The Auburn Tigers landed their third Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships team title in decisive fashion March 29 at Texas.

The Tigers became just the second team in meet history to break the 600-point barrier as they scored 609 1/2 points. Runner-up Texas posted 413 points in its home pool. Stanford (374), California (329) and Southern California (268) rounded out the top five.

In the process, Auburn coach Dave Marsh and his coaching contingent became the first combined staff to lead both a men's and women's team to the national championship in the same season. Auburn's women's team won the NCAA meet earlier in March.

"All I can see are the eyes of this senior class because they are the ones who gave the effort to pull this team together in a special way," Marsh said.

Depth was the key to the Tigers' victory. Though Auburn won just three of the 21 individual events, the squad amassed points with multiple top-16 finishes. Each of the Auburn's 19 members contributed points to the team score.

"The fact that all 19 athletes scored in every event shows the diversity of this team. We are not about one star, even though we have bright young stars in George Bovell and Fred Bousquet, and veterans like Bryce Hunt," Marsh said.

Bovell claimed the 200-yard individual medley title and Bousquet won the 50-yard freestyle. Caesar Garcia tied for first in platform diving.

Defending champion Texas posted a strong performance behind Brendan Hansen, who won both breaststroke events for the third straight year, and in record times. He also contributed to wins in the 200- and 400-yard medley relays. Ian Crocker repeated as champion in the 100-yard butterfly. Freshman Aaron Peirsol made an impressive debut with his record-setting performance in the 200-yard backstroke. Peirsol is the first American to break the 1:40.00 mark with his 1:39.16 time. Peirsol also set meet and American records during the lead-off legs of both medley relay races.

Other top times came from Southern California's Erik Vendt, who claimed the 500- and 1,650-yard freestyles. Teammate Duje Draganja won the 100-yard freestyle. Stanford's Peter Marshall and Randall Bal gave strong all-around performances, with Marshall grabbing the 100-yard backstroke title. Both contributed to Stanford's win in the 200-yard freestyle relay.

In diving, Arizona State's Joona Puhakka won the one-meter and finished third in three-meter. Phillip Jones of Tennessee won the three-meter. Auburn's Garcia tied with Michigan's Jason Coben for the platform title.

TEAM RESULTS

1. Auburn, 609 1/2; 2. Texas, 413; 3. Stanford, 374; 4. California, 329; 5. Southern California, 268; 6. Florida, 232; 7. Minnesota, 228; 8. Arizona, 205; 9. Michigan, 173 1/2; 10. Virginia, 125; 11. Arizona St., 116 1/2; 12. Alabama, 115; 13. Wisconsin, 105; 14. Georgia, 104; 15. Texas A&M, 90; 16. Tennessee, 86; 17. Kentucky, 70; 18. LSU, 58; 19. Princeton, 43; 20. South Carolina, 31; 21. Indiana, 24; 22. (tie) Brigham Young and Miami (Fla.), 22; 24. Hawaii, 21; 25. Southern Methodist, 20; 26. Northwestern, 19; 27. Oakland, 17; 28. (tie) Georgia Tech, Wyoming and American, 15; 31. Harvard, 13; 32. (tie) Florida St. and North Carolina, 9; 34. (tie) Purdue and Penn St., 7; 36. Pittsburgh, 6; 37. Missouri, 4; 38. Columbia, 3; 39. Iowa, 2; 40. Drexel, 1.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

50-yard freestyle: Final -- 1. Fred Bousquet, Auburn, 19.31; 2. Mike Cavic, California, 19.37; 3. Anthony Ervin, California, 19.38; 4. Derek Gibb, Auburn, 19.51; 5. Ryan Wochomurka, Auburn, 19.62; 6. Renato Gueraldi, Tennessee, 19.67; 7. Andy Haidinyak, Auburn, 19.81; 8. Randall Bal, Stanford, 19.88. Consolation -- 9. Nick Brunelli, Arizona St., 19.60; 10. Matt Rose, Texas A&M, 19.71; 11. Eric LaFleur, Arizona, 19.81; 12. Luke Anderson, Virginia, 19.82; 13. Carlos Jayme, Florida, 19.86; 14. Lyndon Ferns, Arizona, 19.99; 15. Matthew Marshall, Wisconsin, 20.02; 16. Bobby Zaabadick, Arizona St., 20.13.

