The Georgia Tech Invite in November is set to feature several of the top SEC and ACC schools, including new-look staffs at Florida, Virginia Tech and Auburn.
The highest returning NCAA team in the field are the Florida men, though they’ve had massive roster turnover since a fifth-place showing last March. New head coaches Anthony Nesty (men) and Jeff Poppell (women) each debut with stellar freshman classes.
The Virginia Tech-Auburn battle will be an intriguing storyline. Auburn moved on from head coach Brett Hawke, leaving assistant Sergio Lopez to take over Virginia Tech’s opening. New Auburn coach Gary Taylor will lead a men’s team that lost its two best swimmers to transfers, one to Lopez and Virginia Tech – that’s IMer Hugo Gonzalez.
A representative from Georgia Tech said the current invite lineup is set to feature Georgia Tech, Florida, Florida State, Alabama, Auburn, South Carolina, East Carolina, Virginia Tech and Florida Gulf Coast.
The Georgia Tech Invite comes on the first major weekend of NCAA mid-season invite action. The week before Thanksgiving will feature six major invites, while the weekend after Thanksgiving will include five more:
Nov 15-17
- Ohio State Invite
- Missouri Invite
- Art Adamson (Texas A&M) Invite
- Hawkeye (Iowa) Invite
- IU (Indiana) Invite
- Georgia Tech Invite
Nov 28 – Dec 1
- Texas Hall of Fame Invite
- Tennessee Invite
- Minnesota Invite
- Georgia Invite
- UNLV Invite
There’s something about NC State. The culture there seems unmatched. Just look at UVA last year. I think Auburn is going to have a huge year under Gary Taylor.