LEXINGTON, Ky. – Behind 18 event victories combined, head coach Ryan Wochomurka and the Auburn Tigers took home a pair of dual wins on Friday as the men bested Kentucky, 179-121, and the women beat the Wildcats, 163-137, inside Lancaster Aquatic Center.
Orange and Blue relays made sure to open the meet on the right foot. Lora Komoroczy, Anastasia Makarova, Abby Gibbons and Lawson Ficken dialed up a 1:37.85 in the 200 medley relay to kick off Friday with an early win.
Similarly, Nate Stoffle, Henry Bethel, Kalle Makinen and Logan Tirheimer left everyone in the dust, sliding in at 1:24.70 to open the men’s side with a victory.
Julia Strojnowska got things going for the distance group in the 1000 free. Her 9:55.52 was good enough for third place on the afternoon. However, it was her effort in the 500 free later in the meet that got the Auburn fans cheering. Racing until the final stroke, the freshman from Canada out-touched everyone for a 4:48.16 and the win.
Leading the charge for the Tigers in the 1000 free on the men’s side was Grant Davis. The senior dialed up a 9:10.39 for third overall. Mason Mathias picked up the baton in the 500, sliding in third place with a 4:22.65.
Russian native Polina Nevmovenko has been dynamite in the freestyle events throughout the 2024-25 campaign. Friday was no different, coasting to a 1:47.07 and her third win in the event this season.
Ryan Husband conjured an equally impressive performance. His 1:35.09 accounted for his second victory in the 200 free this year.
There are few as dominant as Lora Komoroczy in the 100 back. Picking up her fifth win of the season in the event, Komoroczy blasted the field by almost a full second with a 52.62.
Sophomore Maggie McGuire would pick up the Tigers in the 200 back, touching the wall at 1:57.38 to secure third place.
Nate Stoffle has yet to lose a backstroke event in a dual meet this season and Friday was no different against the Wildcats. A 46.43 was over a second faster than teammate Tate Cutler to take care of the 100 back. Later in the afternoon, Stoffle’s 1:43.90 earned the Georgia native another title in the 200 back.
In the women’s 100 breast, Makarova paced the Orange and Blue with a 1:00.50 to solidify second place. Freshman Audrey Crawford took control of the silver in the 200 breast, hitting the wall at 2:11.13 ahead of fellow Tiger Zoe Zeller (2:13.43).
Crawford earned a second silver in the 200 IM with a 2:00.44.
Carissa Rinard kept the second-place finishes coming for Auburn with a 1:59.08 in the 200 fly. Rinard was followed closely by Morgan Carteaux (2:00.11) and Abby Gibbons (2:00.16).
Gibbons would return in the 100 fly, coming home in 53.06 for her first win of the season. The senior led a sweeping effort along with Komoroczy (53.15) and Carteaux (53.24).
When it came time for the men’s 100 fly, Sohib Khaled grabbed the win with a solid 46.80. Freshman Bradford Johnson followed in second with a 47.12.
Junior Danny Schmidt secured silver in both the 200 fly (1:44.53) and 200 IM (1:46.78).
Auburn delivered places 1-4 in the 50 free. It was Elizaveta Klevanovich (22.79) outracing Kate Murray (22.80) to get the victory. Murray would get her revenge, though, utilizing some outside smoke in late eight to drop flat 49.00 ahead of Nevmovenko (49.54) and Klevanovich (49.59).
Kalle Makinen made quick work of the sprints. His 19.45 in the 50 free led a sweep with Logan Tirheimer (19.98) and Sohib Khaled (20.21). Straight after the diving break, Makinen made it 2-2 with a 43.64 in the 100 free ahead of Tirheimer (43.84) and Husband (44.28).
Over in the diving well, Whit Andrus came through with the win in the 3-meter, scoring 355.20. Talan Blackmon also reached the podium in the 3-meter with a 339.98. Andrus would follow up in the 1-meter with a second-place finish with a 343.20.
Emily Hallifax led the charge on the women’s side, dialing up a 285.60 in the 1-meter for second place. Abigail Farrar paced the Tigers in the 3-meter with a 299.18 for fourth overall.
Fresh off his first win of his career in the 200 breast a week ago, Jacques Rathle found the winner’s circle again with a 1:58.19 on Friday. Britton Spann also made the podium, sliding in at 2:00.66 for third place.
Ending the day with a bang, the 200 free relay on both sides solidified a pair of wins for Wochomurka and the Tigers. Murray, Carteaux, Bella Ekk and Gibbons surprised everyone but themselves with a win in the women’s race. Meanwhile, Makinen, Husband, Tirheimer and Jon VanZandt closed out a strong performance for the men.