Sept. 26, 2008
AUBURN - Donning caps and suits for the first time this season, the Auburn swimming and diving team was able to face some tough competition as the Tigers competed against themselves in the annual Orange and Blue meet.
Divided into two teams and managed by the team captains, the Tigers competed in a series of relays, some from the NCAA meet program while others provided a different spin to the competition.
"We are coming off of a really intense summer," head coach Richard Quick said. "We had several athletes in the Olympics and that is a high-level, emotional experience. In this meet I really wanted to focus on team and working together. We wanted to get some racing in, but have fun in a situation without all the pressure."
The squads swam nine relay events with the Tiger divers both competing as part of the relays and in a three-meter diving competition.
The 11 events included a crescendo relay where one male and one female swam each of the 25-50-75-100-100-75-50-25-yard distances. Also on the list of events were two underwater relays.
The blue team eventually came out on top, but Blue Team co-captain Tyler McGill said this meet was not about winning as much as about the team as a whole.
"This meet was all about having fun and getting experience," said McGill. "I was really excited about the way everyone on both teams got up for every race. Even though it may not be a huge meet, I was really happy with everybody's spirit and the way we swam hard even know we didn't necessarily have to."
The high team spirit was evident as both teams came out decorated in orange and blue paint, armed with shakers and noisemakers.
"The spirit at this meet was more than any other intrasquad meet in the past," Blue Team co-captain Emile Ewing said. "Having the coaches poolside firing each team up really helped out a lot too, and it is always a lot of fun to race against each other."
The defending SEC champion Auburn swimming and diving teams are set to officially open their season Oct. 17-19 at the War Eagle Invitational at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center in Auburn, Ala.