BATON ROUGE — For the third straight season, the LSU mens swimming and diving team has secured a top-25 ranking in the final College Swim Coaches Association of America poll as the coaches voted the Tigers 17th, it was announced Thursday night.
The mens squad (7-1, 2-1 SEC) enjoyed arguably its best dual season this decade, reaching the seven-win plateau for the first time since 1998-99. After falling to No. 4 Florida in the season-opener, the Tigers rattled off seven consecutive victories to end the regular season, their longest winning streak in more than 14 years.
Along the way, the LSU men took out top-25 foes Kentucky and Florida State in back-to-back competitions as the Tigers overwhelmed the 24th-ranked Wildcats, 177-123, and upended the 18th-ranked Seminoles, 159-141. The mens team also delivered big victories against rivals Alabama and Texas A&M and shattered six school records this season.
This is the second consecutive year the Tigers claimed 17th in the final dual-meet poll. The men were voted 23rd in 2006-07.
LSU is also one of six Southeastern Conference teams ranked in the final poll. Auburn, Florida and Tennessee each finished in the top-10 at fifth, seventh and 10th, respectively. Georgia earned the 12th position, while Kentucky received 23rd. Stanford took the top spot with 300 points.
With the 2009 NCAA Championships approaching, the men will now focus on qualifying for the national meet with this weekends Last Chance Meet in Athens, Ga.