100-yard freestyle: Final -- 1. Duje Draganja, California, 42.02; 2. Anthony Ervin, California, 42.11; 3. Fred Bousquet, Auburn, 42.69; 4. Ryan Wochomurka, Auburn, 42.79; 5. Nick Brunelli, Arizona St., 42.93; 6. Eric LaFleur, Arizona, 43.06; 7. Chris Kemp, Texas, 43.22; 8. Randall Bal, Stanford, 43.54. Consolation -- 9. Carlos Jayme, Florida, 43.31; 10. Terry Silkaitis, Minnesota, 43.55; 11. Lyndon Ferns, Arizona, 43.68; 12. Luis Rojas, Arizona, 43.76; 13. Luke Anderson, Virginia, 43.82; 14. Matt Kidd, Auburn, 43.86; 15. Chris Sullivan, Oakland, 43.96; 16. Derek Gibb, Auburn, 44.62.

200-yard freestyle: Final -- 1. Simon Burnett, Arizona, 1:33.69; 2. Chris Kemp, Texas, 1:34.40; 3. Dan Ketchum, Michigan, 1:34.52; 4. Adam Sioui, Florida, 1:34.91; 5. Joe Bruckart, California, 1:34.92; 6. Clay Kirkland, Auburn, 1:35.29; 7. Jeff Lee, Southern California, 1:35.77; 8. Terry Silkaitis, Minnesota, 1:36.17. Consolation -- 9. George Bovell, Auburn, 1:35.19; 10. Nick Brunelli, Arizona St., 1:35.65; 11. Peter Vanderkaay, Michigan, 1:35.74; 12. Rainer Kendrick, Texas, 1:36.41; 13. B.J. Jones, Auburn, 1:36.55; 14. John Suchand, Texas, 1:36.57; 15. Tamas Szucs, South Carolina, 1:36.97; 16. Kris Wiebeck, Florida, 1:37.85.

500-yard freestyle: Final -- 1. Erik Vendt, Southern California, 4:13.63; 2. Robert Margalis, Georgia, 4:14.24; 3. Ous Mellouli, Southern California, 4:15.50; 4. Peter Vanderkaay, Michigan, 4:15.69; 5. Francis Crippen, Virginia, 4:16.48; 6. Chris Kemp, Texas, 4:18.60; 7. Justin Mortimer, Minnesota, 4:19.27; 8. B.J. Jones, Auburn, 4:22.32. Consolation -- 9. Ian Prichard, Virginia, 4:18.04; 10. Aaron Peirsol, Texas, 4:18.15; 11. Davis Tarwater, Michigan, 4:18.78; 12. Matt Sorlien, Stanford, 4:20.73; 13. Yuri Suguiyama, North Carolina, 4:20.81; 14. Matt Taylor, Minnesota, 4:21.98; 15. Jeff Lee, Southern California, 4:22.57; 16. Justin Drake, Michigan, 4:26.87.

1,650-yard freestyle: Final -- 1. Erik Vendt, Southern California, 14:29.85; 2. Peter Vanderkaay, Michigan, 14:43.73; 3. Francis Crippen, Virgina, 14:46.05; 4. Shilo Ayalon, Georgia Tech, 14:47.31; 5. Ous Mellouli, Southern California, 14:47.69; 6. Ian Prichard, Virginia, 14:53.64; 7. John Cole, Harvard, 14:54.83; 8. Ryan Lochte, Florida, 14:59.18; 9. Daniel DeMarco, Virginia, 15:01.28; 10. Brendan Neligan, Michigan, 15:03.05; 11. Justin Drake, Michigan, 15:04.21; 12. Andrew Hurd, Michigan, 15:04.27; 13. Yuri Suguiyama, North Carolina, 15:05.10; 14. Justin Mortimer, Minnesota, 15:07.70; 15. Scott Kaufmann, Florida, 15:07.87; 16. B.J. Jones, Auburn, 15:11.71.

100-yard backstroke: Final -- 1. Peter Marshall, Stanford, 45.57; 2. Aaron Peirsol, Texas, 45.71; 3. Alex Lim, California, 46.59; 4. Randall Bal, Stanford, 46.76; 5. Todd Smolinski, Minnesota, 47.03; 6. Evan Martinec, LSU, 47.16; 7. Dan Westcott, Stanford, 47.28; 8. Bryce Hunt, Auburn, 47.35. Consolation -- 9 .Jayme Cramer, Stanford, 47.22; 10. Derek Gibb, Auburn, 47.51; 11. Matthew Marshall, Wisconsin, 47.81; 12. Matt Rose, Texas A&M, 47.82; 13. Adam Mania, Wisconsin, 47.88; 14. Jens Thiele, California, 47.91; 15. Chris Kellam, Florida, 47.96; 16. Ahmed Hussein, Arizona St., disqualified.

