The LSU swimming and diving teams look to build on their early success with its first home swim meet of 2016 today at 1 p.m in the LSU Natatorium against Missouri.
The No. 24 LSU women’s team enters the meet with a perfect 8-0 record coming off of a 247-142 win over Virginia Tech and a 237.5-151.5 victory over No. 23 Kentucky in Lexington on Jan. 9.
Missouri’s women’s team, ranked No. 19, will provide a tough test for the Lady Tigers, but LSU junior swimmer Kara Kopcso believes that the key to success is to trust their preparation and stay in routine.
“We are going to keep on doing what we are doing, not really change it up much,” Kopcso said. “We have had Kentucky last weekend and we have Texas A&M and a quad meet in the next two weeks. So we just have to stay focused.”
The men’s squad enters the meet with a 1-4 record after falling to Virginia Tech in a 237-149 defeat on Jan. 9 and Kentucky in a narrow 198-188 loss on Jan 9.
Despite the disappointing result on the road, the men look forward to the challenge of facing Missouri, who enters the meet ranked No. 10 in the nation. LSU swimming coach Dave Geyer says that men’s team plans to stay focused and keep giving their best effort.
“We are just going to keep racing hard, every event against Kentucky and Virginia Tech, they raced hard,” Geyer said. “Missouri is a very talented team, they have got a top-10 program. We are just going to have continue to elevate the competition.”
Both teams look forward to a home meet after having been on the road since both teams won against Southern Methodist University on Nov. 7.
LSU diving coach Doug Shaffer said that the team should be able to benefit from being in a friendly environment and using the diving boards and starting blocks that they practice on.
“There are a lot of elements in there that one could take for granted, but it is not something that you have to focus on,” Shaffer said.
Kopcso, an Abita Springs, Louisiana native, says she is excited for the chance to compete at home in front of her friends and family.
“We are going to have some people cheering us on and it is going to be nice to see the support that being at home can bring,” Kopcsco said.
Free jambalaya will be provided for LSU students who attend the meet.
After facing Missouri, the men’s and women’s teams will host Texas A&M on Jan. 23 in their final home meet of the season.
You can reach Jarrett Major on Twitter @jarrett_tdr