BATON ROUGE — The LSU Swimming and Diving programs will welcome SEC rival Alabama men’s (2-1, 1-0 SEC) and women’s (2-2, 0-1 SEC) squads to the LSU Natatorium on Friday Nov. 4 at 1 p.m. (CT).
“In my seven years at LSU, this has been one of the most fun, competitive and exciting in conference duel-meets that we have had,” Swimming Coach Dave Geyer said. “I think the LSU-Alabama rivalry spreads across the entire campus. For us it is one of those things that we both look forward to because we bring the best out of each other to try to get the win.”
The women’s side (1-2, 0-1 SEC) welcomes back junior swimmer Amanda Kendall, who will make her collegiate season debut on Friday. The Fairfax, Va. Native returns from the Pan American Games staged in Guadalajara, Mexico with four gold medals in four events and three Pan Am Games records in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, 4×200 free relay and 4×100 medley relay. She also posted top-seven mark for the 2011 cycle and a lifetime best 54.75 in the 100 free.
“It is good to be able to use her name in that lineup and it will help spread out the girls a little bit,” Geyer said. “It helps sure up some solid points on relays and in individual events as well. It is real good to have her back in the lineup.”
The Tigers men are seeking their first victory on the season after falling to SEC powers Auburn and Florida and non-conference foe Florida State in the team’s first three duel-meets. Despite the record, LSU coaches are happy with the development of their team in preparation of the SEC and NCAA Championships.
“I’ve enjoyed how they have worked hard and come together,” Diving Coach Doug Shaffer said. “We have an end goal in site and every competition leads up to that end goal. We’re looking at continuing that competitive experience and build our building blocks for what will take us into the championship season.”
Senior diver Matt Vieke has excelled on the diving well and has earned two SEC Male Diver of the Week awards for his efforts. He currently boasts top scores of 330.45 in the one-meter and 371.48 in the three-meter, both tops in the program this season.
Sophomore Ricardo Alvarado Jiminez has been consistently swimming ferocious times against top tier opponents. Against Auburn and Florida, Jiminez notched top times for the year of 55.64 in the 100 breaststroke, 2:01.88 in the 200 breast and 1:53.86 in the 200 individual medley.
Junior swimmer Sara Haley has shown her versatility and has earned first place finishes in a variety of events. She has touched the wall first in the 200 free (1:49.47), 500 free (4:58.31), 100 butterfly (55.09) and the 200 fly (1:59.07) while playing a key part in both the freestyle and medley relays.
The El Darado Hills, Calif. native has been honored twice this season as SEC Female Swimmer of the Week following her performances against Tulane and Florida State.
Sophomore Torrey Bussey has posted program top times through four duel-meets in three events. Her marks in the 100 breast (1:03.84), 200 breast (2:18.10) and the 200 IM (2:03.83) will only improve as the season unfolds.
The women’s side defeated the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa last season 198-101. On the flipside, the men’s team lost a nail biter 161-139 last year.
LSU is proud to welcome four athletes of Special Olympics of Louisiana and will honor their guests prior to the start of the meet.
For more information on the LSU Swimming and Diving program, please visit LSUsports.net, ‘like’ LSU Swimming and Diving on Facebook or follow @LSUSwimDive on Twitter. All admission to LSU home meets is free.