Alabama Hosts SEC Swim/Dive Championships This Week
2/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ?? With the regular season in the books, the Alabama Swimming and Diving teams start the postseason in familiar waters. The Crimson Tide hosts the Southeastern Conference Championships at home this week in the friendly confines of the Alabama Aquatic Center starting Wednesday and running through Saturday.
“It's huge just having it in our home pool,” Alabama head coach Eric McIlquham said. “You know you're always more comfortable in your own confines. We're in our own locker room. You know the little things that make it more comfortable for our own kids. We train here day-in and day-out. We know the facility, we know the pool, we know the walls and we know the starting blocks.
“It's a huge plus for us to host this meet. My kids are chomping at the bit ready to go.”
Those in attendance are in for a treat. The SEC is the nation’s best conference winning 10 NCAA women’s titles and nine men’s titles over the years with most of those coming in the past decade. The event sold out the first day tickets went on sale.
“It's just good exposure for the University,” McIlquham said. “We'll get to see what this place looks like when it's packed out.”
This week marks the sixth time since 1981 that the Tide has hosted the league championship, the most of any school during that period. Alabama’s men won both its SEC team titles, 1982 and 1987, at the Alabama Aquatic Center.
The last time the league came to town in 2001, then Tide freshman Anne Poleska shattered the SEC 200 breaststroke record, posting a mark that still stands today.
Alabama will again be in the hunt for the women’s 200 breaststroke title. Sophomore Agustina de Giovanni is seeded third in the event as well as sitting fourth in the 400 IM coming into the week.
Sophomore diver Aaron Fleshner is the top seed off both the one and three-meter boards. McIlquham is hopeful that Fleshner, who will compete in the first men’s event of the meet on Wednesday evening, can get the Tide started off with a title.
And while the meet is soldout, fans will be able to keep up with all the happenings at the Aquatic Center at RollTide.com. The meet starts Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. with the prelims of the women’s one-meter diving followed by the men’s three-meter diving at 2:30 p.m.
The finals of the women’s one-meter starts at 6 p.m. followed by the men’s and women’s 200 medley relays, the men’s three-meter diving finals and the men’s and women’s 800 freestyle relays. For the rest of the week, prelims will start each day at 10 a.m. and the finals will start at 6 p.m.
Players Mentioned
