The Washington State University women are the first Pac-12 swimming & diving program to announce a scheduled meet for the 2020-21 NCAA season, and will likely be the first to compete.
The Cougars will open the campaign on Friday, Nov.20 at the University of Idaho, whose campus is located less than a 10 minute drive away (both are right on the border of their respective states).
The Vandals, who competed at the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Championships last season (with the Big Sky Conference not sponsoring swimming & diving), will open their season this weekend (Nov.13-15) when they host Seattle.
The Pac-12 conference approved the return of women’s swimming competition earlier this week, according to Washington State’s press release. No other program has announced any meets as of yet.
The WSU women placed eighth out of eight teams at last season’s Pac-12 Championships.
“Monday marked an exciting day for WSU Swimming as we prepare for our regular season dual meet schedule,” said WSU women’s head coach Matt Leach. “There have been a lot of outstanding people that have allowed this to happen including our amazing student-athletes that work tirelessly in the sport they love along with our administration and Pac-12 conference to place safety as our top priority.
“President Schultz, our Director of Athletics Pat Chun and our Deputy Director of Athletics/COO Bryan Blair have provided great leadership during the pandemic and found ways to help our student-athletes grow and achieve in the classroom and the pool during these difficult times.
“Our Deputy Director of Athletics/SWA Anne McCoy has been instrumental in advocating for Swimming and Diving to move forward with its season in a safe and regulated manner,” Leach continued. “Thank you to our fans for your tremendous dedication and we will continue to represent this great university and the Pac-12 Conference in every faucet of our lives. Go Cougs!”
The school will release its full 2020-21 dual meet schedule at a later date.
GO COUGS!!
I wish my away meets were all this short. Sure would save a ton on gas!