Courtesy: LSU Sports
BATON ROUGE, La. – In the wake of the third season under head coach Rick Bishop and second season under diving coach Drew Livingston, LSU swimming and diving opens its 2023-2024 season with the annual Purple and Gold Intrasquad Saturday morning at the LSU Natatorium.
“We are really excited to get the 2023-2024 season underway,” Bishop said. “The Purple and Gold meet will be a great opportunity to see where we are at this early point in the season before traveling to compete against a different opponent. It also offers the chance to enjoy a bit of short-course racing with our teammates.”
Fans are welcome to see the newest edition of the program Saturday at 10 a.m. CT. Doors open to the facility an hour prior to the start of the meet, and honey butter chicken biscuits will be offered at the front entrance for the first 60 fans.
Live stats will be available to view on the MeetMobile app and will be posted to LSUsports.net following the meet’s conclusion.
The Tigers boast an impressive number of freshmen swimmers and divers, along with veterans including Mitch Mason, Andrew Garon, Griffin Curtis on the men’s side, and Megan Barnes, Jenna Bridges, and Ella Varga on the women’s side. LSU maintains a total of five swimmers and one diver who claimed an SEC Championship in 2023. The list includes Jenna Bridges (200-fly), Ella Varga (200-back), Megan Barnes (400-free relay), Michaela de Villiers (200 & 400 free relay), Katarina Milutinovich (200 & 400 free relay), and Montserrat Gutierrez Lavenant (platform diving).
Collectively, LSU earned eight gold medals at the Rec Center Natatorium in Bryan-College Station and set a program record.
The Tigers also return eight NCAA qualifiers, who made a huge impact on their way to Knoxville. On the men’s side, LSU had three NCAA qualifiers and returned Carson Paul to this year’s squad. Brooks Curry and Adrian Abadia, who also qualified last season, are preparing for the Summer Games which begin in late July 2024.
In addition to the athletes who made an impact in the pool or in the diving well, Livingston was named the 2023 SEC Women’s Diving Coach of the Year. His efforts led to the platform SEC Championship and a runner-up finish at the NCAA Championships on the tower. Livingston is looking forward to the experienced group returning this season.
“I can’t wait to get this season started with this group of student-athletes,” Livingston said. “While we are still improving and far from being ready for our October dual meets, this will be an excellent opportunity for the divers to do something different and get back to competing without losing focus on our training goals.”
The October dual meets begin on October 7, when LSU travels to Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Utes over Fall break. The Tigers will host the Arkansas women’s swimming and diving team five days later at the LSU Natatorium at 1 p.m. CT.
Geaux Tigers!!