BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams are set to face both the Texas A&M Aggies and the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday in a double-dual meet at the LSU Natatorium.
“This is going to be a great meet,” said LSU head coach Jeff Cavana. “The Texas A&M men’s team is very good, and both of Kentucky’s teams are ranked, so it’s going to be tough. Texas A&M’s women’s team is also very solid. We are just going to have to step up our level of performance and have an outstanding meet.”
Both of the LSU swimming and diving teams enter Saturday’s meet on a roll and have each recorded five wins in the 2000-01 dual-meet season. The Lady Tigers possess a 5-2 overall record and an 0-2 mark in the Southeastern Conference, while the men’s team is looking to remain undefeated at 5-0, and 1-0 in the SEC.
In the Tigers’ most recent contest, the men’s and women’s teams handily defeated both the University of Tampa and Ouachita Baptist in a double-dual meet in Clearwater, Fla. The Lady Tigers were victorious over Tampa, 107-68, and OBU, 107-25, while the men’s team acheived similar success with a 101-72 win over Tampa and a 75-point domination of OBU, 101-26.
“We’re coming in with a bit of momentum,” Cavana said. “We had two good meets in Florida and we’re in a good frame of mind right now, and that is huge in swimming and diving.”
LSU will face two talented teams Saturday with the arrival of both Texas A&M and Kentucky to the LSU Natatorium.
The Aggies’ men’s squad is currently the third-ranked team in the nation, while the Texas A&M women are No. 24. The Aggies’ men will enter the match-up undefeated at 4-0. The A&M women come in to the meet with a 5-1 record after losing their previous meet to Southern Methodist, 174-122.
Heading into Saturday’s contest, the Kentucky swimming and diving teams are both ranked 23rd in the nation. The Wildcat men’s team is undefeated and has accumulated a 3-0 record in dual-meet competition. The Lady Cats have dropped their last two contests and are 1-3 on the season.
LSU looks to avenge last season’s losses to both Kentucky and Texas A&M by coming away from Saturday’s meet with a sweep. Last year, the Lady Tigers lost on the road to Kentucky, 124-118, and Texas A&M, 129-106.
Kentucky and Texas A&M accounted for the Tigers’ only two losses on the season last year. In Lexington, Ky., at the Lancaster Aquatic Center, the Tigers fell to Kentucky in the final event of the meet, 122-121. After the devastating loss to Kentucky, the Tigers traveled to face the Aggies in College Station, Texas. The LSU men put together a great meet, but they just fell short in a 129-114 loss.
The LSU men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will host both the Texas A&M Aggies and the Kentucky Wildcats in the LSU Natatorium at 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.