University of Tennessee Athletics
Tankers Host Defending National Champs
November 01, 2007 | Men's Swimming & Diving
The 11th-ranked Tennessee men???s swimming and diving team hosts NCAA Champion and second-ranked Auburn Friday in the last scheduled home meet at the UT Student Aquatic Center.
???Anytime the defending SEC and national champion comes to town, it should bring out the best in the home team.,??? UT head coach John Trembley said. ???We are a very young team with half of our group in their first year of competition at Tennessee. For us to be remotely competitive with Auburn will be a great challenge. While our team has done some great things in training, they have not quite put it together in competition. We really have to get better for the Auburn meet, the Georgia meet and the Texas Invite at the end of the semester. I hope we have a good crowd and I hope our guys will step up and race.???
The Vols do face a tough challenge -- considering Auburn???s domination of the swimming world this decade -- as the Tigers have collected five consecutive NCAA Championships. Both teams boast rich swimming and diving histories which will make this meet an exciting clash of giants.
The first Tennessee-Auburn meeting took place in 1935. The Vols lead the series 18-5, but Auburn has won the last two meetings (2004 and 1995). In fact, there have only been six dual meets between the two teams since 1980.
The meet kicks off at 4:30 p.m. in the UT Student Aquatic Center.
