EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Head swimming and diving coach Rickey Perkins announced the slate for the 2013-14 squads on Friday. The schedule features five home events and several teams that were extremely competitive a season ago.
"I am very excited about this year's meet schedule," Perkins said. "I believe it's a balanced schedule of teams we are familiar with, along with new teams that will make us better throughout the season. Our goals for each meet will be fun, be a team and compete with our hearts"
The women match up against the top three teams from the MVC (Missouri State, Illinois State and Southern Illinois), 2013 Mid-American Conference champion Miami University, Conference USA runner-up Houston and Purdue, who was 19th at the 2013 NCAA Championship meet.
Things are just as competitive for the men, who face four MAC schools including Missouri State, who was second at the 2013 MAC Championships. Conference opponents also include Miami University, SIU and Ball State. The Aces also swim against Purdue, who was 25th at the 2013 NCAA Championship.
Evansville will tune up on Sept. 28 at Wyttenbach Pool in the Carson Center at 11 a.m. before playing host to the Salukis on Oct. 12. Following a 2-week layoff, the teams make the trek to West Lafayette for the Indiana Intercollegiate.
Conference play resumes on in Springfield, Mo. as UE faces Missouri State before the men come home to host Ball State and the women travel to Illinois State. The teams reunite on Nov. 9 at Eastern Illinois before traveling to the House of Champions in Indianapolis from Nov. 22-24 and to Columbia, Ky. to take on Lindsay Wilson and Cumberland College.
Following Christmas break, the women face the University of Houston at the Carson Center on Jan. 10 while both teams return to action eight days later to face Miami (Ohio). A trip to Saint Louis awaits the men and women on Jan. 24 while the men will swim at the Butler Invite on Jan. 26.
The final regular-season conference meet will be at Southern Illinois on Feb. 1 before the women return to Carbondale for the MVC Championship from Feb. 13-15. The men take their turn at the MAC Championship in Buffalo, N.Y. from March 6-8.
Diving Zones will be from March 13-15 while the Hoosierland Open Invitational will take place from March 14-16. The schedule wraps up with the NCAA Championships as the women will be in Minneapolis from March 20-22 while the men will travel to Austin, Texas from March 27-29.
