Courtesy: LSU Athletics
BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU Swimming and Diving will participate in 10 regular season meets consisting of four meets that will be held at the Natatorium, the program and athletic department announced Wednesday.
“I’m excited for our schedule,” LSU diving head coach Doug Shaffer said. “We’ve set some lofty yet attainable goals individually and as a team. Each and every competition will be an integral part of our preparation leading to our conference and national championships.”
“We’re excited to compete against the great programs in the SEC,” LSU head swimming coach Rick Bishop added. “This is arguably the top conference in the country. In addition, we have a balanced schedule that will allow us to compete against other top-level programs outside of the SEC. We’re looking forward to the opportunity to race against these great competitors as LSU Swimming and Diving continues to progress, develop, and challenge on the national stage.”
🚨 MARK YOUR CALENDERS 🚨
The 2021-22 schedule is officially upon us!
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📅: https://t.co/1fSLoNsrU7#GeauxTigers pic.twitter.com/aCybpBaBBl— LSU Swimming & Diving (@LSUSwimDive) September 8, 2021
The Tigers will start their fall portion of the schedule at 10:00 a.m. CT on Sept. 25 at the annual Purple and Gold Intersquad meet before they begin their non-conference slate at home against Grand Canyon on Saturday, Oct. 9 at 10:00 a.m CT.
After a brief stint at home, LSU will head out west to compete in a multi-team meet against the Air Force Academy, Denver, and Wyoming. The meet is set to be held in Colorado Springs, CO on October 22 and October 23. The Friday portion of competition is slated to begin at 6 p.m. CT, while the Saturday portion will begin at 11 a.m. CT.
The Tigers will return to SEC country and travel to Tuscaloosa to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide at a TBD time. LSU will then head to the Lone Star State to participate in the Art Adamson Invitational and the Texas Diving Invitational. The Art Adamson will consist of swimming events only and is slated to begin in Texas A&M’s Student Rec Center Natatorium Wednesday, November 17, and conclude on Friday, November 19. The Texas Diving Invitational is set to begin a day later on November 18 and run through Saturday, November 20 inside the Jamali Swimming Center
LSU will return home to the friendly confines of the Natatorium after competing on the road for over a month. The women of the LSU Swimming team will take on the Tulane Green Wave on Dec. 4 at 10:00 a.m. CT.
During Winter break for students, LSU divers will compete at two different invitationals. The first will take place at Auburn from Dec. 15 to Dec. 18. They will take a two-week hiatus before traveling to compete in Knoxville at the Tennessee Diving Invitational from Jan. 3 to Jan. 6.
Before the 2022 Spring semester gets underway, the Tigers will face Florida State at 10:00 a.m. on Jan. 15.
To conclude the regular season, LSU will honor its senior athletes prior to a meet against Texas A&M. The meet time has not been announced.
Postseason play for the Tigers begins with the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships that will be held in Knoxville, TN. The events will begin on Feb. 15 and conclude on Feb. 19. This year’s SEC Championships will happen concurrently, unlike last season which was separated due to considerations made in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Divers will begin the month of March at the NCAA Zone Regionals that are held on March 6-9 in Madison, Wisconsin. Both the Women’s and Men’s swimming and diving championships will take place in Atlanta, Georgia, on Georgia Tech’s campus. The women will compete from March 16-19, while the men will take to the pool March 23-26. LSU looks to improve on their 18th-place finish from a year ago, which was the highest finish for the Tigers since 2003.
The Tigers return all three athletes that participated in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in Brooks Curry, Juan Celaya-Hernandez, and Anne Tuxen. Curry brought home the first gold medal for the first time in the history of the swimming program. Celaya-Hernandez narrowly missed taking home the bronze, while Tuxen delivered a valiant effort and finished in 28th place.
