It might not be the grand-daddy like the Big Ten or as many top five finishers as the Pac 10, but the Southeastern Conference is arguably the top conference.  It's been home to the past several years' NCAA team champions, sends more swimmers to the big meet than any other conference, offers a host of Olympic team coaches and is home to some of the best rivalries in the country.  This year's meet provides an interesting mix of stories and will feature several new faces (now and likely in January).  Here's a preview of what to expect.

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Auburn University
Head Coach: David Marsh
SEC Finish: Women: 2^nd of 9 Men: 1st of 8
NCAA Finish: Women: 1st Men: 1st

One word can be used to describe the Auburn Tigers for the better part of the 21^st century: unstoppable. This year for the men and women of Auburn, things are once again looking dominate. The women return 14 NCAA finalists in Hayley Peirsol (NCAA champion in mile), Adrienne Binder, Chelsea Haser, Emily Kukors, Julie Stupp, Kara Denby, Anne Amardeilh, Tawnie Bethune, Rachel Goh (NCAA champion, 100 back), Corey Gerlach (diver), Gisela Morales, Margo McCawley, Alicia Jensen and Kristen Hastrup. The Tiger women also will benefit from the signing of three notable 100 breaststrokers. The 100 breast was the only event in which an Auburn swimmer failed to place in the top 16 at NCAA. Add Sarah Losinger, Abby MacGregor and Emily Roberts into the mix, and then watch for Auburn to be another favorite heading into the start of a new season.

Like the women, the men will return several NCAA finalists in James Wike, Cesar Cielo, Alexei Puninski, Scott Goodrich, Bryan Lundquist, Jakob Andkjaer, Rory Connell, Joey Schneider, Matt Targett, Mark Johnson and John Scott, to name a few. Auburn benefited from relays at last year’s championship meet and with the addition of newcomers Matt Bartlett, Tyler McGill and Brooks Stovall, look for the Auburn men to go for the four-peat.

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University of Georgia
Head Coach: Jack Bauerle
SEC Finish: Women 1^st of 9 Men: 3^rd of 8
NCAA Finish: Women: 2nd Men: 9^th

Georgia women narrowly missed a national championship last year and with the loss of four standouts to graduation, things look different for the Bulldog team. This season Georgia will be without the aid of Laura Conway, Mary DeScenza, Tricia Harm and Sarah Poewe. The Bulldogs also lost Stephanie Carr to Arkansas. Of course returning will be senior elitist Kara Lynn Joyce, who has yet to lose a 50 or 100 free race at the NCAA Championships. Joining Joyce will be Haley Chura, Erin Forster, Elizabeth Hill, Alyssa Kiel, Melissa Klein, Jessica Cole, Claire Maust, Aleksandra Putra, Gretchen Corliss and Karen Guilkey; all of which combine for the makings of a national championship squad. However, with such a heavy loss, the lady Bulldogs need to rely on a breakout year from incoming recruits Kelly McNichols (breast/free/IM), Anne-Marie Botek (fly/back/free), Kristen Frost (free) and Whitney Hall (breast/IM). Those four recruits alone have the potential to replace the dominance from DeScenza, Conway, Harm and Poewe.

Georgia men will return two NCAA champions in Chris Colwill (diving) and Sebastien Rouault (mile). Colwill became Georgia’s first national champion in any diving event by claiming the 1-meter and 3-meter at last year’s NCAAs. Rouault also aided the team heavily in the distance events by winning the mile, placing third in the 500 and fourth in the 400 IM at NCAAs. Also returning for the men will be NCAA runner up Gil Stovall (200 fly) and Neil Versfeld.

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University of Florida
Head Coach: Gregg Troy
SEC Finish: Women: 3^rd of 9 Men: 2nd of 8
NCAA Finish: Women: 10^th Men: 5^th

Coach Gregg Troy and his Florida Gators took an early approach to this season by starting practices pre Labor Day. By no means has Troy ever been known as a softy, and with the loss of many pivotal point scores, the Gators have already proved eager to work towards their traditional aspirations. “We want to compete for both the SEC and NCAA titiles, every year,” stressed Troy.

With departing standouts Dana Vollmer (transfer to California), Vipa Bernhardt, Brian Hartley, Darian Townsend (transfer to Arizona) and most notably Ryan Lochte, Coach Troy and his Gators will be searching for depth from many of his talented crew. “We have high hopes for the women's team with the return of several injured athletes from last year,” explained Troy. “For us to be successful on both sides it will take a true team effort with many people contributing.”

Of which include Lucas Salatta, Daniel Penniman, Grant Johnson, Tobias Work and Kevin Nead in for men. Work, was recently named to the 2007 Pan American Games squad. The middle distance freestyler is expected to swim the 400-meter free next year, after finishing seventh in the event at the 2006 U.S. Nationals.

Leah Retrum, Katie Ball, Candice Weiman, Ashley Carusone, Caroline Burkle and Stephanie Cota are expected to guide the women. Like Work, Cota had a sensational Nationals, which qualified her for the World University Team.

