BATON ROUGE — LSU head coach D-D Breaux announced her team’s 2008 schedule Saturday, a slate that includes four teams that competed at last year’s NCAA Championships and another five that finished the season ranked amongst the nation’s top 25.
“I’ve always said that competing against the best prepares you to be your best at the end of the season and I think this schedule reflects that,” said Breaux.
The Tigers open the season on Jan. 4 at the Cancun Classic in Cancun, Mexico. The meet, the first ever for the Tigers in Mexico, will feature three other teams in Denver, a 2007 NCAA Championships qualifier, Minnesota and Texas Woman’s.
From there the Tigers open the home schedule on Jan. 11 with an out of conference match-up against Iowa.
LSU then jumps right into the heart of SEC competition, traveling to Arkansas and Georgia in back-to-back weeks. Arkansas just missed the NCAA meet a year ago, finishing the season ranked 15th nationally. Georgia enters the season as the three-time defending NCAA champions.
“Arkansas is a hard place to compete at and Georgia always brings their best in front of their home crowd,” said Breaux. “We have a young team that’s really going to get an early understanding of what competing in the SEC is all about.”
Following the Georgia meet, the Tigers are home for two straight weeks as they host conference foes Kentucky and Auburn on Feb. 1 and Feb. 8, respectively.
LSU then rounds out the dual-meet SEC slate with a trip to Florida on Feb. 15 and a home meet against Alabama on Feb. 22.
Both teams will provide solid challenges for the Tigers as the Gators finished third in the country a year ago, while the Crimson Tide were ninth.
After the Alabama meet, the Tigers wrap up their two-meet home stand against Michigan State on Feb. 29 and then three days later travel to Shreveport, La., for an in-state battle with Centenary.
LSU closes out the regular season home schedule on March 7 against Washington of the Pac-10.
The Tigers then travel to Raleigh, N.C., on March 14 for a tri-meet featuring N.C. State and North Carolina to conclude the regular season.
The championship portion of the season gets underway two weeks later at the SEC Championships in Duluth, Ga., on March 29.
LSU then returns to the friendly confine of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center one final time as it plays host to the NCAA Central Regional Championships on April 12.
“When you build your whole season around training to be your best at home and at the end of the season, the opportunity to host a regional meet becomes a huge advantage,” said Breaux.
In the 12 times LSU has hosted a regional event they have advanced to the national championships 11 times and won seven regional titles.
The top two teams from each of the six regional sites advance to the NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga., where the 2008 season will come to a close. The three-day meet will be hosted by Georgia and run, April 24-26, at Stegeman Coliseum.
Fans wishing to catch all of the Tigers’ regular season home action can do so by reserving their season tickets today. Prices are $30 for adults and $18 for children. Tickets can be purchased online at www.LSUsports.net, over the phone by calling 225-578-2184 or in person at the LSU Ticket Office.