Auburn Swimming & Diving Travels to Kentucky Friday

Auburn Swimming & Diving Travels to Kentucky Friday Tigers look to remain perfect in dual meet competition in 2012-13

Laura Johnson

Nov. 1, 2012

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AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn swimming & diving team will compete in their fourth dual meet in four weeks Friday afternoon as the Tiger men and women face the Kentucky Wildcats at the Lancaster Aquatic Center in Lexington, Ky.

Auburn's men enter the weekend at 2-0 on the season, having won a pair of dual meets against Alabama and LSU last month. The Tigers will look to continue their unbeaten streak as Auburn's men have not lost a single event this season. Auburn won 13-of-13 events in the win over Alabama on Oct. 12, and then came back with a 16-for-16 effort against LSU on Oct. 20.

Auburn men own the SEC's top times in four events after one month of competition. Junior Marcelo Chierighini - a two-time selection as SEC Swimmer of the Week - is atop the conference in the 50-yard freestyle (20.04) and 100 free (43.77). Junior distance specialist Zane Grothe has the top time in the mile (15:27.55), and senior Kyle Owens has the best mark in the 100 backstroke (48.01).

On the women's side, the Tigers are 3-0 with a pair of SEC wins over Alabama and LSU along with a non-conference victory over Notre Dame last week. The Auburn women have posted 28 individual wins so far this season, spreading those victories among 12 different athletes.

Freshman Jillian Vitarius enters the weekend with the SEC's top time in the 100 backstroke (54.40) and the second-best time in the 200 back (1:56.98). Senior Micah Lawrence is second in the 100 breast (1:00.87) and 200 breast (2:12.33), and junior Olivia Scott has the league's No. 2 mark in the 100 butterfly (53.71).

Auburn's men have an all-time 4-3 record against Kentucky in dual-meet competition, and the Tiger women are 5-2 all-time against the Wildcats. This is the first meeting between the schools in a dual meet since the2004-05 season when the Auburn men took a 140-114 victory and the women prevailed 157.5-92.5.

Kentucky's men are 1-3 in dual meet competition so far this season, and the Wildcat women are 1-4 overall. Both the men and women earned victories over Southern Illinois last weekend, and both teams have dropped decisions to Tennessee, Indiana and Missouri. The women's team additionally fell to Arkansas.

No live results or live video will be available for Friday's meet, but a full recap will follow on AuburnTigers.com.