Sept. 29, 2016
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt swim team will head on the road this week for the first time this season on Friday when they travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala. They will face off with Alabama and West Florida in a tri-meet that will begin at 4 pm CT.
The Commodores are coming off a good showing in their season opener against the LSU Tigers and are looking to improve going into this meet.
“Going on the road to Alabama will be a tough test for us but it is what we need,” said head coach Jeremy Organ following their home opener last week. “The biggest thing will be consistency and training along with continuing to improve. With another week of training before Alabama, I think it will be very good for us.”
The ‘Dores had a very impressive showing from the freshmen class in their first meet of the season. Six of the seven freshmen made their collegiate debuts with Amanda Chabbott, Paige Hamilton, Namilla Sanchez, and Selah Peacock gaining podium finishes. Peacock finished first in the 1000-yard freestyle, the lone victory for the Commodores on the afternoon.
Scouting the Crimson Tide: Alabama will be hosting the Commodores for the first time since 2009 when they defeated the ‘Dores 199-79. The last time the two squads faced off, Alabama traveled to West End in 2012 and were victorious 158-103. The Crimson Tide finished 10th last season at the SEC Championships. They opened their season against Delta State on Sept. 9 and won 212-82.
Scouting the Argonauts: West Florida will be opening their season this Friday against Alabama and Vanderbilt. The ‘Dores and Argonauts have faced off once before back in 2014. West Florida traveled to Nashville for senior night and the Commodores came away with the victory 203-57. Then-freshmen Alexandra Blankenburg and Carrie Bencic picked up wins on the night against West Florida and Liberty. Blankenburg took first in the 200-yard butterfly and Bencic took the top spot in the 500-yard freestyle.