200-yard backstroke: Final -- 1. Aaron Peirsol, Texas, 1:39.16 (meet record; old record 1:40.06, Brian Retterer, Stanford, 1995); 2. Markus Rogan, Stanford, 1:41.77; 3. Bryce Hunt, Auburn, 1:41.48; 4. Peter Marshall, Stanford, 1:43.46; 5. Chris Kellam, Florida, 1:41.29; 6. Alex Lim, California, 1:43.10; 7. Nathan O'Brien, Texas, 1:42.02; 8. Dan Westcott, Stanford, 1:42.83. Consolation -- 9. Christian Harcsas, Arizona St., 1:43.81; 10. Luke Wagner, Virginia, 1:44.60; 11. Chris DeJong, Michigan, 1:43.90; 12. Todd Smolinksi, Minnesota, 1:44.08; 13. Paulo Machado, Tennessee, 1:45.22; 14. George Bovell, Auburn, 1:45.34; 15. Chad Barlow, Auburn, 1:44.30; 16. Jeff Natalizio, California, 1:44.65.

100-yard breaststroke: Final -- 1. Brendan Hansen, Texas, 51.96 (meet record; old record 51.86, Jeremy Linn, Tennessee, 1997); 2. Pat Calhoun, Auburn, 53.03; 3. Mihaly Flasky, Southern California, 53.23; 4. (tie) Justin Caron, Auburn, and Will Brandt, Auburn, 53.32; 6. Jeff Hackler, Minnesota, 53.43; 7. Mark Gangloff, Auburn, 53.58; 8. Dominick Szabo, American, 53.94. Consolation -- 9. Vladislav Polyakov, Alabama, 53.69; 10. Scott Dickens, Oakland, 53.79; 11. Tamas Bessenyei, Purdue, 54.17; 12. Michael Bruce, Stanford, 54.34; 13. Cheyne Bloch, Hawaii, 54.64; 14. Scott Gardner, Georgia, 54.73; 15. Scott Usher, Wyoming, 54.75; 16. Garth Fealey, Princeton, 54.82.

200-yard breaststroke: Final -- 1. Brendan Hansen, Texas, 1:52.62 (meet record; old record 1:52.88, Hansen, Texas, 2002); 2. Vladislav Polyakov, Alabama, 1:55.39; 3. Mike Brown, Minnesota, 1:56.01; 4. Justin Caron, Auburn, 1:56.44; 5. Jeff Hackler, Minnesota, 1:56.23; 6. Scott Usher, Wyoming, 1:56.60; 7. Kyle Salyards, Georgia, 1:56.54; 8. Cheyne Bloch, Hawaii, 1:56.64. Consolation -- 9. Will Brandt, Auburn, 1:57.03; 10. Andrew Bree, Tennessee, 1:56.96; 11. Michael Bruce, Stanford, 1:56.99; 12. Jeff Hopwood, Michigan, 1:57.01; 13. Dominick Szabo, American, 1:57.58; 14. Christian Schurr, Texas, 1:57.60; 15. Scott Dickens, Oakland, 1:57.62; 16. Walter Sean Quinn, North Carolina, 1:57.23.

100-yard butterfly: Final -- 1. Ian Crocker, Texas, 45.67; 2. Luis Rojas, Arizona, 46.01; 3. Duje Draganja, California, 46.40; 4. Mike Cavic, California, 46.41; 5. Jayme Cramer, Stanford, 46.65; 6. Daniel Ditoro, Texas, 46.74; 7. Fred Bousquet, Auburn, 46.75; 8. Andy Haidinyak, Auburn, 46.82. Consolation -- 9. Matthew Marshall, Wisconsin, 46.82; 10. Eugene Botes, Penn St., 47.01; 11. Dan Westcott, Stanford, 47.04; 12. Stefan Gherghel, Alabama, 47.08; 13. Matt McDonald, Stanford, 47.39; 14. Alex Lim, California, 47.45; 15. Bryce Hunt, Auburn, 47.46; 16. Peter Marshall, Stanford, 47.69.

200-yard butterfly: Final -- 1. Stefan Gherghel, Alabama, 1:43.43; 2. Juan Veloz, Arizona, 1:43.21; 3. Michael Raab, Virginia, 1:42.89; 4. Rainer Kendrick, Texas, 1:43.61; 5. Jayme Cramer, Stanford, 1:44.53; 6. Jeremy Knowles, Auburn, 1:43.84; 7. Kellan O'Connoe, Northwestern, 1:44.06; 8. Jeff Lee, Southern California, 1:44.78. Consolation -- 9. John Abercrombie, Southern California, 1:44.73; 10. John Suchand, Texas, 1:44.92; 11. (tie) David Kolozar, Arizona St., and Mark Hamming, Northwestern, 1:45.16; 13. Mike Gausman, Southern California, 1:46.18; 14. Dan Ketchum, Michigan, 1:46.20; 15. Robert Margalis, Georgia, 1:46.35; 16. Davis Tarwater, Michigan, 1:46.90.

