BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU women’s swimming and diving team opens the 2015-16 season against Tulane at 6 p.m. Friday at the LSU Natatorium.
“I think the women are ready to compete,” LSU Swimming coach Dave Geyer said. “It’s one thing to create a competitive environment in practice, but to have an actual opponent is what this squad needs right now. We need to see what type of dual meet lineup we have and where we can be better in season.”
The Lady Tigers defeated Tulane last season 220-80 and own a 19-2 overall record over the Green Wave that dates back to the 1978-79 season.
The women’s team returns eight of 11 NCAA qualifiers from last season and welcomes in 10 freshmen to the program.
Sophomore Kara Kopcso set three individual records and one relay record last season. The junior is a two-time NCAA qualifier and earned NCAA Honorable Mention All-American honors last season in the 200 fly.
Diver Madison Sthamann was also named an All-American at NCAA’s after finishing seventh in the consolation final of platform.
Senior Cassie Weil has made her mark on the women’s team over the last three seasons. Weil Earned her fifth All-American honor after she finished 12th on three-meter at NCAA’s. The Oregon native became LSU’s 34th SEC Champion and ninth on platform with her school record performance.
Senior Caley Oquist owns two individual school records and was a part of one record relay team last season. Oquist qualified individually for NCAA’s last season and finished sixth in the 100 back championship final at SEC’s.
Juniors Colleen O’Neil and Leah Troskot wrap up the group of individual qualifiers returning this season. O’Neil swam the second-fastest 100 breast and third-fastest 200 breast times in school history at SEC’s. Troskot set the third-fastest 100 free and fifth-fastest 200 free times in school history at the conference championships.
The meet against Tulane is “kid’s night” and fans in attendance will receive an LSU Swimming and Diving waterproof container.
Tiger fans can also follow results through the Meet Mobile app. A full recap will be available on lsusports.net following the meet. For more information and updates on LSU Swimming and Diving please visit LSUsports.net, ‘like’ us on Facebook at LSU Swimming and Diving or follow us on Twitter @LSUswimdive.