Georgia Releases 2015-16 Schedule; Rivalry with Florida Set for October

The University of Georgia has released its schedule for the 2015-16 season, with dual meets against several of the top teams in the SEC and NCAA. Notably, the men and women will face Texas A&M in a dual meet this season, whose women finished as the #4 team in the NCAA last season and runner-up behind Georgia in the SEC. The teams will also square off with Texas, where the men will rematch with the defending NCAA champion Longhorns.

The Bulldogs will be starting their season a bit later this year. Their first meet is at home against North Carolina on Oct. 10. They’ll then take a break and train through almost a full 3 weeks before resuming dual meets.

When they return to competition on Oct. 30, they’ll be on the road against SEC rival Florida. This is a power matchup between 2 of the SEC’s most dominant teams. The Georgia women are the defending SEC champions, while the men were the runners up to Florida last season. In this meet, we’ll get a chance to look at Matias Koski vs Florida’s Mitch D’Arrigo. They were 2 of the fastest distance swimmers in the SEC last season, going 1-2 respectively in the mile. Junior Olivia Smoliga will battle with Florida’s Natalie Hinds on the women’s side.

The following week on Nov. 4, they’ll travel to Atlanta to compete against Georgia Tech, the 2016 NCAA hosts. However, the meet will be at home in Athens. On Nov. 13 they host Emory for their last dual meet before their mid-season invite.

Georgia will then prepare to host the UGA Fall Invitational on Dec. 4-6, a meet where they’ve historically used some level of rest to qualify swimmers for NCAAs. This will be their first prelims-finals meet of the season. It will also give them a look at some competitive teams that they won’t otherwise meet during the regular season, including the likes of SEC rival Auburn.

The team travels to the state of Texas for their last regular season travel meets on Jan. 8-9, which will bring some good competition for both the men and women. First, they face Texas A&M in College Station. The women will go head-to-head with the SEC runner-up from last season in that meet. That opens the door for Hali Flickinger to square off with Aggie freshman Sydney Pickrem, who competed in the I.M. events for Canada at the World Championships in Kazan.

The following day, they travel to Austin, Texas, where the men will be up against the reigning NCAA champion Longhorn men. Among the tons of star power that this meet will feature is the reigning NCAA 400 I.M. champion, Texas’ Will Licon. However, the Bulldogs have the 2015 U.S. National Champion in this event, Gunnar Bentz, on their side to answer to that.

Georgia will return to competition at home to host Tennessee on Jan. 23. In their final SEC dual, the men and women will take on the 4th ranked Volunteers from last season’s conference meet. In this one, Tennessee’s Faith Johnson and Harper Bruens could give Smoliga a challenge in the sprints. Sean Lehane, senior for the Volunteers and SEC champ in the 200 back, will have a chance to race Taylor Dale and Tynan Stewart in the backstrokes before SECs.

The Bulldogs will close out the regular season on Jan. 30. They’ll host the Wisconsin Badgers at home.

On Feb. 16-20, the men and women will travel to Missouri for the 2016 SEC Swimming & Diving championships. The Bulldog women will look to defend a streak of SEC Championship titles, and the men will build off a successful 2nd place finish from 2015.

Swimmers who have not yet qualified for the NCAA Championships will get one last chance to qualify for the meet at home. The Bulldog Last Chance Meet will run Feb. 27-18 in Athens.

The Bulldogs who have successfully earned their place at the meet will travel to NCAAs in Atlanta, Georgia for both men and women. The women’s meet will be held Mar. 17-19, while the men will race on Mar. 24-16.