AUBURN, Ala. – For Auburn swim and dive, the path to championship season begins Saturday when the Tigers travel to Alabama for a dual meet. It's the first meet of 2022, and it's the latest clash between the two in-state rivals.
Anytime you get a chance to go against the University of Alabama, it's special," Auburn head coach Ryan Wochomurka said. "For the university, for our program and for our kids. Heading up there, it's going to be a challenging weekend."
Alabama's women jumped to No. 8 in the latest CSCAA Top 25 poll while the men are ranked No. 13 nationally. Auburn comes into the meet with both the men and women at No. 19.
The Tigers were scheduled to compete last weekend, but their meet with Georgia Tech was canceled. This will be the first of back-to-back dual meets on the road for Auburn, and while winning is important, it's also a time to assess and learn with the SEC Championships only a month away.
"It's about making adjustments week to week on certain technical aspects of everybody's race," Wochomurka said. "And then just having an opportunity to compete because you can see a lot in the practice environment and in the pool setting, but you never know what you have until the bright lights are on. The lights can't be brighter than going against the University of Alabama, so we'll see what we've got this weekend."
The meet will begin at 10 a.m. CT from the Alabama Aquatic Center in Tuscaloosa.
LAST TIME OUT
This will be the first competition for the swimmers since the Georgia Tech Fall Invitational where Reid Mikuta, Meghan Lee and Ellie Waldrep all picked up individual wins for Auburn. Mikuta won both the 100 and 200 breaststroke and set the program record in the 100 breast. The women also won the 200 freestyle relay and qualified for NCAAs.
The divers started the new year with the Tennessee Diving Invitational. Senior Conner Pruitt finished top three on both men's springboard events.
Auburn S&D returns with dual meet at rival Alabama
