The LSU men’s swimming and diving season came to an end Saturday when the Tigers finished tied for 38th at the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas.
Junior captain Frank Greeff, the only individual qualifier for the Tigers, brought home an NCAA Honorable Mention All-America honor, breaking his personal record in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of one minute, 43.11 seconds on day three.
Days one and two for Greeff were much like day three, as he continued to set personal bests. On day one, Greeff set a personal best in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:46.23, his previous best being 1:46.25.
On day two, Greeff continued with a 26th place finish in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 46.91. The result was five places better than his previous finish.
Greeff accomplished a lot in his junior year at the NCAAs, but he was unable to accomplish his biggest goal of making the A final of the 200-yard butterfly. LSU swimming coach Dave Geyer said he expects Greeff to be back better than ever next season.
“I’m really happy for Frank and where his season ended,” Geyer said in a news release. “I know his goal was to reach the championship final for this year, but this result keeps him hungry for his senior year.”
LSU’s relay teams struggled at the NCAAs. The relay team competed in two events, the 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relays.
In the 200-yard freestyle relay, the team of junior Marco Gonzalez, freshman Tyler Crosson, sophomore Alex Linge and senior Michael Saco just missed out on the final of the event finishing with a time of 1:18.30.
The disappointment continued for the relay team in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Greeff was inserted into the team replacing Crosson, but the team still finished in 28th with a time of 2:57.63.
After a season for the Tigers that saw many ups and downs, Geyer said the future for the LSU program could be bright.
“All in all this was a building season for our young team,” Geyer said. “There is talent here and for the rest of the school year their development is in their own hands.”