It was an exciting day in Baton Rouge on Friday as the first swim and dive meet for the LSU Tigers kicked off against top-five ranked University of Texas at Austin.
While the LSU men’s team lost 102-198 and the women’s lost 116-184, the Tigers were competitive until the end. The meet gave some insight for this upcoming season where LSU will have fierce matchups across SEC.
Although this meet did not end in a Tiger victory, there were smaller victories that the Tigers were able to walk away with. Eight new pool records were broken, an accurate gauge to see where the team needs to go from here and how they will continue to train this season.
“Breaking school records in October, we’ve got a big future ahead of us,” head coach Rick Bishop said.
Freshman Nicole Santuliana finished third in the 1000-yard free with a time of 9:39.52. She also finished second in the 500-yard free with a time of 4:40.85, breaking a 22-year-old record.
This optimism for the team is what’s needed to continue.
If the young swim team can break records so early, what kind of a splash will they make when properly rested for big SEC and NCAA meets in the spring?
Starting the meet off strong, key divers Carson Paul and Helle Tuxell showed what they bring to the table. Paul finished second in the one-meter.
As the buzzer went off, the crowd erupted in cheers for the LSU swimmers, who were fighting until the very last millisecond to touch the wall first.
Which swimmer will reach for the wall first? Who wants it bad enough to push past every level of discomfort and show the Longhorns they mean business?
Not even 10 minutes into the meet, the crowd erupted with cheers during the men’s 200-meter Medley Relay. Coming down to the final touch, the LSU Tigers were able to take home the win thanks to Jere Hribar’s 18.30 50-freestyle.
Prior to the season, Bishop said sophomore swimmer Hribar would be one to watch this season. He’s a freestyle specialist from Croatia and competed in the 2024 NCAA championships. He also was a 2024 Paris Olympic Qualifier.
To start off this season, Hribar did not disappoint. He broke four school records – two in individual events and two in his relay events.
“We are in the fifth week of training now and breaking the school record, there are big things coming,” Bishop had said about Hribar and his pre-season training.
All eyes certainly will be on the sophomore this season. After putting up such fast times and sweeping the races across the board, he will be a force to be reckoned with.
This win by the men’s relay was much needed after the women’s team placed second shortly before that.
With strong competition from the Longhorns, like junior Emma Sticklen, two-time Olympic trial qualifier and finalist, the Lady Tigers put up one strong fight.
The start of the men’s 50 freestyle came quickly, and the men dominated. Hribar took first with a 19.46. In the women’s 50 free, Michaela de Villiers also took first with a time of 22.48.
Only 14 events into the meet there were three new pool records set in the following events: Men’s 200 Medley Relay with swimmers Stephan Goncharov, Mitch Mason, Pawel Uryniuk and Jere Hribar.
Following that stand-out relay was another pool record broken by Mitch Mason in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 53.12. The last pool record through the first 14 events was broken by Jacob Pishko in the Men’s 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:43.55.
“To go out and race to just start the season kind of builds the energy for the team,” said team captain and senior Mason.
These eight new pool records taking place so early in the season, help set this team up for a successful season. With continued training and eventually tapering in time for championship meets, what will their times look like then?
This swim meet was not about breaking records and making history, but to build the team chemistry up as the Tigers have a long season ahead of them. Being able to break these records was a bonus that certainly did not disappoint.
After a tense first half of the meet, a comedic relief took place in the form of the first-ever, cannonball competition.
LSU students registered for the event by submitting a video of them successfully performing a cannonball, and this new event was a smashing success. The winner of the first annual cannonball contest won an LSU athletics backpack.
Overall LSU swim and dive saw big success for their first official meet of the season although the score didn’t reflect a win, the Tigers will continue to build from here.
The fight to the championship meets in the spring will be one to watch, as the fighting Tigers are hungry for a chance to take the swimming world by storm.
