TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The LSU men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams are each prepared to begin the 2001 Southeastern Conference Championships on Wednesday, here at the Alabama Aquatic Center in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
“The SEC Championships are the biggest competition of the season for our teams,” said LSU head coach Jeff Cavana. “The SEC is definitely comprised of some of the top swimmers and divers in the nation and our teams always step up their level of competition and set some of our fastest times each year.”
Last season, in Auburn, Ala., the Lady Tigers’ Ashley Culpepper earned an SEC Championship in the three-meter diving competition, as she led the LSU women’s team to its first fifth-place finish since 1997. She ended the week as the SEC Diver of the Year, while LSU’s head diving coach, Scott Reich, added the 2000 Diving Coach of the Year Award to his resume. Both Culpepper and Reich went on to win the 2000 National Awards in each event.
The LSU men’s swimming and diving team also finished in fifth place at the 2000 SEC Championships. Last season’s fifth-place finish constituted the Tigers’ third-straight year in which the team ended up in the five spot at the SEC’s final competition of the year.
“Our major goal this season is to improve from last year,” explained Cavana. “The men’s team has been working very hard to prepare for this competition and I think that they should have a good showing. The women have also done a great job these past two weeks in practice, and I believe that Mandy (Leach) should have a huge meet.”
Leach, the Lady Tigers’ 2000 Olympian from Harare, Zimbabwe, holds a 2001 SEC top-ten time in seven-different swimming events. Leach is currently among the top-ten SEC swimmers in the 50, 100, 200, and 500-yard freestyle competitions, the 200-yard backstroke event, as well as the 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard individual medley competitions.
The SEC Championship meet will be held at the Alabama Aquatic Center for the first time since 1992. Alabama hosted the league showdown three times between 1987 and 1992. The four-day competition begins with the preliminary rounds on Wednesday at 10 a.m. and runs through Saturday, February 24.