Sept. 27, 2013
Complete Results | Russell’s Photos 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt swim team opened up its season with a 158-44 loss to Auburn, Friday evening from the Centennial Sportsplex. The Commodores picked up two second place finishes in the meet against the five-time NCAA champion Tigers.
After not finishing higher than third in their first nine events, Carrie Bencic and Elly Faulkner picked up back-to-back second place finishes in the 500-yard freestyle and the 200-yard breaststroke, respectively.
Bencic finished just off the freshman record time in the 500 free, clocking in at 5:02.92. The Highland Heights, Ohio native also finished third in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:53.80.
Faulkner’s second place finish in the 200 breast was in a time of 2:24.01. She also picked up a fourth place finish in the 400 IM (4:32.23).
Including both Bencic and Faulkner’s finishes the Commodores were able to pick up seven top three finishes on the evening.
Caroline Thomas took third in the 50-yard freestyle, touching the wall at 24.87. Christina Wang and Melissa Roberts came in behind Thomas in fifth and eighth, respectively.
Freshmen Rachel Koch and Alexandra Blankenburg took third and fourth in the 200-yard butterfly with times of 2:07.13 and 2:07.82. Lauren Torres and Alyxandra Vernon rounded out the Vanderbilt squad in that event, finishing in fifth and seventh.
Vandy’s “A” relay team took fourth in both the 400-yard medley relay (3:56.96) and 400-yard freestyle relay (3:38.95).
Vanderbilt will be back in the pool again on October 12 when they host national powerhouse Texas A&M at the Centennial Sportsplex. The meet is set to start at 1:00 p.m.
