Goggles, swim caps and stopwatches can only mean one thing: Auburn swimming and diving is warming up for another big meet.
The undefeated men's and women's teams will face Pennsylvania State University Friday at 4 p.m. at the James E. Martin Aquatic Center.
It will be the first home meet of the season for the men and the second for the women, who defeated Arkansas Oct. 5.
Senior diver Vennie Dantin said she anticipates a better performance in the Lady Tigers' second home appearance.
"I think especially for our freshman class to get back here is good," Dantin said. "Our first meet, it seemed like it was kind of a whirlwind for them with nerves and such. It will be really fun for us to be back in the home atmosphere."
Beginning with Penn State, both Auburn squads will have only one week without a meet until finals.
Associate head coach Frank Bradley said the staff makes sure they allow adequte rest for the swimmers during practices early in the season.
"We put the season in different phases of training," Bradley said. "It is either in the weight room where they are focusing on different power output, or in the pool where they focus on an endurance phase.
"We will then get into a more race-specific phase. And I think the way the meets stack up on the schedule it keeps good stimulation for them and keeps them from burning out."
Dantin said the dive team's training is different from their swimming counterparts.
"For divers we start off with a lot of basics," Dantin said. "You have to build that foundation as the season progresses and build on things. It is kind of the opposite of swimmers where we don't taper down--we actually increase our numbers as the season goes on."
Friday will be the first meet of the season with both squads competing together, and senior swimmer Max Murphy said this brings more energy to the pool.
"When they race fast," Murphy said, "it fires the guys up. And I'm sure it is the same with them when we swim fast."
Murphy said facing nonconference teams like Penn State keeps the season exciting.
"It gives us new faces, new teams to race," Murphy said. "We sometimes see the same teams over and over every year, and it's nice to race someone we usually do not get to race."
Bradley said the meet will be a measuring stick for the Tigers to see how they stack up against nonconference opponents.
"We get to stand up against a great team and be challenged by a team we don't get to see every day," Bradley said. "It is a little bit of an unknown in some aspects and just seeing some of the competition from another great conference, the Big 10."
So far, the men's and women's swimming and diving teams have beaten SEC opponents Arkansas and LSU, as well as Notre Dame.
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