The LSU swimming and diving program has released its 2014-15 schedule, co-head coaches Dave Geyer and Doug Shaffer announced Wednesday.
“In this conference you can’t hide from the competition,” LSU swimming coach Dave Geyer said. “We have a lot of meets in the second half of the season to focus on the details and prepare us for SEC’s and NCAA’s.”
“We’re going to start off the season with some serious competition,” LSU diving coach Doug Shaffer said. “We’re excited for the challenging schedule because it forces us to be ready in the beginning of the season. It all prepares us for postseason competition.”
The entire team begins the season in the renovated LSU Natatorium for the annual Purple and Gold Intrasquad meet on Friday, Sept. 26.
The Tigers will host three meets over the course of the season, beginning with Incarnate Word on Nov. 15. The men and women will celebrate the careers of eleven seniors against Tennessee on Jan. 10. The Lady Tigers then host Tulane, Houston and Rice Jan. 31- Feb. 1 in a quad meet to end the regular season. Admission to LSU Swimming and Diving home meets is free.
The men’s team returns four members with NCAA Championship experience including two-time NCAA Honorable Mention All American swimmer Frank Greeff. Daniel Helm, an NCAA Honorable Mention All American on platform, also returns to the lineup in his senior year.
The women’s team returns all eight qualifiers from the 2013-14 team, including four automatic qualifiers. Junior Cassie Weil was named First-Team All-America on platform at NCAA’s. Senior Alex Bettridge also looks to qualify for NCAA’ after just missing last season.
On the swimming side, Caley Oquist, Amber Carter and Kara Kopcso all qualified individually for NCAA’s last season. Oquist owns two program records while Kopcso set one last season.
The Lady Tigers open up the regular season at Tulane on Oct. 3. The entire team then travels to Gainesville, Florida to take on the Gators on Oct. 10. The Florida men’s team finished third and the women’s team finished sixth at NCAA Championships last season.
The women’s team then travels to Dallas, Texas for the SMU Classic Oct. 17-18. The full squad will face Alabama and Auburn on Nov. 1 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Both the men and women then compete in the Art Adamson Invitational hosted by Texas A&M to wrap up the fall season Nov. 20-22.
The divers then split up for competition in December. One group will head to Columbus, Ohio for USA Diving Winter Championships Dec. 16-21. The other group will welcome teams for the LSU Diving Invitational. The invitational returns to Baton Rouge for the first time since the 2010-11 season.
The new year begins with the divers traveling to the Tennessee Diving Invite Jan. 3-5 and the swimmers traveling to Dallas, Texas for a dual meet with the mustangs of SMU.
The Tigers make a second trip to College Station, Texas to face the Aggies in the final dual meet of the season Jan. 24.
The SEC Championships will be held at the University of Auburn, from Feb. 17-21. The NCAA Zone Diving Regionals will take place March 9-11 in Iowa City, Iowa
The NCAA Women’s National Championships will take place in Greensboro, North Carolina March 19-21. The NCAA Men’s National Championships will follow, March 26-28, in Iowa City, Iowa.
