The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Just as she went in during her freshman year, Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace will leave Auburn University as a senior having made a lasting impression on the Tigers' swimming programme.

In their James E Martin Aquatics Centre Saturday, Vanderpool-Wallace closed the door on her storied career by capping off her final appearance in a Tiger uniform by successfully defending her 100 freestyle title at the NCAA Championships.

Her time of 46.88 seconds was good enough to put some space between Georgia's Megan Romano (47.01) and Arizona's Margo Geer (47.14) as Vanderpool-Wallace retained one of her individual titles. She missed out in her specialty on Thursday when she ended up third in defense of her 50 free crown.

"I went into that race wanting to have fun," said Vanderpool-Wallace in comments posted on Auburn University's website after the 100 free race. "Everybody that I talked to told me to go in and enjoy what I had left. If I had come in eighth, I probably would've celebrated the same way. I'm so excited to be able to finish up my collegiate career in a happy way, and I saw that I had won. That was icing on the cake."

Tigers' head coach Brett Hawke said Vanderpool-Wallace wasn't the only one who had to deal with a lot of butterflies going into the race. He said it was also nerve-wrecking for their coaching staff on the sidelines.

"I really didn't see her pulling it off. She's just tough. She dug down and I just stayed out of her way tonight. I tried not to give her too much advice," he said. "I just said, 'go have fun, go race and see what happens.' That last 10 yards, she just dug down and wanted it real bad. It was a great win for her."

Looking at the race, however, Hawke said he was concerned because he felt she went out too slow.

"When she turned that slow, I just thought Megan (Romano of Georgia) was going to cruise past her. When she flipped first at 75 (yards), I thought she might still be short.

"I knew those girls would finish strong and I thought she at least put out a good race and fought well. But then she just dug down and fought well. It was really emotional for me. It was a great way to finish her career here at Auburn."

Vanderpool-Wallace, who turned 22 on March 4, just missed out on inking her name on another record as a part of her credentials when she fell short of lowering her NCAA record of 46.61 that she set to win the Southeastern Conference Championships last month.

But she was able to leave another asterisk beside her name after she was listed as just one of two women in history to break the 47-second barrier in the event, joining American Natalie Coughlin.

The race proved to be a bitter-sweet one for Vanderpool-Wallace and she took it all in stride.

"I had a whole lot of anger and energy going into this race after not being able to swim at SECs," she said. "I came in wanting to prove that I could still win the race, and especially after the 50 freestyle. I knew a lot of people doubted if I could win it. I wanted to prove how good of a swimmer I could be."

For Vanderpool-Wallace, the entire meet was a special one.

"I don't know that it's completely sunk in yet. After the 100 freestyle, individually all the girls came over and hugged me, and they were crying, and I cried too," she said. "I think tomorrow when I wake up I'm going to realize that my college career is actually over."

As she fits in the final pieces of her Auburn University puzzle, Vanderpool-Wallace ended up with seven more All-American appearances as a finalist in the 50 and 100 free as well as the 100 fly, and a member of the Tigers' relay teams in the 200 and 400 free and the 200 and 400 medleys.

With her help, the Tigers finished tied for seventh place with 249 points with SEC rivals Tennessee. The meet was won by California with 412.5.

"The best words to describe it are an emotional roller coaster," she said. "We have been up and down, but this was by far my best NCAAs ever. This is the greatest group of girls that I could ever ask to finish off my career with."

The hotel and restaurant management major closed out her career with 25 All-American titles and three NCAA titles.

Vanderpool-Wallace now just wants to savour the moment, although she knows that there are more lofty goals to pursue this summer, just as she did when she walked onto the Tigers' swim team four years ago as a freshman.

"I came into NCAAs with a bunch of goals and it didn't really pan out the way I wanted it to and I realized I just have to throw everything to the wind and do whatever happens," she said. "Now I have a whole new mindset going into the Olympics."

Having already qualified, her trip to London, England, in July will be her second appearance at the Olympics. She made her debut in Beijing, China, in 2008.