 "Photo: Paul Chouy/ The Daily Texan")
The University of Texas men’s swimming and diving team will hold its annual Orange-White Classic today at 3 p.m. at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center. This will be the first chance fans will have to take a look at this year’s team.
The Orange-White Classic is the first competition of the year in which the team is divided in half in order to compete against each other.
“We try to split the team as evenly as we can so that it’s competitive,” said Kris Kubik, the men’s swimming and diving assistant coach who will announce the event.
For each event, they pair the athlete who they think will finish first with the person they think will finish third. The swimmers whom they think will finish second and fourth will compete against them on the other team so that each event is as competitive as possible.
The team will participate in all of the same events that they will face during the regular season, so the Longhorns will get an accurate look at the team they have.
“So basically, it’s a dress rehearsal of what’s to come later in the year,” Kubik said.
This meet will help prepare the swimmers for their major dual-meet season that starts in January. In January, they will compete against the defending national champion, Auburn University, to whom Texas finished second last year in the NCAA Championship. Along with Auburn, Texas has Georgia and Arizona on the schedule for January, and in February, the Longhorns will face Texas A&M and SMU.
“[The Orange-White Classic] is our initial groundbreak meet: a) to familiarize the new comers to what college dual meet should be like, and then b) for everyone to race and kind of get a feel for college competition,” Kubik said.
At the event, fans can see about 13 swimming events, the 1-meter diving event, the 3-meter diving event, and then a freestyle relay to conclude the meet. Teams will be scored, and a winner will be declared.
Among the swimmers competing today are Olympic gold medalists Ricky Berens and Dave Walters, Olympic finalist Scott Spann and two-time Big 12 Champion diver Matt Cooper. Kubik says the team is very close day in and day out throughout the year as teammates, but during this event they will not like each other depending on what team they represent.
“The orange team is definitely a team, and the white team is definitely a team. And then… [after the meet concludes] we sing ‘The Eyes of Texas,’ and then we are once again the University of Texas swimming team,” Kubik said.
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