BATON ROUGE — The nationally-ranked LSU swimming teams will open the new year Wednesday at 5 p.m. (CST) against Rider University at Pine Crest Pool in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., weather permitting, in the first of three scheduled meets during the Tigers’ annual trip to the Sunshine State.
“The team is very excited to start the competitive new year,” LSU head coach Adam Schmitt said. “We have scheduled three great opportunities to compete this week, ending with SEC opponent Florida on Sunday. It should be a good test for our teams.”
The competition is the first for both teams since returning from the University of Houston’s Cougar Classic Fall Invitational in November. The 18th-ranked Tigers ran away with the team title in Houston, while the 21st-ranked Lady Tigers finished third overall out of nine squads. In addition, both teams combined to record 15 NCAA provisional qualifying marks.
In individual competition, Lady Tigers’ junior Jane Trepp and men’s freshman Andrei Tuomola represented LSU and their native homelands overseas in mid-December at the 2009 European Short-Course Swimming Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. Trepp swam to a pair of top-five finishes, including a silver-medal effort in the 50-meter breaststroke, while Tuomola reached the semifinals in two events.
Following the meet, LSU is scheduled to face Florida Atlantic at FAU Pool Friday before traveling to Gainesville to battle SEC rival Florida on Sunday.