Gators Take on First SEC Opponent LSU on Saturday
Friday, October 14, 2011 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Following a win at the second annual All-Florida Invitational, the Florida swimming and diving program will play host to LSU in its first dual meet of the season, Saturday afternoon. Meet time at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center Natatorium is scheduled for 1 p.m. and admission is free to the event.
The first 500 fans to arrive to the meet will get a free Florida swimming & diving drawstring backpack. Florida students that are registered as Rowdy Reptiles can earn four valuable Rowdy Reptile Points by bringing their Gator1 I.D. to the marketing table at in the Gate 2 lobby of the O'Connell Center.
FloridaSwimNetwork.com is providing a live stream of the meet, which will begin at 12:30 p.m. The live broadcast will be available to subscribers of the site, as well as an archive of the event at a later date.
Saturday's meet against LSU is the 21st in program history for the men's squad and 14th for the women – neither Florida team has dropped a decision to the Tigers since they first met. It also marks the beginning of conference competition for both Florida and LSU.
Both squads will face Florida State Friday afternoon before making their way to Gainesville. At the moment, the men have yet to compete. The women stand 1-0 on the season as they defeated Tulane to open the season, sweeping all 16 events to claim the victory.
The last time the Tigers made their way to Gainesville was on Jan. 10, 2010. The then No. 7 women's squad defeated the No. 21 Tigers 171-121, while the No. 6 men's team took over No. 18 LSU, 157.5-134.5.
LSU is coming off one of its strongest seasons in program history. The men are coming off of a fifth- and 26th-place finish at the SEC and NCAA Championships, respectively, while the women finished seventh and 14th at the conference and national championships. The men's squad returns Craig Hamilton, the lone NCAA scorer left on the roster, who holds the program record in the 500, 1,000 and 1,650 free.
The last time out, The University of Florida swimming and diving program finished atop both the men's and women's standings at the second annual All-Florida Invitational last weekend. The women finished with five relay and fifteen individual victories to accumulate 1,074 points and the first-place finish, while the men brought home four relay and nine individual victories throughout the weekend to finish above all other competitors.
Senior Sarah Bateman and sophomore Elizabeth Beisel led the way for the women with seven victories apiece. Bateman took home three individual victories, and was a part of Florida's four victorious relay teams, while Beisel captured four individual victories, and contributed to three separate winning relays - hitting NCAA "B" cuts in each event she swam. On the men's side, freshman Matt Elliott captured six victories to lead the men's team to first place, while sophomores Marcin Cieslak and Brad deBorde also helped put points up for the Gators with five victories each.
Gator fans are encouraged to follow the swimming and diving program via Twitter or Facebook. A complete recap of the weekend's events will be available on www.Gatorzone.com following the conclusion of the meet on Sunday evening.
For meet notes please click here.
MEET INFORMATION
| TIME | EVENT |
| 11:00 AM | 1 Meter Diving (men & women) |
| 1:00 PM | 400 Medley Relay |
| 1:50 PM | 3 Meter Diving (women) |
| 2:30 PM | 200 Fly |
| 3:00 PM | 3 Meter Diving (men) |
| 4:00 PM | 200 Breast |
