AUBURN, Ala. – Last weekend, the Auburn women picked up a big win on the road at Arkansas. This weekend, it's the men's turn.
The Tigers, ranked No. 20 nationally, travel to Navy on Saturday where they will face the Midshipmen in a dual meet, beginning at 10 a.m. CT. It marks the second meet of the season for the Auburn men and the first on the road.
"As a staff and as a team, we're really excited to get up there and not only compete but be in a different environment," Auburn head coach Gary Taylor said. "I think sometimes in that setting, what we do here at Auburn – not that it isn't hard, not that it isn't tough – but it is a different environment. I think this will give us a unique perspective."
The men's team opened the season with a 187-111 win over LSU at home. Senior Santiago Grassi led the way with wins in the 50 free and in the 100 butterfly while both Spencer Rowe and Aryan Makhija also earned two first-place finishes at the meet.
It was a standout performance on the diving side as well as sophomore Conner Pruitt won both the 1-meter and 3-meter competitions with personal bests in each event.
Saturday's meet will be new territory for Auburn as the Tigers have never faced Navy or any other Patriot League program in a dual meet. However, this is a Navy program that is already 5-1 (3-0 at home) with its lone loss coming to No. 6 Michigan.
"They tend to perform really well at home," Taylor said. "So I think this time around having a top-20 men's Auburn program visit, they'll be up for that event.
"And they're tough. I think sometimes people hear military academy and think, 'Hey, we can go in and get an easy win.' That's not the case. Their men's program is really good and they happen to be really strong in areas where we're continuing to try and progress and get better in."
The meet will be streamed live and for free by the Patriot League Network.