Courtesy: LSU Athletics
BATON ROUGE – The LSU Swimming and Diving Team will welcome Alabama to the LSU Natatorium for the first meet of the 2020-2021 season on Friday, November 6. The meet will kickoff at 1 pm CT as the divers from both teams hit the boards. The meet will continue when the Tiger and Crimson Tide swimmers hit the pool at 4 pm CT.
Due to COVID-19 concerns, the general public will not be admitted into the Natatorium for the meet.
HERE WE GEAUX
The Tigers will face off against the Crimson Tide in what will be the first competition since the 2020 SEC Championships that took place this past February. The season was cut short before the start of the NCAA Championships due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. However, with a lot of pieces returning, and a new freshman class, the Tigers are ready to compete once again.
Sophomore Brooks Curry is looking to build off of a historic freshman season, capped off by winning the 100-Yard Free Gold Medal at the SEC Championships. Curry’s gold was the first gold medal a Tiger swimmer has earned since the 2004 SEC Championships when Evan Martinec won the 100-Yard Breaststroke.
Curry was named Male Freshman Swimmer of the Year and was named to the All-SEC First Team and Freshman Team. Curry made a splash during the season that included three individual school records and four relay school records. At the SEC Championships, Curry broke school records in the 50, 100, and 200-Yard Freestyle. He earned the silver in the 200-Yard Free with a time of 1:32.43 and finished sixth in the 50-Yard Free with a time of 19.39. Curry finished the season as the fastest freshman in the country in all three freestyle events. His performance at the SEC Championships qualified him for the NCAA Championships in all three freestyle events.
Luca Pfyffer will also be back in the pool for the Tigers, trying to build off a successful junior season. Pfyffer currently holds the second fastest 200-Yard Breaststroke time in school history and the third fastest 100-Yard Breaststroke. Pfyffer capped off his season by qualifying for the ‘B’ Final in both the 100 and 200-Yard Breast at the SEC Championships, securing major points for the Tigers.
David Boylan will also be on the hunt for a standout sophomore season. The Baton Rouge native currently holds the fourth fastest 400-IM time in school history and is looking to improve on that this season.
For the women, Niamh Robinson and Cassie Kalisz are looking to take their swims to the next level this season. Kalisz currently holds the fastest 200-Yard Back time in school history. She also holds the second fastest time in school history in the 100-Yard Back.
Robinson made a huge impact for the Tigers in year one. She set the school record in the 200-Yard Breast at the SEC Championships. That performance earned her a fifth-place finish at SEC’s, making her the second freshman to finish inside the top-five for the Tigers during the week. Robinson also holds the third fastest time in the 100-Yard Breast and the eighth fastest time in the 200-Yard IM.
She capped off an impressive freshman campaign by being named to the SEC Women’s All-Freshman Team. Robinson qualified for the 2020 NCAA Championships in both the 100 and 200-Yard Breast and is looking to do more of the same this season.
This will also be the debut for a new many freshman Tigers, looking forward to the start of their career. Led by Emil Hassling and Hannah Bellina, this new class of Tigers is looking to make a splash in their first competition.
On the boards, the Tigers have championships in mind as we begin the new season. Juan Celaya-Hernandez, the school record holder in all three events, leads the way for a young Tiger diving squad. Celaya-Hernandez qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics before the games were cancelled, but is looking to bring that experience back to Baton Rouge, seeking more SEC Championships and another trip to the NCAA Championships.
Manny Vazquez Bas and Dakota Hurbis look to have huge seasons for the Tigers as well. Vazquez Bas is coming off a freshman season in which he was named SEC Co-Male Freshman Diver of the Year and was named to the All-SEC Second Team as well as the All-Freshman Team. He capped off his season by earning the bronze on platform at the SEC Championships at Auburn.
Hurbis, along with Celaya-Hernandez, is looking to bring that senior leadership and experience to the Tigers this season. Last season, Hurbis notched three top-15 finishes at the SEC Championships, including a 13th place finish on the one-meter springboard.
On the women’s side, the Tigers have a team full of youth, but that youth has tons of experience. Anne Tuxen and Hayley Montague are back for their sophomore seasons. Tuxen notched three top-20 finishes last season at the SEC Championships. She qualified for the NCAA Championships on one-meter as well as platform. Monatague notched a ninth-place finish on three-meter at the SEC Championships, proving she has what it takes to compete at the highest level.
Coach Doug Shaffer will also be looking for big things from freshmen Helle Tuxen and Montserrat Gutierrez Lavenant. Tuxen, the younger sister of Anne, and Gutierrez Lavenant both come to LSU with an impressive history on the international stage. They are hoping to use that experience to push LSU diving to a high level this season and make a push during championship season.
SWIM ORDER OF EVENTS
- 200 Medley Relay
- 1650 Free
- 200 Free
- 100 Back
- 100 Breast
- 200 Fly
- 50 Free
- 100 Free
- 200 Back
- 200 Breast
- 500 Free
- 100 Fly
- 400 IM
- 200 Free Relay
LIVE STATS
Swim Results can be found on Meet Mobile.
Diving: https://lsul.su/2TYE62I
MORE INFORMATION
For more information and updates on LSU Swimming and Diving please visit LSUsports.net, ‘like’ us on Facebook at LSU Swimming and Diving or follow us on Twitter and Instagram @LSUSwimDive.
Roll Tide!!