TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The LSU men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will begin the 2000-2001 season Friday in Tuscaloosa, Ala., at the Southeastern Conference Western Division Swim Meet. The Tigers will face three SEC opponents in the competition including Arkansas, Alabama, and Auburn.
“This is going to be a very unusual swim meet this weekend,” said LSU head coach Jeff Cavana. “They are implementing a new format that has never been used before, so it is actually hard to know what to expect from our swimmers. But we have had a good preseason of workouts, and the team is looking forward to getting started.”
The SEC Quad Meet will include both men’s and women’s one and three-meter diving, a five-kilometer lake swim, along with the indoor swimming events. The indoor events will include the 500-yard individual
medley, all of the relay events, as well as never-seen before 150-yard competitions in each event.
“It is hard to predict how a swimmer is going to compete in a 150-yard event,” Cavana said. “They are used to swimming the 100 and 200-yard competitions, but the 150-event is totally new to them.”
During last year’s dual-meet season, the Lady Tigers’ defeated Arkansas, 176-115, in Baton Rouge, and LSU swept Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The Tigers dominated the Crimson Tide, 154-84, while the Lady Tigers won, 125.5-101.5. Auburn ended the 1999-2000 regular season with both their men and women ranked among the top five in the nation.
“Our goal for this meet is to beat Arkansas,” said Cavana. “Sweep Alabama like we did last season, and to compete with Auburn. These are three very talented teams and we would like to get the season off to a good start.”
The SEC Western Division Swim Meet between LSU, Alabama, Arkansas, and Auburn will begin Friday at noon in Tuscaloosa, Ala.