AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn and Alabama. There's no rivalry like it. Whether it's on the football field, on the basketball court or in the pool, there's just a different feel.
On Saturday, the Auburn football team won a thrilling 48-45 game over its in-state rival. Now it's on the Auburn swimming and diving teams to follow suit. The Tigers will host Alabama in a dual meet Thursday afternoon. The first events are scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. CT from the James E. Martin Aquatics Center.
"This is against your rival," Auburn head coach Gary Taylor said. "It's something that means a lot to our program, the athletic department, the university, the state as a whole, and I think that brings out a different competitive fire and juice. We're really excited."
The Auburn women, ranked No. 13 nationally, recently finished second at the Wolfpack Invitational where a number of swimmers secured personal bests and top-10 times in program history. The Tigers have won both of their dual meets this season and finished second in the SMU Women's Classic to open the season.
Last year, the women earned a 188-110 victory over Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
On the men's side, the 23rd-ranked Tigers are also a perfect 2-0 in dual meets this year with wins over LSU and Navy. They placed fourth in the Wolfpack Invitational their last time out and are hoping to avenge last year's loss to Alabama.
As for the Crimson Tide, they are coming off a strong performance in the Georgia Tech Invitational where the women finished third and the men placed sixth.
"I think they've got a tough team on both sides," Taylor said. "They've got a new staff over there that seems to have brought a different energy, and I think they'll absolutely be ready to go for this meet. I know we will on our end as well. I think it's going to be a tough blow-for-blow meet for three hours, back-and-forth. I'm excited about that. That's why I love coaching. This is what you work towards and this is what you get excited about."
Both the women's and men's teams will compete in 14 swimming events and two diving events. The swimming events will be, in order: 200 medley relay, 1,000 free, 200 free, 100 back, 100 breast, 200 butterfly, 50 free, 100 free, 200 back, 200 breast, 500 free, 100 butterfly, 200 IM and 400 free relay.
On the diving side, Auburn's Alison Maillard and Conner Pruitt both won events at the Wolfpack Invitational and will look to carry that momentum into Thursday's meet where both the women and men will dive in the 1-meter and 3-meter competitions.
Live stats for the meet will be available through auburntigers.com and divemeets.com.