The LSU swimming and diving teams begin their quest for a Southeastern Conference championship on Tuesday in Columbia, Missouri in the Mizzou Aquatic Center.
The SEC championship is split over five days and features 10 men’s teams and 12 women’s teams.
For the Tigers, the meet has been the focus from day one.
“It is our main focus of the year,” said junior swimmer Leah Troskot. “It is nice to not have to do dual meets all the time but to have a main meet that we focus on and are rested for.”
The No. 20 LSU women’s swimming and diving team (12-1, 2-1 SEC) finished fifth in the conference last season.
The Lady Tigers are coming into the conference championship off of three wins in a quad meet at the University of Houston on Jan. 29-30.
“Anytime you are able to perform at a high level, it helps build confidence for the next step.” said swimming coach Dave Geyer. “We were in between training cycles, but for SEC’s being our main focus, everyone is ready to go.”
The No. 25 LSU men’s swimming and diving team (1-6, 0-3 SEC) placed ninth last season.
The last meet for the men was a narrow upset by SEC rival Texas A&M (158.5-141.5) on Jan. 23.
LSU has already matched up against Kentucky, Texas A&M, and Missouri in dual meets in swimming and diving. LSU diving has matched up against other SEC teams in the Art Adamson Invitational, Georgia Diving Invitational and Auburn Diving Invitational.
“We really got to see who is out there and what they have got and who to watch for,” said junior diver Andrew Suchla. “Now, we get to show them what we have got.”
The SEC championship is the final meet before the NCAA championship in Atlanta for swimmers. The divers have a zone qualifier at Texas A&M before the NCAA championships.
LSU diving coach Doug Shaffer said the Tigers are prepared to compete at a championship level.
“This is the time of year where the energy, excitement and anticipation, it is all there,” Shaffer said. “You can taste it. You can feel it in the air. We have been counting down on our board how many days until SEC’s. Everything we do all season long is geared toward performance at our championship season.