BATON ROUGE — The nationally-ranked LSU swimming and diving teams will wrap up the dual-meet season this weekend with the 17th-ranked men’s team hosting the University of New Orleans at the LSU Natatorium and the 24th-ranked Lady Tigers traveling to Texas to battle the Universities of Houston, Tulane and Rice.
Both meets will be two-day events. Day 1 of the men’s meet will begin at 5 p.m. (CST) with Saturday’s action starting at 11 a.m. Admission to the competition is free. The women’s meet will also be held at 5 p.m., Friday and 11 a.m., Saturday at Houston’s CRWC Natatorium.
“Since this will be our last meets of the regular season, it will give us an opportunity to make some last minute adjustments before the SEC Championships,” LSU head coach Adam Schmitt said. “We’ll get to learn a little more about our athletes and which events they may potentially swim at SEC’s, and we will work on fine-tuning some things in preparation for the conference meet.”
The men (2-6) will face the Privateers for the second time this season after defeating their in-state foes, 204-94, at the Lakefront Aquatic Center on Nov. 13. The Tigers broke four pool records in that contest with freshmen Craig Hamilton and Lee Duggins setting new marks in the 1000-yard freestyle and 200 backstroke, respectively, and the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays swimming to pool-best times.
Last week, the Tigers battled No. 19 Texas A&M in Baton Rouge, and the Aggies emerged with the victory. Reigning SEC Male Diver of the Week Brian Gemberling and junior Hannes Heyl led the Tigers in that matchup. Gemberling shattered the program record in the three-meter springboard with a winning score of 393.07, while Heyl delivered victories in the 100 butterfly (48.05 seconds) and 50 free (20.40).
SEC Female Swimmer of the Week Jane Trepp spearheaded the Lady Tigers’ efforts in their loss to the sixth-ranked Aggies last Saturday. The junior recorded three NCAA provisional marks, swam to a pool record in the 50 free and helped two relays earn ‘B’ cuts.
Freshman diver Rebecca St. Germain earned SEC Female Freshman of the Week honors after sweeping the springboard events and notching a career best of 326.03 in the three-meter. Sophomore Mary Beck also had a win on the afternoon with a 1:58.88 clocking in the 200 back.
The LSU women (3-6) have gone up against Houston and Tulane previously this season as they squared off against the Cougars at the Cougar Classic Fall Invitational in November and defeated the Green Wave in a home meet in October. This will be the first meeting between LSU and Rice this season.