BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s swimming and diving team has received a No. 19 national ranking in the season’s first College Swimming Coaches Association of America Top 25 poll released this week.
The LSU men have broken into the top 20 for the first time since prior to 2000. The Tigers have been ranked in the last three CSCAA polls dating back to Dec. 4, 2007. On that date, LSU broke into the Top 25 for the first time since 2000. The Tigers have climbed ever since.
LSU holds a 1-2 dual meet record this season and received 91 votes along with Hawaii. The Tigers gave No. 3 Stanford all it could handle in the sea son opener on Sept. 14, but the Cardinal responded with top swims down the stretch to post a 139-123 win. Stanford received one first-place vote. The Tigers then defeated South Carolina on Oct. 13 before losing to No. 8 Georgia last Friday.
Four Southeastern Conference teams are ranked in the men’s poll with LSU being the fourth highest. Texas holds the top spot with four first-place votes. Auburn ranks second with three first-place votes. Florida is ranked sixth followed by No. 8 Georgia and No. 11 Tennessee.
Six out of the nine men’s opponents LSU faces are ranked in the current Top 25, including No. 3 Stanford, No. 6 Florida, No. 8 Georgia, No. 17 Notre Dame, No. 22 Texas A&M and No. 24 Florida State. Two others, South Carolina and Alabama, are receiving votes.
Meanwhile, the LSU women’s team is just two votes shy of cracking the Top 25. The Lady Tigers received 41 votes and trail No. 25 Virginia Tech who holds 43 votes. The Lady Tigers are 1-1 in dual-meet competition this season with a win at South Carolina and a loss to No. 5 Georgia last Friday in Baton Rouge.
The SEC has five women’s teams in the CSCAA poll, including No. 1 Auburn, No. 5 Georgia, No. 6 Florida, No. 12 Tennessee and No. 17 Kentucky. Auburn is the unanimous No. 1 with all seven first-place votes.
The LSU women’s schedule features five teams in the Top 25: No. 5 Georgia, No. 6 Florida, No. 6 Texas A&M, No. 21 Florida State and No. 22 Notre Dame.
The CSCAA poll will be published eight times during the season. Pollsters representing eight conferences along with two at-large voters have the task of ranking the top dual meet teams in the nation bi-weekly throughout the season. Additionally, the group of pollsters is completely different for the men’s and women’s rankings.
Both the LSU men and women compete against Delta State, a nationally-ranked Division II school, this Friday, Oct. 26 in the LSU Natatorium. The dual meet begins at 3 p.m.
CSCAA Men’s Rankings ? Oct. 24, 2007
Rank Team Record Points
1 Texas (4) 0-0 235
2 Auburn (3) 0-0 233
3 Stanford (1) 1-0 221
4 Arizona 0-0 212
5 Michigan 1-0 211
6 Florida 2-0 207
7 California 1-0 184
8 Indiana 1-0 179
8 Georgia 1-0 179
10 Minnesota 0-1 175
11 Tennessee 0-0 162
12 Virginia 0-1 147
13 Southern California 0-0 140
14 Purdue 0-0 133
15 Ohio State 0-0 127
16 North Carolina 0-1 107
17 Notre Dame 0-0 106
18 Northwestern 0-0 102
t19 LSU 1-1 91
t19 Hawaii 2-0 91
21 UNLV 1-0 70
22 Texas A&M 0-0 62
23 Southern Methodist 0-0 56
24 Florida State 2-1 53
25 Penn State 0-0 42
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Clemson 39, Missouri 31, Arizona State 30, Alabama 30, Louisville 17, Wisconsin 12, Santa Barbara 9, South Carolina 8, California-Irvine 7, Pittsburgh 5, Brigham Young 5, Washington 1, West Virginia 1
CSCAA Women’s Rankings ? Oct. 24, 2007
Rank Team Record Points
1 Auburn (7) 0-0 210
2 Stanford 1-0 202
3 California 1-0 197
4 Arizona 0-0 187
5 Georgia 3-0 177
6 Florida 2-0 174
6 Texas A&M 0-0 174
8 Texas 0-0 159
9 Minnesota 0-1 146
10 Southern Methodist 0-0 141
11 North Carolina 0-1 136
12 Tennessee 0-0 127
13 Michigan 0-0 126
14 UCLA 3-0 123
15 Southern California 1-0 121
16 Wisconsin 3-0 103
17 Penn State 0-0 93
17 Kentucky 0-0 92
19 Virginia 0-1 85
20 Missouri 1-0 81
21 Florida State 3-0 62
22 Notre Dame 0-0 61
23 Indiana 0-1 49
24 Princeton 0-0 47
25 Virginia Tech 2-0 43
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: LSU 41, Rutgers 29, Arizona State 24, Washington 13, Santa Barbara 8, Alabama 5, Hawaii 4, Oregon State 4, Northwestern 3, Purdue 2