The LSU men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams meet Southeastern Conference juggernaut Auburn in the pool Saturday at the Martin Aquatics Center in Auburn, Ala., in the men’s first SEC competition and the women’s second.
The LSU women’s squad is coming off a 181-80 victory against Vanderbilt on Oct. 10 in Nashville, Tenn.
“I’m really excited to see where our men are right now,” said LSU swim coach Dave Geyer. “I think there’s going to be a lot of great races on both sides and a lot of close races on the men’s side.”
Auburn’s men’s squads are entering the 2012-13 campaign as reigning SEC champions just as they’ve done every year since 1997.
“It’s amazing,” Geyer said. “It’s a testimony to the strength of their program and what they’ve been able to do there over the time. This is why a lot of students swim [at LSU]: to compete against some of the best in the country.”
Auburn’s women’s team won all but one conference title between 2003 and 2008, but finished fourth — one spot ahead of LSU — in last season’s conference championships.
The LSU men’s team suffered a 218-82 loss to Auburn last season at the LSU Natatorium and is looking for more than just a better result this time around.
“It puts [us] in a situation when we get to the conference championship, we can look across the lane and say, ‘We’ve raced this team before,’” Geyer said. “It puts [us] in more of a comfort zone knowing that we’ve stepped up and raced these guys in dual meet fashion.”
Saturday will be the first competition for LSU’s divers and will give them a chance to gauge their progress early in the season.
“We’ve trained really hard, and I’m really happy with the training we’ve done up to this point on the boards and on the towers,” said LSU diving coach Doug Shaffer.
In last season’s tussle with Auburn, then-LSU senior Matt Vieke placed first in the 3-meter springboard and notched a close second in the 1-meter. Even without Vieke in the lineup, Shaffer said he thinks LSU will have a good showing at Auburn.
“I’m looking for an opportunity to gauge and be competitive and perform well,” Shaffer said. “I’m 100 percent confident we can be confident.”
