Despite the cold and windy weather this past weekend, LSU’s Natatorium was full of enthusiastic spectators as the Tigers hosted Texas A&M for their Senior Tribute meet. The fierce competition between the Tigers and the Aggies provided a huge push for fans and families to encourage their favorite athletes.
Despite both the women and men’s swim teams coming up just short of securing a win, the final home meet of the season was exactly how graduating seniors imagined it.
For senior diver Anne Vilde, this meet meant so much more than just her last time officially competing in the Natatorium. It signified the end of countless achievements and opportunities that she has collected over the last years. This meet also signaled the end of the many years that she spent practicing and competing on the boards with her little sister Helle Tuxen, a sophomore diver on LSU’s roster.
“Honestly, at first, I was going into this meet with the mindset of it being just like any other meet,” Vilde explained. “I was excited, but I’m just getting tired. But then whenever we did the Senior Tribute, I looked over at my little sister and she started tearing up. Whenever she started crying, I started crying. It was definitely emotional.”
It was at this meet that Vilde realized just how much her little team had grown. Through coaching changes on the swimming staff, a seemingly never-ending pandemic and multiple injuries, LSU’s diving team has become nearly untouchable.
“We have definitely matured and we have such a good dynamic,” Vilde said about her team. “Coach Doug has always managed to keep up his expectations, which is why we are one of the best diving teams in the country. We want to be good as a team, and that has become our main focus.”
After graduation, Vilde plans to apply to optical practical training to begin working in the states as an international student. She was planning on competing at the FINA World Championships held in Fukuoka, Japan, but the event was postponed for an entire year due to COVID-19. Because of this, Vilde says that she may take this time after the season ends to acquire some much needed rest.
“Maybe I’ll actually have a summer vacation,” she laughed. “I’ve never had one of those before, so that will be nice.”
Across the Natatorium from the diving boards were six swimmers who were also honored this past weekend. Among them was senior Jack Jannasch, who had a vastly different perspective of the meet after announcing to his teammates that he would be taking a fifth year at LSU. Due to the effects of COVID-19 on college athletes across the nation, many were given the opportunity to obtain an extra year of eligibility — an opportunity that Jannasch refused to pass up.
“I’m so excited about next year,” said Jannasch. “The direction this program is going in just has me so excited, to a point where I didn’t want to miss out.”
While Jannasch is staying, he still finds it upsetting to realize that his teammates and fellow classmates will be leaving.
“I love my class, and I love the people in my class,” he explained. “We’ve gone through a lot, you know, and we’ve had that big coaching change recently. We’ve kind of stuck together through all of that and it is really sad to see them go.”
Before the graduating seniors move on they were able to experience an atmosphere in the Nat like any other. Due to COVID-19 regulations and conflicting athletic events on campus, the few home meets for the Tigers haven’t always been accompanied by a large crowd. This meet, however, was different.
“It’s just been tough with the past few years being affected by COVID, but having that many people show up and allow us to get that energy from them felt so normal,” he said. “You could tell that the energy on deck was amazing. Everyone was having so much fun and I think it really showed in the way we swam.”
The Tigers plan to utilize that intensity from this past weekend as a catalyst for success in the final competitions of the season. These competitions, the SEC Championships and NCAA Diving Regionals, are undoubtedly the most important, and they are quickly approaching. With about 20 days to go until the SEC matchups, both the swimming and diving teams are continuing to focus on fine tuning their performances. As the Tigers have prepared immensely for the physical aspects of these upcoming competitions, Jannasch’s main message to his teammates focuses more on their mentalities.
“My message to the guys is really just to trust the process and trust what we are doing,” he explained. “We have a great staff, and they know what they are doing, so the biggest thing is to have trust in what they are giving us and what they are doing for us.”
Coming up for the Tigers is their journey to the Jones Aquatic Center in Knoxville, Tennessee, where the SEC Championships will take place. Fans can tune in live at home through the SEC Network. Day 1 of the event begins on Feb. 15th, at 10 a.m.