BATON ROUGE — The LSU swimming and diving teams return to College Station, Texas, for the second time this season to face Big 12 rival, Texas A&M Saturday at noon in the Student Rec Center Natatorium.
Back in November, both squads competed at Texas A&M’s Art Adamson Invitational where the Lady Tigers broke six school records and the men’s team finished second overall.
The 18th-ranked men’s team (5-1) will shoot for its sixth consecutive dual-meet victory, a feat the squad has not accomplished in a single season since 1994-95. The Lady Tigers (4-2-1) have won four straight and will take on their second top-10 opponent of the season when they battle the eighth-ranked Aggies.
“We’re going into College Station looking to continue to get better with the conference meet approaching,” LSU head coach Adam Schmitt said. “This is the first time we’ve been on the road in awhile, and I think the excitement of the team traveling together and the camaraderie adds to them wanting to perform.”
Last weekend, both teams emerged victorious against Delta State on Senior Day in the LSU Natatorium. Senior diver Niko Dalman shined with a superb performance, shattering former All-American Kevin McMahon’s 14-year-old school record in the one-meter springboard with a score of 387.75 en route to earning SEC Male Diver of the Week honors.
Fellow senior Julius Gloeckner recorded a pair of victories on the afternoon, winning the 400-yard individual medley in 3 minutes, 54.52 seconds and reaching the wall in the 100 breaststroke in 57.27. Sophomore Hannes Heyl also posted two wins with first-place finishes in the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly.
Lady Tiger Morgan McGee swam to victory in two races she doesn’t normally swim. The freshman registered first-place in both the 1000 freestyle and 100 butterfly. Fellow freshman Katie Lybbert qualified for the NCAA Zone Diving Regional in Knoxville, Tenn., with a season-high score of 389.12 in the three-meter.
In addition, freshman divers Matt Vieke, Brian Gemberling and Chelsea McCorvey each tallied season bests against the Statesmen. Vieke and Gemberling improved their marks on both boards, while McCorvey scored a season-high 279.98 on the three-meter.