200-yard individual medley: Final -- 1. George Bovell, Auburn, 1:42.66 (meet record; old record 1:42.85, Nate Dusing, Texas, 2001); 2. Joe Bruckart, California, 1:44.30; 3. Rainer Kendrick, Texas, 1:44.51; 4. Ryan Lochte, Florida, 1:44.58; 5. Markus Rogan, Stanford, 1:45.50; 6. Dan Trupin, Stanford, 1:45.53; 7. Mark Gangloff, Auburn, 1:46.26; 8. Dan Ketchum, Michigan, 1:47.60. Consolation -- 9. Eric Shanteau, Auburn, 1:46.35; 10. James Galloway, Auburn, 1:46.45; 11. Jeremy Knowles, Auburn, 1:46.45; 12. Brendan Hansen, Texas, 1:46.66; 13. Michael Bruce, Stanford, 1:46.73; 14. Jeff Natalizio, California, 1:47.26; 15. Kellan O'Connoe, Northwestern, 1:47.29; 16. Louis Paul, Purdue, 1:47.61.

400-yard individual medley: Final -- 1. Robert Margalis, Georgia, 3:39.92; 2. Erik Vendt, Southern California, 3:39.95; 3. Ryan Lochte, Florida, 3:41.45; 4. Ous Mellouli, Southern California, 3:43.10; 5. Jeremy Knowles, Auburn, 3:46.07; 6. James Galloway, Auburn, 3:46.83; 7. Juan Veloz, Arizona, 3:47.01; 8. Eric Shanteau, Auburn, 3:49.07. Consolation -- 9. Paul Fahey, Southern California, 3:48.20; 10. Ryan Plummer, Minnesota, 3:48.65; 11. Dan Trupin, Stanford, 3:48.73; 12. Markus Rogan, Stanford, 3:49.05; 13. Matt Ferrarelli, Missouri, 3:50.22; 14. Chuck Sayao, Michigan, 3:50.35; 15. John Dorr, California, 3:51.48; 16. Daniel Shevchik, Harvard, 3:51.60.

One-meter diving: Final -- 1. Joona Puhakka, Arizona St., 395.80; 2. Andy Bradley, South Carolina, 359.00; 3. Clayton Moss, Kentucky, 355.00; 4. Aaron Russell, Brigham Young, 350.20; 5. Zach Wilcox, Florida, 346.95; 6. Kristopher Daugherty, Georgia, 343.50; 7. Phil Jones, Tennessee, 336.15; 8. Todd Avery, Georgia, 285.90. Consolation -- 9. Caesar Garcia, Auburn, 300.50; 10. Brice Dumais, Southern Methodist, 293.75; 11. Michael Gowdy, Hawaii, 293.05; 12. Matt Bricker, Auburn, 291.20; 13. Stewart Smith, Alabama, 288.60; 14. Jason Coben, Michigan, 287.40; 15. Josh Anderson, Arizona, 283.45; 16. Ray Vincent, Southern California, 283.35.

Three-meter diving: Final -- 1. Phillip Jones, Tennessee, 649.70; 2. Clayton Moss, Kentucky, 646.75; 3. Joona Puhakka, Arizona St., 642.65; 4. Miguel Velazquez, Miami (Fla.), 624.95; 5. Caesar Garcia, Auburn, 613.20; 6. Brice Dumais, Southern Methodist, 573.30; 7. Andy Bradley, South Carolina, 559.95; 8. Marc Carlton, Indiana, 502.60. Consolation -- 9. Louie Gagnet, Florida St., 329.75; 10. Aaron Russell, Brigham Young, 315.55; 11. Jason Coben, Michigan, 349.35; 12. Josh Anderson, Arizona, 325.35; 13. Zach Wilcox, Florida, 322.75; 14. Christian Picard, Texas A&M, 320.70; 15. Timo Klami, Iowa, 310.15; 16. Anthony Perry, Drexel, 308.25.

