Jan. 10, 2008
NASHVILLE, Tenn. Â The Vanderbilt swimming team hosts its first swim meet since 1992 on Friday at 1 p.m. as it welcomes the Miami Hurricanes to the Centennial Sportsplex.
“I think everyone’s really thrilled to have a meet at home,” Vanderbilt head coach Jeremy Organ said. “The girls are excited to compete in front of the home crowd and be able to represent Vanderbilt.”
Vanderbilt’s last home swim meet was on January 24, 1992, when the Commodores hosted Emory at the Memorial Gym Pool. The swim program was dropped after the 1992 season due to inadequate facilities. After 14 years, the program was revived last season under the direction of coach Organ.
“I think it’s real good for exposure locally to have home meets,” Organ said. “Having that home meet helps with the swimmers in the local area, especially young kids who can come out and watch the meet and get excited about Vanderbilt swimming. It will also be good to get the local fans interested and following the team.”
The Commodores (0-6 in dual meets) return to the pool after almost a two-month layoff. Vanderbilt was last in action Nov. 16-18 at the Western Kentucky Invite. Freshman Leigh-Ann Axt was the top performer for the Commodores in the fall, winning 11 individual races and setting a new school record in the 100-yard butterfly, with a time of 56.42.
“We’ve had real rigorous workouts the last couple of weeks of training,” Organ said. “Everyone is looking really good and I think they’re really excited to get back into competition. We’re nearing the end of the season so everyone is getting excited and starting to focus on the little things.”
Miami enters the meet with a 5-1 dual meet record on the season. The Hurricanes have a tradition of excellence as their swimming program has produced 20 national champions and eight Olympians. Miami is led by freshman Annika Saarnak who was named Muscle Milk Student-Athlete of the Week after her performance in Miami¹s last meet against Notre Dame. Saarnak won the 100-yard freestyle and placed second in the 200-yard freestyle.
“They are deep in tradition,” Organ said. “They’re going to come up here and be ready to go. They had a meet last week so they are fresh off a competition. They’re real excited to come to Nashville and to swim against us at home. We have to be prepared to go in and give it our best shot.”
