Alabama Swimming and Diving Hosts Auburn Friday
1/30/2003 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Just a week after the men knocked off the No. 6 team in the nation, the Alabama Swimming and Diving men and women's teams will take on the Auburn Tigers Friday, Jan. 31 at 4 p.m. at the Don Gambril Olympic Pool.
Auburn's women, the defending national champions, are currently ranked No. 1 in the nation while the men, third at last year's NCAA, are tied with Stanford for No. 1 spot in the coaches' poll. The Tide men are 14th in the latest poll while the women are 20th.
"Auburn is obviously the favorite this weekend," Alabama head coach Don Wagner said. "But we are going to be competitive in this meet. We are going to race and compete very hard. I think we'll give them a meet, which hasn't always been the case in the last few years."
Auburn comes to the Tuscaloosa just as the Crimson Tide is making some real strides this season. Last weekend, while the women lost to Florida, it was a close meet, and two Alabama school records were broken in the process. The Tide's men, hot off their upset of the Gators, will be rolling into Friday with their confidence on high.
And of course, there is the rivalry factor, which Wagner, the Tide's head coach since the 2000 season, hopes to make a little more even in the very near future.
"We've had to build back up to it," Wagner said. "But make no mistake; we are going to be competitive with Auburn in the near future. There are steps in the process and one of those was getting both teams back in the top-20, which we did last season. And beating a team like Florida last weekend was another step. We're not going to stop until we're back on top."
On the men's side, the Tide's top weapons include freshman Vlad Polyakov, the nation's sixth ranked 200 breaststroker, and All-American sophomores Stewart Smith, a diver, and Stefan Gherghel, a butterflyer. Gherghel, the defending NCAA 200 butterfly champion, is currently ranked third in that event.
Leading the Alabama women is junior All-American Anne Poleska is the nation's top-ranked 200 breaststroker and currently No. 3 in the 100 breaststroke. Also scoring big for the Tide is junior All-American diver Lane Bassham. A pair of freshmen are also making a splash nationally. Victoria Genova, who broke the Tide's 200 butterfly record last weekend against the Gators, and Candace Weiman, second all-time for Alabama, are both ranked in the nation's top-25 in that event.
The Tigers aren't the only game on the Tide's list this weekend. The South Carolina Gamecocks will be in town Saturday, starting at 1 p.m. in DGOP. The Tide will be looking for revenge after getting swept by the Gamecocks last season. Admission to both meets is free.
