The LSU men’s swimming and diving teams will head to Colorado Springs to participate in a multi-team meet Friday at the Cadet Natatorium featuring Air Force, Denver, and Wyoming. The Friday portion of the competition will begin at 5 p.m. local time and the Saturday portion will start at 10:00 a.m. MT.
The Tigers are coming off of their first win in the 2021-22 season, picking up the first victory of the Rick Bishop era over Grand Canyon on Oct. 9-10.
LSU began the meet with an impressive start as the men and women both won the 200-yard medley relay. The women’s ‘A’ and ‘B’ relay teams finished in first and second, respectively. The men also took first place in the first official event of the season.
LSU won 23 swimming events during the meet, which was highlighted by 2020 Tokyo Olympian Brooks Curry, who broke the pool record in the 50-yard free with a time of 19.51.
Freshman Griffin Curtis showed off the incredible talent of the incoming recruiting class after winning three events: 200-yard medley relay, 100-yard backstroke, and 200-yard backstroke. Junior Katarina Milutinovich also had a strong outing for the Tigers, as she won four separate events, two of them individually. She won the 200-yard free, 100-yard free, and was a part of the 400-yard free relay and 200-yard medley relay.
In addition to the strong performance from Milutinovich, Griffin, and Curry, sophomore Hannah Bellina and junior Jolee Liles swam excellent. Bellina finished the meet with three wins in the 200-yard butterfly, 100-yard butterfly, and 400-yard free relay. Liles started off her third season in the purple and gold with two wins in the 1000-yard free and the 500-yard free.
On the boards, 2020 Olympian Juan Celaya-Hernandez continued to impress, as he took home first place in the one-meter springboard with a score of 423.90. He also placed first in the three-meter springboard with a final score of 416.10.
Celaya-Hernandez was named the SEC Male Diver of the week after his performance. It’s the 14th time Celaya-Hernandez has been named the league’s Male Diver of the Week.
“What a great honor for Juan,” diving head coach Doug Shaffer said. “In his career, he has achieved diver of the week 14 times. The one thing about Juan is he loves to compete and always gives his best.”
Sophomore Montserrat Gutierrez Lavenant, 2021 Female Diver of the Year recipient, showed off her strength on the boards finishing the day with two first-place finishes. She scored a 301.50 in the three-meter dive and a 298.73 in the one-meter dive. Freshman Maggie Buckley showed out during the first dual meet of her LSU career finishing in second place behind Gutierrez Lavenant on the three-meter and one-meter scoring a 301.05 and a 279.00.
Freshman Zayne Danielewicz and junior Hayley Montague also had strong outings. Danielewicz finished in fourth on the three-meter with a score of 240.38 and fourth on the one-meter with a score of 273.15. Montague finished the meet with a third-place finish on the three-meter with a score of 271.43 and fifth on the one-meter with a score of 256.73.
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