Classes have only been in session for a week or two at many schools, but the NCAA Swimming & Diving season waits for no man – the first dual meet of 2015-2016 takes place this Friday in Cleveland, Mississippi.
In a repeat of last year, the first meet of the NCAA season will be the Alabama Crimson Tide taking on Division II Delta State University. This year, the competition moves to Delta State’s turf, where the Statesmen and Lady Statesmen will host a rising Alabama program.
The meet kicks off at 3 P.M. (Central Time) Friday afternoon, September 11th. Last year, Alabama rolled to wins in both the men’s and women’s meets, with Kristian Gkolomeev blasting a 19.50 in the 50 free to highlight the meet.
The Alabama men are the only top-10 team from last year’s NCAA Championships not to graduate a single swimming point and boast a very-talented lineup heading into Friday’s meet. Keep an eye out for defending NCAA 100 free champ Gkolomeev, plus a big group of young sprinters that will hope to help Alabama drive deeper into the top 10 this year.
The Crimson Tide women also had a banner year last year, cracking the top 30 for the first time in a decade. They’ve got breaststroker Bridget Blood and IMer Mia Nonnenberg coming off of big summers as they look to rise in the tough SEC.
Delta State’s men are the defending champions of the New South Intercollegiate Swim Conference (NSISC), and then took 11th at the Division II NCAA Championships. The women were 3rd at NSISCs, but topped their men with a 9th-place showing at NCAAs, the highest in program history.
On the men’s side, junior Fabrice Wendel returns in the freestyles and fellow junior Matteo Fraschi in the breaststrokes. Both men shared the NSISC Swimmer of the Year award last year.
The women are also led by juniors: returning NCAA finalists Melanie Tombers (freestyle/IM), Anastasia Klyarovskaya (back/fly) and Kiersten Page (back/IM).
We’ll have full coverage of the meet on Friday night.
| 2015-16 Alabama Swimming and Diving Schedule | |||
| Date | Opponent / Event | Location | Time / Result |
| 09/11/15 | at Delta State | Cleveland, Miss. | 3:00 p.m. CT |
| 10/09/15 | vs. Auburn | Tuscaloosa, Ala. | 2:00 p.m. CT |
| 10/31/15 | at South Carolina | Columbia, S.C. | 10:00 p.m. ET |
| 11/19/15 | Georgia Tech Invite | Atlanta, Ga. | All Day |
| 11/20/15 | Georgia Tech Invite | Atlanta, Ga. | All Day |
| 11/21/15 | Georgia Tech Invite | Atlanta, Ga. | All Day |
| 12/05/15 | vs. Tulane (W) | Tuscaloosa, Ala. | 3:00 p.m. CT |
| 12/16/15 | Auburn Diving Invite | Auburn, Ala. | All Day |
| 12/17/15 | Auburn Diving Invite | Auburn, Ala. | All Day |
| 12/18/15 | Auburn Diving Invite | Auburn, Ala. | All Day |
| 01/03/16 | UGA Diving Invite | Athens, Ga. | All Day |
| 01/04/16 | UGA Diving Invite | Athens, Ga. | All Day |
| 01/05/16 | UGA Diving Invite | Athens, Ga. | All Day |
| 01/08/16 | vs. Tennessee | Tuscaloosa, Ala. | 4:00 p.m. CT |
| 01/09/16 | vs. Tennessee | Tuscaloosa, Ala. | 10:00 a.m. CT |
| at Birmingham-Southern | Birmingham, Ala. | 3:00 p.m. CT | |
| 01/23/16 | vs. Georgia Tech | Tuscaloosa, Ala. | 11:00 a.m. CT |
| 02/16/16 | SEC Championships | Columbia, Mo. | All Day |
| 02/17/16 | SEC Championships | Columbia, Mo. | All Day |
| 02/18/16 | SEC Championships | Columbia, Mo. | All Day |
| 02/19/16 | SEC Championships | Columbia, Mo. | All Day |
| 02/20/16 | SEC Championships | Columbia, Mo. | All Day |
| 02/27/16 | Bulldog Invite | Athens, Ga. | All Day |
| 02/28/16 | Bulldog Invite | Athens, Ga. | All Day |
| 03/06/16 | NCAA Zone B Diving Championships | Atlanta, Ga. | All Day |
| 03/07/16 | NCAA Zone B Diving Championships | Atlanta, Ga. | All Day |
| 03/08/16 | NCAA Zone B Diving Championships | Atlanta, Ga. | All Day |
| 03/17/16 | Women’s NCAA Championships | Atlanta, Ga. | All Day |
| 03/18/16 | Women’s NCAA Championships | Atlanta, Ga. | All Day |
| 03/19/16 | Women’s NCAA Championships | Atlanta, Ga. | All Day |
| 03/24/16 | Men’s NCAA Championships | Atlanta, Ga. | All Day |
| 03/25/16 | Men’s NCAA Championships | Atlanta, Ga. | All Day |
| 03/26/16 | Men’s NCAA Championships | Atlanta, Ga. | All Day |
Godelta.
All the best and greetings from Germany!!!!
GO DELTA!!!
Go Delta! Delta State probably has the best facility in all of D2, and one of the best in all of college swimming. They just put in some more renovations so it is a great place to host meets. Should be a lot of fast swimming from both sides.
It’s too bad that they don’t face Florida… Seeing an extra Gkolomeev vs. Dressel showdown in the sprint events would sure be entertaining.
Ahhhhh so excited!!!!! And also ready. After the summer I’m really ready for some more swimming action… Only a few more months until Trials!!!!! If you guys can’t already tell, I’m excited. ???
Go Fighting Okra! http://feartheokra.com