AUBURN, Ala. – For the Auburn swimming and diving team, motivation will not be an issue this week. The Tigers, fresh off a sweep at Georgia Tech last week, will travel to Alabama on Friday for a dual meet against their in-state rival.
"If your blood runs orange and blue, you know what this week means," Auburn head coach Gary Taylor said. "You know what this rivalry means. We're geared up and ready to go. I think last week built confidence, and now you look forward to racing your biggest rival.
"I think there will be a great energy and intensity. This is why you love sports. It's for rivalries like this. It's for the intensity, the excitement, kind of the aura and feel to it. For us, this is why we coach, this is why we swim and dive, this is why we compete. This is why we do what we do, and we're excited about the opportunity to compete."
Both the men's and women's meets will feature a clash of Top 25 teams. The Auburn men, ranked No. 22 nationally, scored a major victory last week over No. 17 Georgia Tech and will now face No. 14 Alabama. On the women's side, it will be No. 19 Auburn and No. 11 Alabama.
This is just the third dual meet of the season for Auburn and second against SEC competition. The Tigers swept Alabama in their home pool a year ago.
Friday's meet is scheduled to begin with the diving portion at 12:30 p.m. CT. This will mark the 2021 debut for the Auburn divers who did not compete at Georgia Tech. The swimming portion of the meet will follow at 2 p.m. CT.
The entire dual meet will be streamed live on SEC Network+.
Auburn renews in-state rivalry with trip to Alabama
