KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The LSU swimming and diving team will face Southeastern Conference rivals Kentucky and Tennessee in their first regular-season road meet Friday in Knoxville.
The LSU women opened their season last weekend in Baton Rouge with two meets against Houston and Arkansas. LSU won both meets handily, beating Houston, 156-84, and Arkansas, 159-86. Against Houston, The Lady Tigers won 14 of 16 events and claimed wins in 10 of 13 versus Houston.
“We had two really good meets last weekend at home”, said LSU head coach Jeff Cavana. “Right now we are doing real well and getting big contributions from our underclassmen.”
The meet in Knoxville will feature 14 events, including the 1,000-yard freestyle and two diving competitions. The women will have three-meter diving and the men will compete in one-meter diving. The 200-yard butterfly will also be included in the meet. Lady Tiger freshman Margot Gathers posted a score of 2:03.41 in the 200 in the meet against Arkansas. The score qualified for the “B” cut of the 2001 NCAA Qualifying Standards. The score also moved her into fifth place in LSU history.
Other events of note in the meet this weekend are the 500-yard freestyle, the 200-yard freestyle, and the 200-yard breaststroke. LSU sophomore Stephanie Smith missed the “B” cut in the 500 by just over a second. Smith won two events on Saturday.
The Tigers will head to Dayton, Ohio on Saturday to face Wright State University at noon. Friday’s meet in Knoxville will begin at 2 p.m.