a 44.18 from Arthur Mendes.
That capped off a 149-91 victory for the Hoosiers, who got to win on TV as the Big Ten network televised the competition.
Women’s Meet
The women’s competition was one of those odd, back-and-forth meets that pitted each team’s strength against the opponents weakness. The two teams combined for eight 1-2 finishes out of 12 events, either picking up big points or falling way behind, depending on the event.
It was back and forth from the get-go. Ashley Neidigh won the 1000 for Auburn, going 9:52.05 to beat Haley Lips of Indiana. But Auburn struck back, going 1-2 in the 200 medley relay. The Tigers A squad was untouchable, putting up a 1:41.08 that beat the field by two full seconds.
IU got absolutely crushed on the breaststroke leg, which looks to be one of their weakest points since the graduation of Bronwyn Pasloski. None of the Hoosier breaststrokers were under 30, while Auburn’s Annie Lazor was 28.9 and Natasha Lloyd 28.8 on the B.
But back came the Hoosiers, sweeping the top two spots in the 200 free. Freshman Kennedy Goss led the charge at 1:48.75, with Brooklynn Snodgrass second in 1:49.55.
Then it was Auburn’s turn to go 1-2, as Megan Fonteno (23.04) and Ashton Ellzey (23.37) paced the 50 free. Auburn also won the 200 IM, with Annie Lazor beating Gia Dalesandro 2:02.97 to 2:03.27.
Indiana jumped back into the hunt with a 1-2 on 1-meter diving, though. Jessica Parratto won with a score of 285.60, her first of two wins on the day.
Dalesandro, who was second in that 200 IM, returned after the diving break to win the 200 fly, a race that went to Indiana in a 1-2-3 finish. Dalesandro, a revelation last season as a freshman, was 1:59.73, with sophomore Olivia Barker (2:01.26) and freshman Reagan Cook (2:02.23) following her in.
Not to be outdone, Auburn fired back with a 1-2-3 of its own in the 100 free. Allyx Purcell led the charge with an impressive 49.82. Purcell is only a sophomore, and she was followed by a pair of freshmen: Valerie Hull (51.16) and McKenna Debever (51.61). Debever just got in ahead of IU’s highly-touted British pickup Grace Vertigans (51.76).
Defending NCAA champ Brooklynn Snodgrass picked up the first win in her title defense season, going 1:53.97 to absolutely crush the 200 back field. That set off a big run for IU, which won the 500 free (Haley Lips was 4:52.41 with freshman Kennedy Goss second) and 3-meter diving. On the 3-meter board, freshman Jessica Parratto won her second title with a score of 3:06.60, but Auburn cut down on the scoring mismatch by going 2-3.
The Tigers roared through the 200 breast, pressing that stroke advantage like they did on the medley. Natasha Lloyd won for Auburn in 2:17.50, with her teammate Sarah Peterson second in 2:21.91. Freshman Sam Lisy was the top IU finisher at 2:22.67.
Then Auburn sealed their victory by winning the 400 free relay. Allyx Purcell led off in 50.27, staking Auburn to a lead they’d never give up. Brooklynn Snodgrass made up some ground for IU with the field’s fastest-split of 49.48, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Auburn’s duo of Megan Fonteno (49.96) and Valerie Hull (49.90) and the Tigers came home with a 3:21.22 win to Indiana’s 3:22.64.
The final score wound up at 129-113 in favor of Auburn.
So if Auburn doesn’t work nearly as hard as IU and doesn’t have any sort of talent comparable, how did the Auburn ladies pull out the win?
Sorry wrong TIMBO my son swims for IU and they are not rested. Great talent and hard work.
Indiana does not rest for dual meets.
1. Bob ain’t that good
2. Clearly Auburn doesn’t work near as hard or have nearly the same talent that IU has. These two teams are completely different levels
Indiana clearly rested
Pretty unlikely knowing how hard Indiana trains in the early season
Timbo,
Ray had sent me a week’s worth of practices that he did after I asked him a question…one thing is for sure – their legs are no where near rested.
Why not rest them if you’re going to shave them, though?
No Glove no Love – great meet Indiana
That’s a big win for Indiana men…good for them!