Swim opens season at College Swimming League in Stanford

Swim opens season at College Swimming League in StanfordSwim opens season at College Swimming League in Stanford
AUBURN, Ala.— Auburn Swim begins the 2026-27 season on Friday night in the San Francisco Bay Area in Auburn's College Swimming League (CSL) debut. The Tigers will travel to Stanford, Calif., taking on Stanford, California, and Ohio State at 7:30 p.m. CT. The entire meet will be streamed on ESPN+.

Auburn opens the season in the CSCAA Coaches' Poll. The Tiger men were selected 17th in the preseason poll; the Auburn women rank 19th in the opening poll. Auburn finished the 2025-26 season at 14th and 18th in the men's and women's polls, respectively.
MEET INFO
  • CSL Match Three is set for 7:30 p.m. CT, taking place at Stanford's Avery Aquatics Center in Stanford, Calif.
  • Host Stanford and California are also making their CSL debuts on Friday. Ohio State will compete in its second match after appearing in match one last week.
  • All eight CSL contests follow the same order of events, with the women's event immediately before the men's event. The order of events is as follows:
    • 200 Backstroke
    • 200 Breaststroke
    • 500 Freestyle
    • 4x50 Freestyle
    • 200 Butterfly
    • 100 IM
    • 100 Backstroke
    • 100 Freestyle
    • Skins
    • 200 IM
    • 100 Breaststroke
    • 50 Freestyle
    • 100 Butterfly
    • 200 Freestyle
    • Super Skins
The CSL FORMAT
  • The Tigers are one of 12 teams competing in the inaugural CSL season.
  • The CSL regular season features six matches with four competing schools, with each school featuring in two events each.
  • Each match ranks the schools one through four after 30 events, awarding points based on finish (four to first place, three to second place, etc.). Totals after all six matches determine entry to the postseason. The top three schools qualify for the Championship match; the following four schools will compete in the Wild Card Match to determine the final school in the Championship match.
  • Skins events are elimination-style races over 50 yards per round using the same stroke. The bottom two swimmers in each heat are eliminated until one swimmer wins round four. Only two minutes separate each round.
  • Super Skins follows the same format as skins but features a full 200 Medley Relay (4x50), rather than individual swimmers competing at the same stroke. A full relay will be contested in each round. A three-minute timer separates each round in Super Skins.
  • All individual events are scored the same: first place receives nine points, second place receives seven points, and each subsequent finisher receives one point fewer, until eighth place receives one point. All relay events follow the same scoring format, but doubled points are awarded.
    • Skins follows the same scoring format, awarding cumulative points across all four rounds of competition.
    • Super Skins follows the same doubled scoring format as relay events, awarding the first-place finisher 18 points.
  • The CSL features a Jackpot scoring system, in which, if an event winner finishes by a predetermined margin (varying by event) in front of any swimmer, the winner earns all points that would have been allotted to the slower finishers.
  • All points accumulated by individuals and relays for both men's and women's events are totaled to determine a match winner. 
CSL OUTLOOK
  • Eight schools have already competed in a CSL match this season, with opening week featuring two matches last week.
  • Virginia and Indiana won their respective matches, currently at the top of the standings. NC State, Louisville, Michigan, Alabama, Ohio State, and Georgia follow in that order. Stanford and California will also be making their CSL debuts on Friday. Tennessee will be the only school yet to compete after this weekend.
  • Ohio State will be the first school to compete in each of its two matches. The Buckeyes finished match one with 250.5 points, behind Indiana (575.5), Louisville (451.5), and Michigan (420.5).
  • Auburn's second CSL match is slated for Oct. 23 in Athens, Ga. The Tigers will compete against Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee in an all-SEC showdown to determine the final standings heading into the Wildcard Match.
RECORD WATCH
  • Uros Zivanovic was just 0.04 seconds short of Reid Mikuta's 100 Breaststroke record last season. Zivanovic placed himself four times in the all-time top-25 list for the event.
  • Daniel Krichevsky became the third-fastest performer in Auburn Men's 200 Freestyle history with a 1:31.87; he'll return looking to take down Zach Apple's 1:31.18 record.
  • Three of Auburn's swimmers from last season's record-breaking 800 Freestyle Relay team return. Krichevsky, Warner Russ, and Luke Bedsole look to top last season's 6:10.77 record at the NCAA Championships.
  • Auburn's all-time second-best performer in the 100 Backstroke looks to build off of three top-10 performances from 2025-26 to top the school record, 50.92.
  • Zoey Zeller's 2:08.69 in the 200 Breaststroke was the eighth-best in school history.
  • Auburn was 0.05 seconds away from a program record in the Women's 200 Medley Relay last season with Lora Komoroczy, Kiia Metsakonkola, Izzy Iwasyk, and Elizaveta Klevanovich notching a 1:34.94 at the NC State Invite last season. With three of the four members of the relay returning, Auburn looks to break the record this season.
  • Emily Halifax nearly took down a 14-year-old record with her 327.40 on the Platform last season, just 1.10 points behind the school record.
A LOOK BACK
UP NEXT
  • Auburn heads up I-85 to Atlanta for the GT Dual Meet Tournament on Oct. 16-17 at the McAuley Aquatic Center. The following week, the Tigers will compete in their second CSL match on Oct. 23 at 4:30 p.m. CT.
—War Eagle—