Courtesy: LSU Athletics
BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU swimming and diving team released its 2023-2024 schedule consisting of two home meets, three away meets and two invitationals Wednesday during the team’s first week of practice, LSU Athletics and head coach Rick Bishop announced.
“We’ve got a great schedule for this year, and we’re excited to compete against the best teams in the country in the best conference in the country,” Bishop said. “The SEC is the most competitive league in the country. Our men and women had a great year last year, but we’re looking to build on those successes and achieve greater things. We welcome the opportunity to go and compete against the best, and that’s why you come to LSU.”
The Tigers open the season as they usually do with the annual Purple and Gold Intrasquad on Saturday, Sept. 16. LSU faces its first outside competition in early October, traveling to Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Utes in the Ute Natatorium. The scheduled meet occurs during Fall Break, allowing the team to set aside time for team bonding in the mountains.
“We’ll be going out of conference to compete against some additional teams, and they’re going to offer us great competition,” Bishop continued. “With it being an Olympic year, the opportunity to compete at events like the U.S. Open and the TYR Pro Series allows our international and domestic athletes to get ready for their Olympic Trials and the Olympic Games at the end of the year. Geaux Tigers!”
Five days later after the Utah meet, the women’s swimming and diving team will welcome the Arkansas Razorbacks to the LSU Natatorium for the first home meet of the season at 1 p.m. CT. Following a month of training, LSU travels to Tallahassee to compete in a tri-team meet with Florida State and Alabama inside the Morcom Aquatic Center. The event is scheduled for November 4 at 9 a.m. CT.
After three meets with one or two opponents, the Tigers head to their midseason meet – the Art Adamson Invitational. This appearance in the Rec Center Natatorium will be the third straight year Bishop has brought his team to Bryan-College Station and the fourth straight overall.
At the Art Adamson Invitational, LSU will bring swimmers and divers to compete in the historic event. The diving team is scheduled to compete in a diving-only invitational when they travel to Knoxville to dive in the Tennessee Diving Invitational from January 3 through January 5.
The Tigers return home for their second home meet of the season to battle Texas A&M on January 20 at 10 a.m. CT. LSU returns to Knoxville as a group to compete against Tennessee in a conference dual meet. The two teams will square off at 11 a.m. CT.
Following the regular season meets, the swimmers looking to meet qualifying standards for this season’s NCAA Championships will travel to Auburn for a first-chance meet that occurs over two days – February 9 and February 10.
The swimming and diving team will then rejoin one another at Auburn in the James E. Martin Aquatics Center to fight for the SEC crown in the 2024 edition The Tigers have seen great success under Bishop including the women’s best finish at the conference meet since 2014-15 season. The LSU women’s swimming and diving squad finished in fifth place at the 2023 SEC Championships. The 2024 conference meet runs from February 20 through February 24.
After battling at the conference level, the chase for an NCAA title begins with the NCAA Zone D diving regional taking place on the University of Houston’s campus. The regional is scheduled to begin on March 11 and conclude on March 13.
The LSU swimmers who qualified throughout the season and the divers who qualified at regionals will continue to compete at their respective NCAA Championship meets. The women’s national meet starts on March 20 and runs through March 24 with the men’s NCAA meet following the next week from March 27 through March 30.
LET’S GEAUX TIGERS!