Six home events, including the 2016 Southeastern Championships, highlight the Mizzou swimming and diving schedule, Head Coach Greg Rhodenbaugh announced on Tuesday (Aug. 25). The Tigers host the SEC Championships, one of collegiate swimming and diving’s most competitive meets, at the Mizzou Aquatic Center for the first time Feb. 16-20.
The Tigers open the season at home at the Mizzou Aquatic Center on Oct. 2 with the 10th annual Show-Me Showdown, where Mizzou will be joined in the pool by nine other Missouri universities: Drury, Lindenwood, Maryville, Missouri S&T, Missouri State, Truman State, Missouri-Saint Louis, Washington University and William Jewell.
Following the Showdown, Mizzou hosts SEC foe Tennessee on Thursday, Oct. 15. The women then head to Dallas, Texas, Oct. 16-17 to compete in the SMU Classic against Florida State, Louisville, TCU, UCLA and host SMU.
Mizzou welcomes Kentucky, Northwestern and Southern Illinois to the Mizzou Aquatic Center, Nov. 6-7, for a two-day quad dual. The dual between the Missouri and Kentucky will serve as the official teams’ SEC matchup for the season.
From Nov. 19-21 the Tigers travel to Knoxville, Tenn., to compete in the Tennessee Invite. The meet serves as Mizzou’s mid-season taper event to earn NCAA qualifying cuts for bids to the NCAA Championships.
With the swimmers idle until January, the Mizzou divers will compete at the USA Diving Winter National Championships in Indianapolis, Ind., Dec. 15-20. The divers then head to Athens, Ga., Jan. 1-3 for the three-day Georgia Diving Invite.
The Tigers continue dual competition with three-straight road meets in mid-January. First up is a trip to Baton Rouge, La. onJan. 14 to face SEC opponent LSU. The following week, Mizzou travels to Springfield, Mo., for meets against Drury on Jan. 22and Missouri State on Jan. 23.
Postseason competition comes to the Mizzou Aquatic Center Feb. 16-20 as Mizzou hosts the 2016 SEC Championships. The event, which features 12 women’s teams and 10 men’s teams, features six men’s and six women’s programs that finished in the top-16 at the 2015 NCAA Championships.
Following SECs, Tiger women who need NCAA qualifying times will travel the NCAA Last Chance Meet in West Lafayette, Ind., on Feb. 27, while the men will head to Austin, Texas, for the American Short Course Championships, March 3-5.
From March 7-9, the Mizzou divers will vie for NCAA Championship berths at the NCAA Zone D Diving Championships in College Station, Texas.
The 2016 NCAA Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships will both be held in Atlanta, Ga., on the campus of Georgia Tech one week apart. The women hit the pool March 17-19, while the men’s event will take place March 24-26.
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