ATHENS, Ga. – Two school records fell on Day two of the UGA Invitational as Auburn Swim and Dive continued to impress in Athens. Reid Mikuta and Anastasia Makarova authored the fireworks with a pair of lightning-quick 100 breast swims. The Tiger Women remain atop the leaderboard with one day to go, while the Men sit firmly in second.
SCORES
Women
Auburn, 657.5
Florida, 649
Georgia, 600.5
Florida State, 457
Georgia Tech, 370
Men
Florida, 787.5
Auburn, 666
Georgia, 642
Florida State, 353.5
Georgia Tech, 299
WOMEN
The Auburn women began Friday night in true Auburn winning fashion. Ellie Waldrep, Anastasia Makarova, Claudia Thamm and Lexie Mulvihill closed out the victory in the 200 medley relay to set the evening's tone.
Both Thamm and Mulvihill had busy nights, turning around to swim in the 100 fly final. Thamm's 53.18 allowed the senior to claim fifth. Meanwhile, Mulvihill dropped a half-second to finish right behind her teammate in sixth.
Hannah Ownbey set the top time in the 400 IM prelims and led the charge for the Tigers in the evening's finals, securing fifth with a 4:11.85.
Nobody made the Championship final in the 200 free but Payton Marvin, Kensley Merritt and Emily Hetzer put up strong showings in the B final. The trio finished third through fifth to claim important points on Friday.
It was in the 100 breast, though, when Auburn sent shockwaves through Gabrielsen Natatorium. Anastasia Makarova swam a blistering 58.91 to set the school record, taking second overall. Teammate Brynn Curtis hit the wall right behind her fellow Tiger at 1:00.84. Val Tarazi did well to make the Championship final as well, tying for seventh when the dust settled.
Four different Orange and Blue swimmers made the 100 back Championship final. Ellie Waldrep jumped into sixth-place all-time, swimming a 51.74. Daisy Platts, Meghan Lee and Kyla Maloney claimed 4-5-6 to gobble up an impressive haul of points.
MEN
After two NCAA A cuts on Thursday night, the medley crew of Nate Stoffle, Reid Mikuta, Aidan Stoffle and Kalle Makinen repeated the feat in Friday's 200. The quartet's time of 1:33.36 was good enough for second on the evening.
Jacques Rathle delivered a strong swim for the Tigers in the 400 IM. His 3:43.42 was good enough for fourth place. Evan McInerny also did well to make the Championship final and dropped over a second in the evening to claim sixth. However, while Danny Schmidt didn't make the Championship bout, his 3:45.61 in the B final won the heat and jumped the German into seventh all-time.
Two Tigers made the Championship final in the 100 fly. Nate Stoffle did his best to chase down Florida, taking second at 46.22 and Sohib Khaled swam his first big final in the Orange and Blue, hitting the wall eighth.
Michael Bonson made a bit of history in the 200 free. The junior passed Auburn great Rowdy Gaines for fourth all-time. Mason Mathias and Mikkel Gadgaard weren't far behind either. Mathias dropped over half a second to hit the wall at 1:34.09, jumping into the top 10. Gadgaard leapfrogged into sixth all-time in the morning and secured eighth in the evening swim.
After Makarova's showing in the women's 100 breast, Reid Mikuta brought down the house when he stepped to the blocks. His 51.14 was not only a school record but set a new national top time and secured an NCAA A cut for the breaststroke king.
Aidan Stoffle kept the winning ways going in the 100 back. Hitting the wall at 45.27, Stoffle swam a personal best and earned another crucial win for head coach Ryan Wochomurka. Lleyton Smith also made the Championship final and slammed in at fifth place.
DIVING
Ashlynn Sullivan was already off to a good start after a third-place finish in the 3-meter discipline a day ago. The Lucas, Texas native followed it up with another stellar effort in the 1-meter on Friday. Saving her best for last, Sullivan scored a personal best 285.80 to grab fourth place.
Meanwhile, fellow Tiger Abigail Farrar had cleared the 265 needed for zones in the prelims but the sophomore stepped it up in the finals with a 272.90, good enough for a personal best and eighth overall. A solid bounce-back effort for the Florida native.
Friday marked the men's turn at the 3-meter portion of the event. All four Auburn divers made their way into the evening's finals for diving coach Jeff Shaffer. The strong showing was led by Whit Andrus who dialed up a personal best of 352.20.
In the finals, Hunter Kebler stole the show with a personal best of his own at 351.45 and a fourth-place finish. Walker Creedon secured a zones score with 342.40.
UP NEXT
Auburn remains in Athens for the final day of the UGA Invite. The Toyota US Open looms for a select group of the Orange and Blue while coach Shaffer's divers await the Auburn Diving Invitationals in mid-December.
School records fall for Auburn Swim and Dive on day 2 of UGA Invitational
