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February 19, 2000
AUBURN- Auburn men Swimming and Diving won their fourth consecutive SEC title at home in the James E. Martin Aquatics Center with a score of 752. The AU women placed second with 701 points.
Sophomore Kevin Clements placed second in the 1650 freestlye with a time of 15:13.63 while freshman James Galloway placed third with 15:19.21, which is his personal best.
Auburn went second through fourth in the 100 freestyle as junior Greg Busse placed second with a time of 43.65, a personal best. Senior Aaron Ciarla placed third with 43.74, and fourth place went to senior Matt Busbee with a time of 43.94.
Junior Dave Denniston won the 200 breast in 1:55.81, automatically qualifying him for NCAA's.
"I wanted to try to get the SEC record, but I just missed it. I was real confident coming into the race. Florida has had a good day. I just wanted to uphold my end, defend what I could, and show my senior leadership," said Denniston.
Junior Jeff Somensatto placed third in the 200 fly with a time of 1:44.12, which automatically qualified him for NCAA's, broke the school record, and is a personal best.
The 400 freestyle relay team of Busbee, Busse, junior Oswaldo Quevedo, and Ciarla won with a time of 2:53.45.
"I'm extremely proud of our men's team. At the start of the year our goals were to prepare for the Olympic trials, the NCAA's and the SEC's. This was a big step. It was a moment in time. It's tempting to think ahead and thank God we didn't or we would not have won this championship. My admiration goes out to Florida and Tennessee for the way they swam. Competition is what makes us better and as it came our guys responded," said head coach David Marsh.
Freshman Maggie Bowen continued her streak tonight by breaking another school record as she placed second in the 1650 freestyle with a time of 16:16.21, automatically qualifying her for NCAA's. This is the fourth school record that she has broken in these SEC Championships. The others were the 200 IM, 400 IM, and the 800 freestyle relay.
Senior Katie Ryan placed third in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:58.02, automatically qualifying her for NCAA's. Meanwhile, junior Jen Woolf placed second in the 100 freestyle in 49.48. Junior Brook Monroe went 2:13.87 in the 200 breaststroke to placed second overall.
Senior Mimi Bowen won her second title for the championships in the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:59.05, breaking the school record and automatically qualifying for NCAA's.
"It's definitely more special winning at home. I am really happy, but sad at the same time. It's my last SEC race, but it's a good sad. I am really happy to qualify for NCAA's. It's the big meet of the season. SEC's are a stepping stone towards NCAA's and that is what our team is doing."
The 400 freestyle relay team of senior Rada Owen, Woolf, freshman Jessica Lizzoli, and freshman Cortnee Adams placed second with a time of 3:16.76, which is a new school record and an automatic qualifying time for NCAA's.
"Our women had probably the best meet we could hope for. This experience gave our team confidence and we are really coming together. We have a chance for our highest finish ever at NCAA's," said Marsh
The Tigers will compete again at home on February 25, 2000 against the Kentucky Wildcats at 6:00 p.m. Admission is free.
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