Rice University Athletics
Swimmers Announce Upcoming Schedule
7/16/2019 12:59:00 PM | Swimming & Diving
Owls Host Five Home Meets This Season
Rice opens the 2019-2020 season on September 14 in Lawrence, Kansas, at the Collegiate Swim Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Open Water Championships. The Owls then host the first of five home events with the annual Rice Fall Splash Invitational on Oct. 11-12. The Blue & Gray welcome Georgia Tech and the United States Air Force Academy as well as longtime foes Houston and Incarnate Word in the Invitational. The five-team meet is scheduled for three sessions over the two days (with Saturday's action divided into morning and afternoon events).
The Owls then take their talents to "South Beach" the following weekend (Oct. 18-19) for the fifth annual Dualapalooza. In this unique event the swimmers are scheduled to compete against three teams in separate dual meets over a two-day span. The Owls face defending Conference USA Champion and meet host Florida International, 2019 Summit League champion Denver, and longtime rival Tulane for the three round-robin meets in Miami, Fla.
An Alumnae Meet for the Rice program is set for Nov. 2, and coincides with the Gulf Senior Open that same weekend. The Owls host national power Texas A&M on November 9. On November 21-23 the Owls are across town at UH's annual Phill Hansel Invitational.
That is a fairly rugged lineup of opponents, and the Rice schedule has not even yet reached the new year. The Blue & Gray has winter training and a holiday meet Flagstaff, Ariz., on Jan. 1. In 2020 the swimmers are scheduled to compete against some of the best in the region and face strong opponents all the way through the C-USA Championships starting in late February. On Jan. 10-11 the Owls host C-USA foe North Texas and longtime rival SMU on back-to-back respective days. The team competes in the annual rugged two-day tri-dual meet against LSU, Houston and Tulane (at U.H.) on Jan. 31-Feb. 1.
The annual C-USA meet returns to the Georgia Tech Swim Center, the same facility that hosted the 1996 Olympics. On March 12-14 keep an eye out for the return of the CSCAA Swimming & Diving Invitational (often referred to as the "Swimming NIT") which the Owls were second-overall in both 2019 and 2018 and won in 2014. The 2020 NCAA Championships are set for March 18-21 in Athens, Ga.
Rice Swimming is under the direction of head coach Seth Huston, who is now his 18th season at the helm of the program. A year ago the Owls finished second in both the Conference USA Championships and CSCAA Invitational.
