Live stream: Auburn at Georgia Tech
AUBURN, Ala. – The 2020 Olympic Games may not take place until late July, but for the Auburn swim and dive program, this weekend marks an Olympic journey of their own.
On Saturday, the men's and women's teams will travel to Atlanta to face a Georgia Tech squad that competes at the McAuley Aquatic Center, the same facility that hosted the swimming and diving events in the 1996 Olympics. The first event will begin at 10 a.m. CT.
"To go back to a facility that hosted the Olympics, a place with the Olympic rings on the wall, that absolutely resonates with our team," Auburn head coach Gary Taylor said. "Georgia Tech is going to pose a great challenge in a pool facility that is known for really fast swimming."
The Auburn men, ranked No. 23 nationally, are coming off a hard-fought loss to a top-15 Virginia program. Despite the loss, the Tigers still collected 12 teams wins, including four from sophomore Aryan Makhija and three from senior Santiago Grassi.
On Saturday, the men will look to rebound against the Yellow Jackets, who they beat last year in what was their first and only dual-meet win of the season.
"Georgia Tech brings up some positive memories from last year," Taylor said. "We beat a quality program and a quality team, and I'm sure they remember that and will be ready for us come Saturday.
Like the men, the Auburn women suffered their first loss dual-meet loss of the season last week, falling to No. 3 Virginia. Still, the 14th-ranked Tigers proved competitive as sophomore Emily Hetzer picked up wins in the 1000 free and the 600 free (LC) and senior Julie Meynen took first place in the 100 free (LC). Meynen also swam on two winning relays, the 200 free and the 400 free (LC).
"This weekend is a big opportunity for our women to see some different faces and compete before they face an elite University of Florida team at the end of the month," Taylor said.
Both teams will compete in 14 swimming and two diving events. The swimming events will be, in order: 400 medley relay, 1000 free, 200 free, 100 back, 100 breast, 200 fly, 50 free, 100 free, 200 back, 200 breast, 500 free, 100 fly, 200 IM and 200 free relay.
The Auburn divers, who competed at the Tennessee Diving Invitational this past weekend, will rejoin the swimmers this week in Atlanta for the Georgia Tech meet. It's the first time since the Alabama meet in early December that the entire roster will compete together.
"It was a lot of fun to see the swimmers rally around the divers against Alabama a month ago and vice versa," Taylor said. "I think we'll have that same energy and passion this upcoming weekend. The divers are a big part of our program, so it will be great to have the family back together."
The entire meet will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra.