The LSU swimming and diving team will finally get a chance to put its hours of training and preparation to the test as its season culminates with the Southeastern Conference Championships today in College Station, Texas.
The competition will extend throughout the week before coming to an end Saturday.
“Come Tuesday night, I’ll be bouncing off the walls,” said senior swimmer Craig Hamilton. “I’ll need to control my emotions when it comes to my first race, but I think we’ll be ready to go and ready to swim fast.”
The No. 20 men’s team has been in energy-conservation mode since its duel with Texas A&M on Jan. 19, while the women’s team hasn’t competed since it swept a quad meet with Houston, Rice and Tulane on Jan. 26.
Now there’s nothing in the way of the Tigers and the date that has been circled on the calendar all year long.
“We trained all year for this meet,” said LSU swimming coach Dave Geyer. “It comes down to individually swimming our best times, qualifying for NCAAs and improving our ranking nationally.”
The meet comes at an opportune time for the Tigers. Not only has there been an extended break in competition, but the LSU swimming and diving team also had the Mardi Gras holiday to take a break from classes.
Since LSU is one of the only schools in the country to give students off from class for the Fat Tuesday festivities, the Tiger swimming team saw it as a chance to gain an edge in the competition.
“The way Mardi Gras holiday played out this year was absolutely fantastic,” Geyer said. “To be able to have our athletes to ourselves for a week and not having to worry about the stress of going to class was a good bonding experience.”
The Tigers used their four nights off to grow closer as a unit, and team dinners were a huge step in that process.
LSU diving coach Doug Shaffer said the schedule during the Mardi Gras break emulated the routine at the tournament and will help get the swimmers ready for SEC’s.
“We set up a bit of a structure where the team was able to spend time together,” Shaffer said. “At the SEC Championships we’ll be at the pool all day long and end our day with a meal together.”
The Tigers are no stranger to success on the stage of the SEC tournament.
Last year, Hamilton won a bronze medal in the mile with his then-career-best time (14:58.11) and eventually went on to set the program record (14:45.94) at the NCAA Championships.
Sophomore diver Alex Bettridge also earned a bronze medal at the SEC tournament last year while setting the then-program record in the 3-meter event with a score of 366.85 before going on to finish 15th in the 3-meter at NCAA’s and earning NCAA Honorable-Mention All-American Honors.
LSU senior Sally Wood takes a breath during the butterfly portion of her 400 yard IM race during the girls meet against Houston, Rice, and Tulane in the Natatorium on Jan. 26, 2013.
