Five members of the LSU men’s swimming and diving team begin competition tomorrow at the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas.
Evan Martinec, Mike Jotautas, Francisco Paez and Matthew Rucker qualified for the championships by making the cut time and senior diver Kyle VanArsdall qualified at the Zone B Regional Championships.
Martinec, a junior All-American, will swim the 100-yard backstroke.
He finished second at the Southeastern Conference Championships and is the only male to qualify in a solo race. Martinec is the LSU record-holder in the event.
Last year Martinec finished eighth at the NCAAs.
Martinec, Jotautas, Paez and Rucker are the only LSU relay team to qualify for the championships. They will swim the 400-yard medley relay.
LSU head coach Jeff Cavana said every member of the relay team will have to be at their best in order to achieve their goal of finishing in the top 20.
The relay team broke the school record at the SEC Championships.
“I think all four of them, in conference, swam really well,” said assistant coach Lars Jorgensen.
VanArsdall will be competing in the platform competition after finishing fifth in the event at regionals.