The Utah swimming and diving team has released its 2014-15 schedule, highlighted by visits to Salt Lake City by several of the nations top teams.
"The 2014-15 season will be full of exciting meets and challenging opposition," Utah head coach Joe Dykstra said. "We will have to split the squad (men/women, swimmers/divers) more often than I would like, but I think this schedule will best prepare our swimmers and divers for the Pac-12 and NCAA Championship meets at the end of the season. We also have a very exciting slate of home dual meets which is going to be great for our fans. Cal and Stanford will both bring multiple members of the U.S. National Team to the Ute Natatorium. Hosting USC's men will be a great way for our guys to close the regular season. Finally, we are looking forward to a packed house for our annual clash with BYU, which will also be our senior day this season."
The Utah women start off their season hosting Stanford on Sept. 26. The Cardinal finished second in the NCAA last season. The Ute women also host California (Nov. 14), led by four-time Olympic gold medalist Missy Franklin. The Golden Bears were third in the NCAA last year.
On the men's side, USC travels to SLC for a two-day meet from Feb. 20-21. The Trojans were eighth in the NCAA last season.
Other teams traveling to Salt Lake City include Colorado Mesa (men, Nov. 7), Denver (Jan. 23), Oregon State (women, Feb. 6) and BYU (Feb. 7). The Denver women finished in the top 35 at the NCAA Championships last year.
Road meets include Arizona and UNLV in Las Vegas on Nov. 1. Both the men's and women's Wildcat teams finished in the top eight in the NCAA in 2014, while UNLV's men were in the top 20. The Utes also hit the road for 2014 Mountain West Champions Boise State (women, Oct. 8), Arizona State (Jan. 9), Washington State (women, Feb. 13) and Idaho (women, Feb. 14). Arizona State's men's team finished in the top 25 at the 2014 NCAA Championships.
Utah will have athletes compete at the Intermountain Shootout (Oct. 3-4), Texas Invitational (Dec. 4-6), and Colorado Mesa Invitational (Dec. 4-6). The divers will compete separately at the Georgia Tech Invitational (Nov. 21-23), UCLA Diving Invitational (Jan. 16-18) and Air Force Diving Invitational (Jan. 30-31).
The women's Pac-12 Championships, as well as the conference diving championships, go from Feb. 25-28 in Washington at the King County Aquatic Center. The men's Pac-12 Championships follow from March 4-7. Last year, the women finished sixth at Pac-12's with the men notching a fifth-place finish.
The season closes with the NCAA Zone 'E' Diving Meet (March 9-11), the Women's NCAA Championships (March 19-21), and the Men's NCAA Championships (March 26-28).
Key returners for the Utes for 2014-15 include All-Americans Nick Soedel, Stina Colleou and Josiah Purss.
Utah Swimming & Diving 14-15 Schedule
Date Opponent Location Time
Sept. 26 Stanford* (w) Salt Lake City, Utah 2:30 p.m.
Sept. 27 Alumni Meet Salt Lake City, Utah TBA
Oct. 3-4 Intermountain Shootout Grand Junction, Colo. All Day
Oct. 8 Boise State (w) Boise, Idaho 6:00 p.m.
Nov.1 Arizona*/UNLV Las Vegas, Nevada 2:00 p.m.
Nov. 7 Mesa State (m) Salt Lake City, Utah 2:00 p.m.
Nov. 14 California*(w) Salt Lake City, Utah 2:00 p.m.
Nov. 21-13 Georgia Tech Invitational (Diving) Atlanta, Ga. All Day
Dec. 4-6 Texas Swimming Invitational Austin, Texas All Day
Colorado Mesa Invitational Grand Junction, Colo. All Day
Jan. 9 Arizona State* Tempe, Arizona TBA
Jan. 16-18 UCLA Diving Invitational Los Angeles, Calif. All Day
Jan. 23 Denver Salt Lake City, Utah 4:00 p.m.
Jan. 30-31 Air Force Diving Invitational Colorado Springs, Colo. All Day
Feb. 6 Oregon State* (w) Salt Lake City, Utah 5:00 p.m.
Feb. 7 BYU Salt Lake City, Utah 11:00 a.m.
Fri. 13 Washington State* (w) Pullman, Wash. 5:00 p.m.
Feb. 14 Idaho (w) Moscow, Idaho 10:30 a.m.
Feb. 20-21 Southern California* (m) Salt Lake City, Utah Fri. 6 p.m., Sat. 11 a.m.
Feb. 25-28 Women’s Pac-12 Championships Federal Way, Wash. All Day
& Pac-12 Diving Championships
Mar. 4-7 Men’s Pac-12 Championships Federal Way, Wash. All Day
Mar. 9-11 NCAA Zone E Diving Meet Colorado Springs, Colo. All Day
Mar. 19-21 Women’s NCAA Championships Greensboro, N.C. All Day
Mar. 26-28 Men’s NCAA Championships Iowa City, Iowa All Day
* Pac-12 Conference Meet
(w) Women Only
(m) Men Only
Home Meets in Bold
All times are local to venue
