Courtesy: LSU Sports
SALT LAKE CITY – Following a successful Purple and Gold Intrasquad in Baton Rouge three weeks ago, the LSU swimming and diving team is preparing to face off against the University of Utah inside the Ute Natatorium on Saturday in Salt Lake City for the first dual meet with outside competition during the 2023-24 season.
After spending two days training at elevation and spending time in picturesque locations such as Park City and Great Salt Lake Park, LSU will meet the Utes on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. local time (MT) and 11:00 a.m. in Baton Rouge (CT). Live stats are available to access on the MeetMobile app.
Heading into the first meet of the season, the LSU women’s swimming and diving team returns six SEC Champions who claimed gold in the 2023 SEC Championships at Texas A&M. The Tigers return Jenna Bridges (200-Fly), Ella Varga (200-Back), Montserrat Gutierrez Lavenant (Platform diving) and three members of the 200-free or 400-free relay events. That list includes Katarina Milutinovich (200, 400 Free), Michaela de Villiers (200, 400 Free), and Megan Barnes (400 Free).
On the men’s side, LSU returns diver and NCAA qualifier Carson Paul, who qualified for the NCAA Championships on platform and earned honorable mention All-American status for his ninth-place performance.
LSU also boasts the 2023 Women’s Diving Coach of the Year, Drew Livingston, who led the women’s diving team to a runner-up finish on the tower during the 2023 NCAA Championships at Tennessee. Gutierrez Lavenant scored a 347.00, a school record, and became the first LSU women’s diver to accomplish a top-3 finish on platform at NCAAs since Ashley Culpepper took second place in 2001.
“This will be a great challenge for our divers to begin the year,” Livingston said about Saturday’s meet vs. Utah. “Richard Marschner always has a talented group of divers at Utah. We’re going to use this opportunity to jumpstart our competitive mindsets in an uncomfortable position. Our team is very much concerned with improving, and this will be an extension of that process. I’m looking forward to seeing how our athletes compete and start the season.”
Livingston also spearheaded the Tiger’s success at SECs with Gutierrez Lavenant winning gold on platform and Maggie Buckley placing third on platform.
After LSU battles Utah, LSU returns home to the LSU Natatorium to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks at 1:00 p.m. CT. The meet takes place prior to the program’s alumni weekend, which will be hosted throughout the weekend as former Tigers make their way back to campus. In addition to the festivities surrounding the weekend, including the LSU-Auburn football game, LSU swimming and diving will honor the first coach of the program, Ivan Harless.
Harless coached the women’s program when it first formed in 1977, plus led the men’s team in several stints that began in 1970.
