BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil — Taking a break since the conclusion of the 2008 Olympic Games, former Auburn swimmer Cesar Cielo returned to the pool Saturday, competing in the first event of the 2008 FINA/Arena Swimming World Cup.

Cielo wasted no time, earning a win in his first event of the three-day meet that is taking place in his home country of Brazil. He swam a 47.18 in the 100-meter freestyle, beating out his nearest competition by more than half a second. His time also neared his personal-best and South American record time of 47.00.

He returned to the pool later in the session, finishing third in the 50-meter butterfly, clocking a time of 23.29.

The FINA/Arena Swimming World Cup is a series of seven meets during the months of October and November. The meets, swum in short course meters, will take place in Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Burban, South Africa; Sydney; Singapore; Moscow; Stockholm; and Berlin.

Puetz, Tsyrenov win consolation title
TULSA, Okla. — Auburn’s Tim Puetz and Alexey Tsyrenov captured the consolation bracket doubles title Saturday at the 2008 D’Novo/ITA All-American Championships.

The duo started off the day by defeating Florida State’s Jean-Yves Aubone and Clint Bowles, the 12th-ranked team in the nation, in the semifinals, 8-3. Puetz and Tsyrenov then advanced to the championship match against Rice’s Christoph Muller and Bruno Rosa, the 25th-ranked team according to the ITA rankings.

The Tigers ended up having to go to an extra point, but were able to pull out the 9-7 win for the bracket championship.

“This was a really good tournament for Alexey and Tim in doubles,” said head coach Eric Shore. “They went 6-1 over the tournament with wins today over a couple of top-25 teams. They gained a lot of experience and played really well.”

Puetz and Tsyrenov, who had to win three straight matches in qualifying to make it to the main draw of doubles, lost their first-round match to Texas Tech’s Raony Carvalho and Christian Rojmar on Thursday. The pair then bounced back in the consolation bracket, winning four straight matches for the bracket championship.

The Auburn men’s tennis team returns to action Oct. 24-26 as the Tigers travel to Tuscaloosa for the Crimson Tide Fall Classic.