Live stream: Auburn at Florida (Saturday)
AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn swim and dive program has shown great strides in Year Two under head coach Gary Taylor. Through the first six dual meets, both the men and women are 5-1. But both squads will be tested this weekend in the season's final dual meet at Florida.
The Auburn men have struggled of late against a Florida men's program that has won seven consecutive SEC championships and is currently ranked No. 9 nationally
"In recent years, Florida has dominated this rivalry," Taylor said. "And for us, I talked to the men about earning some of that respect back. Getting to the point where this is a rivalry and they have to circle the calendar for this program. So the message for the men is 'Go in there, compete hard, compete tough, earn your respect against a team that is going for their eighth straight conference championship and another top five NCAA finish."
On the women's side, Auburn won its dual meet against Florida last year in convincing fashion. It was a significant win for the program, but it also means that the Gators will be extra amped for this year's meeting between the two schools.
"Our women won this meet last year going away," Taylor said. "I don't think their women's program liked that very much, and I think they have absolutely circled this date and our name. I think they made it a real point of reference for this spring semester."
Both Auburn (14) and Florida (8) are ranked in the top 15 in the latest women's poll.
The meet itself will begin Friday night at 4 p.m. CT with the 1,000 freestyle and two diving events – the women's 1-meter and the men's 3-meter. The other 15 events (13 swimming, two diving) will take place Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. CT.
On Saturday, the swimming events will be, in order: 200 medley relay, 200 free, 100 back, 100 breast, 200 fly, 50 free, 100 free, 200 back, 200 breast, 500 free, 100 fly, 400 IM and 400 free relay. The divers will compete in the women's 3-meter and the men's 1-meter.
"I think there's going to be a ton of energy," Taylor said. "I think it will be a great environment. I think there will be a lot of intensity. On my end, it's our goal and this staff's responsibility to make this a truly passionate, heartfelt rivalry again. And so we're excited to take them on and have this opportunity."
Saturday's portion of the meet will be broadcast live on SEC Network+.