Arkansas Falls to Auburn in SEC Opener

No. 19 Arkansas women’s Swimming and Diving lost its SEC opener today by a final tally of 194.5-101.5 to No. 6 Auburn at the Health, Physical Education and Recreation Building.

The Razorbacks were led by senior Anna Hopkin and Sophomore Peyton Palsha, last year’s top two swimmers for Arkansas.

Palsha would take two top three finishes in both distance events. In the 1,000 free, the sophomore finished third with a time of 10:06.91. Palsha also finished in second place in the 500 free with a time of 4:57.06.

Hopkin would register three victories, sweeping the 50 free (22.28), 100 free (48.96) and 100 fly (55.06).

“I thought we competed well today,” Coach Neil Harper said. “We had some wins, highlights and a lot of swims that were faster than our last meet. We are seeing improvement even while we are training at a high level.”

Following an impressive collegiate debut, Razorback rookie Emma Hultquist shaved time from her performance at the Stanford meet in the 200 free, clocking in a time of 1:51.82 for third.

“Auburn is deserving of their No. 6 ranking and provided us a great challenge and another opportunity to compete with team ranked higher than us.” Harper said. “I am confident with where we are as a team right now and our ability to meet our individual and team goals for this semester and beyond.”

Looking ahead:

The Hogs return to action Nov. 7 and Nov 8  In Lexington, Kentucky where they will face No. 9 Missouri, No. 7 NC State and No. 14 Kentucky.