The LSU swimming and diving squads had much to be proud of over their 2013-14 campaign, with individuals producing great performances throughout the season, but there was also much the two squads couldn’t capitalize on, making it a bittersweet season for the squads.
The squads came into the spring semester with a collective two wins, both on the women’s side. With only three meets left for the two squads before the Southeastern Conference Championships on Feb. 18, the swimmers knew it was time to step it up.
The men’s swimming and diving team started its spring with a meet against SMU on Jan. 9, which they won in dominating fashion with a score of 185-112.
It was the men’s first win of the year, and it was in part because of freshman Brandon Goldman and his three wins in that meet.
Junior captain Frank Greeff also saw major success in the meet with two wins of his own in the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly. After the SMU meet Greeff went on to break a school record in the 200-yard butterfly.
The Tigers, behind the strong outings by Greeff, went on to defeat Texas A&M on senior day Jan. 18 before wrapping up their season at the SEC Championships, where they finished ninth out of 10 teams competing.
The men’s squad saw six seniors finish their college careers this season, and LSU swim coach Dave Geyer saw nothing but improvement from the men going forward with the lack of seniors departing from the squad.
“All in all, this was a building season for our young team,” Geyer said in a news release. “There is talent here and the rest of the school year their development is in their own hands.”
For the Lady Tigers, they were able to win four more meets in their spring campaign, giving them a 6-3 record on the year heading into SEC Championships.
The Lady Tigers’ six-win season was likely because of the individual performances of both sophomore Cassie Weil and freshman Kara Kopcso.
Kopcso, the Mandeville, La. native, had a breakout season in her freshman debut, breaking the school record in the 200-yard butterfly along with being named SEC Freshman Swimmer of the Week during the season.
Weil, the standout diver from Hillsboro, Ore., earned NCAA All-America honors on both the three-meter dive and the platform dive at the NCAA Championships while also grabbing two bronze medals at the SEC Championships.
The Lady Tigers placed seventh overall at the SEC meet.
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