Tweet

BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Virginia Tech men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams have released the 2009-10 meet schedule, as announced by head coach Ned Skinner. The H₂Okies will host six home meets throughout the season, including the Virginia Tech Swimming Invitational at the Christiansburg Aquatics Center to close out the season.

“We are really excited about this year’s competitive schedule,” said Skinner. “Our schedule features many strong ACC rivals along with some other great out of conference meets from the SEC, BIG EAST and A-10.”

The squads will kick off the season on Oct. 17 in Chapel Hill, N.C., at the University of North Carolina, where they will also compete against the University of South Carolina.

The H₂Okies will then compete at home at War Memorial Pool for four consecutive home meets, ranging from Oct. 21 when they will host in-state foe Virginia, who won the men’s and women’s ACC titles last season, to Nov. 7, when both squads will compete against Duke and the women will also contend with Miami. The teams will also challenge Penn State on Oct. 31 and Kentucky on Nov. 6.

The H₂Okies will once again travel to Knoxville, Tenn., to compete at the Volunteer Invitational this year, scheduled for Nov. 19-21. Last year, both the men and women claimed second-place finishes.

“The competition we will see at the Volunteer Invitational in Knoxville should really prepare us for our ACC Championships in North Carolina in late February,” Skinner said.

On the return home to Blacksburg, the H₂Okies will celebrate senior and parent’s day festivities on Jan. 16, hosting Davidson for a 1 p.m. start. The parents of the student-athletes will also be recognized during the formal presentation.

Both teams will conclude the regular season on the road, traveling to compete at Georgia Tech (with Florida State) on Jan. 23 and at West Virginia (with Duquesne) on Jan. 30.

The women will then prepare for the ACC Championships in Chapel Hill on Feb. 17-20, followed by the men on Feb. 24-27.

On the weekend of March 5-6, the H₂Okies will host their own Virginia Tech Swimming Invitational at the brand new Christiansburg Aquatics Center to prepare for the NCAA Championships.

Head diving coach Ron Piemonte and his team of divers will compete at the NCAA Zone B Diving Championships from March 12-14, where last year Mikey McDonald qualified for the NCAA Championships.

The women’s swimming NCAA Championships will then be held at Purdue on March 18-20, and the men will take the pool on March 25-27 at Ohio State.

“This year we have really worked to find nationally ranked competition which will elevate our student-athletes’ experience and prepare them to become better athletes when it counts,” Skinner said.

For updates on Virginia Tech swimming & diving, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_SwimDive).