There are oftentimes too many meets to focus on in one week of the NCAA season. With all of the racing going on across the country this week, zone in on a few big ones that should produce fast swimming, great races, and more intrigue.
The weekly preview is meant to highlight big meets of the week, including any key races to watch, people coming back from injury or time off, or anything else you need to know. Let us know in the comments about other meets we didn’t talk about here, and why we should pay attention to them!
Note that these are just several meets that piqued our interest, and this is not a comprehensive preview for every single meet happening this week.
KENTUCKY V. OHIO STATE V. FLORIDA
- Date – 1/4-1/5
- Hosts – Florida
Why you should pay attention:Â Three teams from power conferences will come out of heavy winter training for a big showdown in Gainesville. Different swimmers respond in different ways under hard training — some excel, and some will look like a piano fell on their back.
GEORGIA TECH V. AUBURN
- Date – 1/5
- Hosts – Auburn
Why you should pay attention: Auburn’s women have looked very good under new head coach Gary Taylor, and while their men are clearly rebuilding, they’ve had some impressive swims for where they’re at. The Georgia Tech men had a remarkable mid-season meet, and could set themselves up for a notable dual meet win here with a strong meet. Caio Pumputis, in particular, has been a revelation for the Yellow Jackets.
ORANGE BOWL SWIM CLASSIC
- Date – 1/3
- Hosts – Key Largo, FL
Why you should pay attention: Happy 2019! The Orange Bowl Swim Classic will feature zero football, but it will be highlighted by participation from the Michigan Wolverines, both men’s and women’s teams. This will be the 16th annual Orange Bowl Swim Classic. It’s a meet in SCM, which is perhaps the most perplexing distance for American swim fans, but it’ll be the first look at a major D1 team in the new year.
WEST VIRGINIA V. PITT
- Date – 1/5
- Hosts – Pitt
Why you should pay attention: 200 butterfly. West Virginia, perpetually stuck in Texas’s giant shadow in the Big 12, has two of the strongest 200 butterfliers in the country. Sophomore David Dixon unleashed a then-nation-leading 1:43.81 200 fly in October, while Morgan Bullock ranks in the NCAA’s top 35 this year. Pitt sophomore Blaise Vera recently broke 20.0 in the 50 free for the first time, and he’s looking strong after not competing the second semester of his freshman year.
| Meet | Date |
| Providence @ Brown | 1/2 |
| San Jose State @ CSUB | 1/2 |
| Orange Bowl Swim Classic | 1/3 |
| Wyoming @ UCSD | 1/3 |
| Purdue @ Michigan State | 1/4 |
| Loyola @ SMU | 1/4 |
| St. Peters, Fairfield @ Wagner | 1/4 |
| Wisconsin @ Hawaii | 1/4 |
| NJIT, W&M @ Florida Atlantic | 1/4 |
| Loyola Marymount, CSU Bakersfield@ UC San Diego | 1/5 |
| Idaho @ New Mexico State | 1/5 |
| Georgia Tech @ Auburn | 1/5 |
| Delaware, Northeastern @ Drexel | 1/5 |
| Howard @ UMBC | 1/5 |
| SMU @ Texas A&M | 1/5 |
| FIU Sprint Invite | 1/5 |
| WVU @ Pitt | 1/5 |
| U. New Mexico @ Pepperdine | 1/5 |
| Campbell @ UNCW | 1/5 |
| Liberty @ FCGU | 1/5 |
| UNC Asheville @ UNCW | 1/5 |
| St. Peters @ Florida International | 1/5 |
| Aggie Open (UC Davis) | 1/5 |
| Navy @ Princeton | 1/5 |
| USD Shootout (San Diego) | 1/5 |
| St. Bonaventure @ Toledo | 1/5 |
| Wyoming, Grand Canyon @ Cal Baptist | 1/5 |
| CSUB @ UCSD | 1/5 |
| Hawaii @ Simon Fraser (B.C.) | 1/6 |
| Oregon State, Incarnate Word @ SDSU | 12/31 |
| Wally Nakamoto Diving Invite | 1/3-1/5 |
| Kentucky, Ohio State @ Florida | 1/4-1/5 |
| Seattle @ Whitworth College | 1/4-1/5 |
| Yale, Darthmouth @ Penn | 1/4-1/5 |
| Georgia Diving Invite | 1/4-6 |
Hey Karl,
How about a little DIII NESCAC love for Amherst at Williams this weekend? Great rivalry, and the men’s side should be close. For the last several years, the home team has pulled out the win, but this year sprinting, diving, and dual meet scoring could swing this one Amherst’s way.
Besides, who doesn’t love a purple cow?
UGA v Harvard on the 7th. Obviously featuring a certain Harvard swimmer
Definitely paying attention to that one — which is next week and therefore not relevant to this week’s preview 🙂
But somehow the GT vs Auburn is?
Some slight research shows that that meet is actually 1/5… so, yes.
You don’t have your dates right then because the GTech v Auburn and WVU v Pitt meets are written as “11/10-11/11.” 😛