BATON ROUGE — Fresh off of one of the finest seasons in LSU swimming and diving history, co-head coaches Dave Geyer and Doug Shaffer have released their 2011-12 schedule including four home meets, it was announced on Tuesday.
Fans will have the opportunity to attend four home meets against Tulane, Auburn (men), Alabama and Texas A&M. All admission to LSU swimming and diving home meets is free.
“We are looking forward to our schedule this year,” Geyer said. “We always schedule some of the best programs in the Southeastern Conference and the country to better prepare our team for our conference championships and NCAA Championships. We always look at the season as movement toward those meets and will use these competitions to gauge where we are as a team and performance wise.”
Both the men’s and women’s team notched fifth-place finishes this past season at SEC Championships and posted their highest final SEC ranking since 2002 for the women’s side and 2000 for the men’s side.
“We have an excellent competition schedule which will provide our athletes with plenty of opportunity for success while being challenged by some of the nations elite,” Shaffer said. “Our dual meets are the building blocks, and our invitationals directly prepare us for the SEC and NCAA Championships which is our ultimate focus.”
The women’s team enjoyed enormous success at the NCAA Championships and scored 89 points en route to a 14th-place finish, the highest in program history since 1993. They cruised to a 13-4 dual-meet record.
The men’s team dual-meet record of 6-5 boded well for the post-season. The Tigers also experienced their best showing at the NCAA Championships since 2005 and ended the event tied for 26th.
The Tigers’ dual-meet schedule features SEC foes Auburn (men), Alabama and Florida as well as non-conference powers Texas A&M and Florida State. The team will also be traveling to the Tennessee Invitational, Georgia Diving Invitational and the University of Houston Invitational.
After kicking off the season at 3 p.m. CT on Sept. 23 for the annual Purple and Gold Intrasquad meet, Tulane women will make the trip down Sept. 30 to the LSU Natatorium to compete at the LSU Invite during Alumni Weekend. The women’s team defeated the Green Wave 194-98 last season.
The Tigers will travel to Tallahassee to take on Florida State on Oct. 14. The men’s team emerged victorious last year (155-145) against a Seminoles team that delivered an impressive 32 points and finished 23rd at the NCAA Championships.
The following day, Oct. 15, the team will make the drive down to Gainesville to take on SEC rival Florida. The Gator men’s team finished fifth at the NCAA Championships and second at the SEC Championships. The Florida women’s team placed seventh at the NCAA Championships and second at the SEC Championships as well.
Next on the Tigers’ plate after two quality meets is Auburn men’s team on Oct. 21 at 2 p.m. CT. Auburn men’s team took first place at the SEC Champions and sixth-place at the NCAA Championships.
Alabama will bring both of its teams to Baton Rouge for the third home meet of the season on Nov. 4 at 1 p.m. CT. The women’s squad defeated the Crimson Tide 198-101 last season in Tuscaloosa.
The Tigers will travel to Knoxville, the site of the 2012 SEC Championships, to compete at the Tennessee Invitational Nov. 16-18.
“I am really excited to visit the Tennessee facility in November as it will give our program experience competing there prior to the SEC Championships,” Geyer said.
Beginning the 2012 portion of the campaign, LSU divers will make their way to Athens, Ga., Jan. 3-5 to contest in the Georgia Diving Invitational.
The divers and swimmers will reunite as Texas A&M will make their way to Baton Rouge for the final home meet of the season on Jan. 21 at noon CT. The Aggie women and men boasted 10th and 13th finishes, respectively at the NCAA Championships.
LSU will head to Houston to take on a field consisting of Houston, Tulane and Rice (women), Jan. 27-28. The Tigers took first in last year’s Cougar Classic.
The SEC Swimming and Diving Championships held Feb. 15-18 in Knoxville, Tenn.
LSU swimmers or relays on the bubble for NCAA’s will make the trip to a Last Chance Meet, which is scheduled for Feb. 25-26.
NCAA Zone Diving Regionals will be held at the University of Iowa March 8-10.
The Women’s NCAA Championships is slated to take place March 15-17 in Auburn, Ala. The Men’s NCAA Championships is scheduled for March 22-24 in Seattle, Wash.
Meet dates and times are subject to change. For all the latest on the LSU schedule as well as features on the teams, become a fan of our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter @LSUSwimDive.