Florida will also turn to its incoming freshmen for an immediate impact. Newcomer and national finalist Clark Burkle will join sister Caroline on the squad. Shawn Fraser and Omar Pinzon have also proven to be potential point contributors. For the women, Sarah Peterson, Liz Kemp, Elizabeth Goldson and Stephanie Napier all look to add a little spice to the Gators success.

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University of Tennessee
Head Coach: Women: Matt Kredich Men: John Trembley
SEC Finish: Women: 5^th of 9 Men: 4th of 8
NCAA Finish: Women: 12th Men: 15^th

Good ole Rocky Top is back and so are the Lady Vols of Tennessee. After years of sliding into the top 25 and finishing towards the bottom of the conference, the Lady Vols scarcely missed a top 10 birth at the 2006 NCAAs. The reason for the success resides at the helm of the Volunteers as Coach Matt Kredich returns for his second season. By already heating up the pace in the hills of Tennessee, Kredich is expecting big things this season.

“We believe we can have a Top 10 finish at NCAA's, and we want to keep moving up at the conference meet as well,” Kredich stated.

Tennessee women will return four individual All-Americans from last season in Christine Magnuson, Megan Tomes, Tiffany Clay and Carly Mathes. The Lady Vols also snatched a national finalist in Michele King.

“We are expecting a lot from all of our freshmen,” Kredich said. “King is coming off of a great summer where she appears to have made a national team in the 100 free, so she'll obviously be a great help in any meet. We have some very strong breaststrokers in Bryttany Curran and Jamie Saffer, both of whom had breakthrough seasons last year. Ashley Knapik fills a real void in the 200 fly for us, and Keira Heath is going to give us a real lift in the distance events.”

While the women will look to ride the wave from last season, the men will strive to continue tradition. Ever since Coach John Trembley has been at the helm, the Vols have received 12 top 10 NCAA finishes. The Volunteers claimed a 15^th national finish last season, however with seven returning All-Americans; look for big things from Tennessee.

“As a team we are preparing for NCAAs,” explained Trembley. “We are not as concerned about the conference meet as other schools. Out first team goal is to become the most cohesive team in America. We will do many cross-training outings and team building exercises. After that our goals are pretty simple: to be the best academically, athletically, socially and spiritually.”

Tennessee will bring back roster standouts Brad Boswell, Octavio Alesi, Michael Wolfe, Andrew Engle, Barry Murphy, Nolan Morrell and Jeff Sudbury. According to Trembley, “This is a most exciting time at Tennessee.”

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University of Kentucky
Head Coach: Gary Conelly
SEC Finish: Women: 4^th of 9 Men: 7th of 8
NCAA Finish: Women: 13^th Men: 24^th

The Kentucky Wildcats keep improving under 16^th year head coach Gary Conelly. Last year the women almost snuck into the top 10, while the men broke the top 25 barrier. The Kentucky women will lose NCAA point contributors Laura Graham, Joanna McLean and Jessica Thompson (diver), but will return standouts Taryn Ignacio (NCAA champion, platform), Heather Bradford, Jenny Bradford, Joey Brown (diver), Jill Southerlan and Nikia Deveaux. The Wildcat women will also add six incoming freshman and one transfer in Kentucky native Lauren Willis (Purdue).

Joining Kentucky for the upcoming season are Anna Sirmon, Christina Morgan, Megan Pulskamp, Chatham Penrod, Casey Miller and Sydney Witzky.

The Kentucky men will have some holes to fill after losing Daniel Farnham and Steven Manley. However, Kristian Outinen, Mickey Malul, Warren Grobbelaar and Mark Doyle will return to add some much needed spice. Also newcomer Alexander Forbes will look to contribute in the sprint events. Forbes’ 50 free time ranked him No. 1 among sprint recruits.

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University of Alabama
Head Coach: Eric McIlquham
SEC Finish: Women: 7^th of 9 Men: 5th of 8
NCAA Finish: Women: 32nd Men: 13^th

Alabama men just fell shy of the top 10 last season and with the return of NCAA champion Vlad Polyakov, they could be on their way to achieve that milestone.

“Vlad is a great leader and role model, needs to set the tone for the rest of the team,” Coach Eric McIlquham said. Also returning for the Crimson Tide is NCAA finalist Mark Randall and Apostolis Tsagkarak, the school record holder 50 free at 19.4.

The women will be without backstroke specialist Kathryn Hallquist and will be forced to turn to Caitlin Anderson to fill the void. Alabama diving will lose NCAA point scorer Crystal Rasmussen. However, returning for the women will be Erin Sparks (breast) and Victoria Genova (back). Both athletes submitted NCAA “B” times last season.

Add to the mix of 24 combined newcomers for both squads and Alabama could have a make or break season.

“The freshman men and women will play a prominent role in our depth,” McIlquham said. “We are waiting for a few to really breakthrough into the next level.”