Platform diving: Final -- 1. (tie) Caesar Garcia, Auburn, and Jason Coben, Michigan, 575.80; 3. Ray Vincent, Southern California, 563.25; 4. Clayton Moss, Kentucky, 533.60; 5. Matt Bricker, 518.35; 6. Marc Carlton, Indiana, 509.40; 7. Jon Linette, Texas, 506.65; 8. Christian Picard, Texas A&M, 498.20. Consolation -- 9. Josh Anderson, Arizona, 469.00; 10. Miguel Velasquez, Miami (Fla.), 464.35; 11. Dennis Nemtsanov, Pittsburgh, 461.05; 12. Kyle VanArsdall, LSU, 433.25; 13. Stewart Smith, Alabama, 431.55; 14. Scott Troob, Columbia, 418.15; 15. Zach Wilcox, Florida, 418.05; 16. Joona Puhakka, Arizona St., 413.05.

200-yard freestyle relay: Final -- 1. Stanford (Randall Bal, Peter Marshall, Andrew Schnell, Bobby O'Bryan), 1:17.03; 2. Auburn, 1:17.28; 3. California, 1:17.39; 4. Arizona, 1:18.28; 5. Texas A&M, 1:18.61; 6. Texas, 1:18.78; 7. Florida, 1:18.97; 8. Arizona St., 1:19.24. Consolation -- 9. Minnesota, 1:18.99; 10. Wisconsin, 1:19.62; 11. Princeton, 1:20.14; 12. Alabama, 1:20.33; 13. Kentucky, 1:20.47; 14. Georgia, 1:21.23; 15. Southern California, 1:21.62; 16. Oakland, disqualified.

400-yard freestyle relay: Final -- 1. California (Duje Draganja, Mike Cavic, Joe Bruckart, Anthony Ervin), 2:48.99 [meet record; old record 2:49.80, Texas (Nate Dusing, Ian Crocker, Tom Hannan, Jamie Rauch), 2001]; 2. Auburn, 2:49.68; 3. Arizona, 2:52.65; 4. Texas, 2:53.01; 5. Stanford, 2:54.16; 6. Texas A&M, 2:54.48; 7. Florida and Minnesota, 2:54.94. Consolation -- 9. Wisconsin, 2:56.03; 10. Alabama, 2:56.10; 11. Tennessee, 2:56.20; 12. Virginia, 2:56.41; 13. Arizona St., 2:57.30; 14. Princeton, 2:58.10; 15. Southern California, 2:58.21; 16. Georgia, 2:58.78.

800-yard freestyle relay: Final -- 1. Texas (Aaron Peirsol, John Suchand, Rainer Kendrick, Chris Kemp), 6:18.62; 2. Florida, 6:20.54; 3. Michigan, 6:20.78; 4. Auburn, 6:22.16; 5. Southern California, 6:25.54; 6. California, 6:26.30; 7. Minnesota, 6:27.18; 8. Stanford, 6:27.39; 9. Wisconsin, 6:28.37; 10. Arizona, 6:29.12; 11. Tennessee, 6:29.82; 12. Virginia, 6:30.19; 13. Georgia, 6:31.93; 14. Alabama, 6:33.45; 15. Arizona St., 6:34.70; 16. Kentucky, 6:35.76.

200-yard medley relay: Final -- 1. Texas (Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Daniel Ditoro, Ian Crocker), 1:24.46 [meet record; old record 1:24.47, Texas (Matt Ulrickson, Hansen, Nate Dusing, Leffie Crawford), 2001]; 2. Auburn, 1:24.96; 3. Stanford, 1:26.01; 4. Minnesota, 1:26.02; 5. California, 1:26.10; 6. Alabama, 1:27.41; 7. Southern California, 1:27.54; 8. LSU, 1:28.22. Consolation -- 9. Florida, 1:27.36; 10. Arizona, 1:27.76; 11. Wisconsin, 1:28.45; 12. Princeton, 1:29.00; 13. Kentucky, 1:29.21; 14. Tennessee, 1:29.55; 15. Oakland, 1:29.85; 16. Georgia, 1:30.04.

400-yard medley relay: Final -- 1. Texas (Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Ian Crocker, Chris Kemp), 3:04.47 [meet record; old record 3:05.37, Texas (Nate Dusing, Hansen, Tom Hannan, Crocker), 2001]; 2. Stanford, 3:07.24; 3. Auburn, 3:07.28; 4. California, 3:08.68; 5. Minnesota, 3:09.89; 6. Southern California, 3:11.19; 7. Florida, 3:11.72; 8. Wisconsin, 3:12.48. Consolation -- 9. LSU, 3:13.58; 10. Princeton, 3:13.67; 11. Virginia, 3:14.26; 12. Texas A&M, 3:14.54; 13. Georgia, 3:14.90; 14. Michigan, 3:15.05; 15. Kentucky, 3:16.91; 16. Oakland, 3:17.76.