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Auburn wins second NCAA title in 3 years
Posted: Sunday March 28, 1999 12:19 AM
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Arizona swimmer Ryk Neethling made history Saturday night after winning the 1,650 freestyle for the second consecutive year. Neethling's victory in the finals of the men's NCAA swimming and diving championships at the Indiana University Natatorium was the third piece in a double-triple by the junior. Neethling, who guided Arizona to a fifth place finish, also defended his title in the 200- and 500 freestyle. He became the eighth man in history to register three individual victories in two years. Auburn won its second national championship in three years with 467.5 points. Defending champion Stanford placed second (414.5). Texas finished third with a score of 356.5. The Tigers secured the title by edging Stanford for first place in the 400 freestyle relay, the final event of the competition. Auburn's time of 2:50.90 established a new NCAA and U.S. Open record. The Tigers' winning relay team was composed of Brock Newman, Brett Hawke, Aaron Ciarla and Romain Barnier. "This is a dream come true," said Auburn's Dave Denniston, winner of the 200 breaststroke (1:55.51). "This is why I came to Auburn." Stanford kept the competition close throughout the final day, but could never catch the Tigers. Senior Tate Blahnik registered a key victory for The Cardinal in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:41.42. The win propelled Stanford past Texas for good. "We knew this was going to be a tight meet. Our spirit has been really high all week," Blahnik said. "We stayed positive. We stayed focused." But it was Neethling, the NCAA Swimmer of the Year, who stole the spotlight with his win in the 1650. Despite the outstanding accomplishment, the 1996 Olympian was less than pleased with his individual performance. "I didn't feel very good about my performance today. I don't know what went wrong, but I know I should have been faster than that," Neethling said. "I came here to win three titles and that's what I did, but I'm not happy with my time. Next year, I'll try to win three titles again and try to etch my name in with some pretty exclusive company." Auburn's David Marsh was named Coach of the Year. Diver of the Year and Diving Coach of the Year honors went to Miami's Randy Ableman and Rio Ramirez respectively.
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