Though the waiting game has started, McIlquham already expects incoming diver Aaron Fleischman to make an immediate impact both in the SEC and nationally.

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Louisiana State University
Head Coach: Adam Schmitt
SEC Finish: Women: 8^th of 9 Men: 5^th of 8
NCAA Finish: Women: 32^nd Men: 40^th

After finding some success at the end of last season, both Louisiana State squads are driven and eager to begin a fresh season. “We want to continue to build on what we as a coaching staff have started over the past two years,” said assistant coach Dave Geyer. “We want to take the program to the next level of competition in hopes of breaking into the Top 25 at the NCAA level.”

Though losing a rather petite class to graduation, the Tigers bring back a notable roster to for competition in 2007.

“With such a young team last year (12 freshmen vs. 4 seniors) we are looking for some maturation from our younger swimmers not only in the water but also as leaders,” explained Geyer. The Tigers return newly-found leaders Julius Gloeckner in the IM events, NCAA qualifier Miko Malberg in the sprint events, Kevin Braud and All-American diver Niko Dalman on the men’s side. For the women, LSU returns senior Colleen Bertirotti, and sophomore’s Katherine Noland and Katie Gilmore.

With the addition of many new freshmen, LSU will also look to Will Rivers, Sean LeNeave and Nate Telep.  “Those three will be a nice lift in mid-distance/distance/IM swimming for the team,” added Geyer. “Transfer Christoph Lubenau from East Carolina will aid us in the fly as well as the sprints.” On the women’s side Signe Larson and transfer Victoria Givens (Tulane) are expected to help the team in the breaststroke events, while transfer Sarah Dicharry (Tulane) will also look to add some depth to the middle distance events.

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University of South Carolina
Head Coach: Donald Gibb
SEC Finish: Women: 6^th of 9 Men: 8th of 8
NCAA Finish: Women: 26th Men: 37^th

Just missing the top 25 last season, the goals are simple for South Carolina, “to improve on both our SEC and NCAA finishes from last year,” as stated by head coach Donald Gibb. However, this goal might be difficult for the women after losing NCAA Champion Allison Brennan (diver) to graduation. While not losing too many men, South Carolina is still going to have to search for depth and rely on some much needed help from their incoming freshman class. Newcomer Kristina Delp, a sprinter from NBAC, will help make an early impact for the women, while Dom Lendjel, Kurt Muller, Leo Andara and Ciro Sauaia will all be contenders in the SEC and NCAA meets according to Gibb.

“We have a good combination of both youth and experience and some added depth which should translate into improvements in all areas of the program.”

Returning for the Gamecock men are All-Americans, Kyle Cormier, Dan White, Christian Robledo and Colby Mack. For the women, returning All-American Christy Williams is expected to help her team crack the top 25. After a summer of hard work, expect both Gamecock squads to make a surprise impact at both the SECs and NCAAs. After all, the men have no where to go but up.

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University of Arkansas
Head Coach: Jeff Poppell
SEC Finish: Women: 9^th of 9
NCAA Finish: -

One thing is for sure, Arkansas has no where to go but up. With a new coach and a strong transfer in Stephanie Carr, the Arkansas women will most likely contended for a hirer SEC finish. Carr, who spent the last two seasons at Georgia, saw her talents blossom under new Razorback head coach Jeff Poppell at the Bolles School. Poppell had the honors of coaching Carr for 12 years at Bolles. Carr will have to sit for a year, but will undoubtedly be the key ingredient for Arkansas. At Georgia, Carr finished ninth and 12^th in the mile at the NCAA championships. Carr also finished 13^th in the 500 last year at NCAAs.

Also transferring is former Bolles star Katie McGraw (Georgia Tech). McGraw should help aid the team in the breast and free events. At Georgia Tech, McGraw ranked second on the squad in the 200 breast and third in the 100 breast. McGraw also ventured in the sprint free events.

With no SEC individual point scorers returning for Arkansas, this year will certainly be a rebuilding year for the team.

“I am looking forward to the challenge of building Arkansas into a program on the national level,” Poppell said in a press conference.

All said, Poppell is already on the right track.

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Vanderbilt University
Head Coach: Women: Jeremy Organ
SEC Finish: NA
NCAA Finish: NA

In its first year as a team, head coach Jeremy Organ is simply excited to build the program.

“I’m excited to start our program up from the ground floor. It's going to be a lot fun just to build something from scratch and Vanderbilt is already a great fit for swimmers. I'm very excited to build the program and watch us grow,” Organ said.

Vanderbilt held an open meeting on campus September 14 for any interested students. Forty excited students showed up to make the 2006-2007 roster. With plans to practice at the Centennial Sportsplex, Vandy hopes to compete in small invitationals around the country. So far Vanderbilt is scheduled to makes its debut at the Western Kentucky Invite. With a little luck, Vandy might compete as the 10^th women’s team at this year’s SEC championships.