The LSU Swimming and Diving Teams hosted an intrasquad meet this Saturday, in lieu of the Florida State University meet that was ultimately canceled due to COVID-19.
The meet was the perfect opportunity for both teams to continue preparing for their upcoming match against Texas A&M, as well as the quickly approaching SEC Championships.
The atmosphere in the LSU Natatorium was unmatched, as team members from both squads filled the room with chants and cheers, encouraging their teammates to perform to the best of their abilities. Only athletes’ family members were allowed to attend due to COVID-19 regulations, but the idea of this meet being similar to any other was easy to imagine.
“We took an opportunity today to take advantage of having the ability to train and compete,” Head diving coach Doug Shaffer explained. “We had a competitive experience. We had a swimming side and a diving side that was successful and this will pave our way looking forward in the season.”
The athletes had the choice to suit up or not, giving each person the option to treat the exhibition meet as another one of their hardcore practices or as a serious meet against a strong competitor. Regardless of their decision though, both teams would ultimately be facing their strongest competitors: each other.
“We are always looking to try and get better,” Head swimming coach Rick Bishop explained. “We brought our athletes and went through the normal process of what we would have done to race FSU. We had our team breakfast and our team warm-up. We did our preparation and they raced really hard.”
Because this was not an official meet, pool times that the athletes produced do not count towards any record.
“We have one pool record as well as an athlete that posted a time that was faster than the NCAA qualifying time last year, but neither will count,” Bishop explained.
Across the Natatorium, the diving team also saw a lot of success. Shaffer explained that no matter what the circumstances are in regards to a meet, for his athletes, the preparation remains the same.
“At the end of the day, we’re all part of a team, and it is what we do individually that is going to make the biggest contribution to the team,” he said. “We are just trying to be present in the moment, which means being present on the diving board in each of our dives and doing them to the best of our ability. It doesn’t matter whether it’s an intrasquad meet, or we had Florida State here, the process and preparation is what dictates moving forward with success.”
Although thankful for the opportunity for his athletes to still compete on some type of level, Bishop was disappointed that the FSU meet was canceled. The first time the Tigers saw the Seminoles was in the 2019-2020 season, and since then, the women’s team has tied and beat FSU, while the men’s team has unfortunately come up short each time.
“They are great competitors, and we always look forward to competing against them,” Bishop said. “We wish them the best and hope their athletes get healthy soon.”
Up next for Tiger Aquatics is a match up against Texas A&M. The meet will take place this Saturday at 11:00 a.m. right here in Baton Rouge, at LSU’s Natatorium. Until then, both teams will continue in preparation, in hopes of a knockout ending to a successful season.
