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BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech swimming and diving teams will host five home events as part of a challenging 2015-16 schedule, head coach Ned Skinner announced on Friday.

The Hokies will be facing six opponents that finished in the top 30 of the CSCAA final regular-season rankings last season.

"We are very excited about the schedule and the upcoming season. We feel we have a strong balance of nationally elite programs and some teams and coaches that I have long admired,” Skinner said.

The H₂Okies start competition in quick succession against familiar foes with a trip to University Park, Pa. to take on the Nittany Lions on Oct. 16. They face a quick turn around the next day as they head south to take on the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Tech opens their home schedule with the first of three consecutive meets at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center on Oct. 30 as they play host to the defending Division II national champions Queens University (N.C.) and Richmond.

The next day, the Hokies welcome UMBC and Gardner-Webb. Tech closes out their homestand with a pair of ACC foes in Notre Dame and Pittsburgh in an early November matchup. Tech will then head to the Tennessee Fall Invitational to wrap up the fall season on Nov. 20-22.

“The fall invite at Tennessee will be a strong challenge for the Hokies and will feature a unique opportunity to swim long course events, which could allow us to qualify for the US Olympic Trials," Skinner said.

The winter schedule picks up in Florida as the Hokies face Buffalo on Jan. 3 before meeting up with top-30 programs from the SEC in Kentucky and LSU.

“We have added some nice SEC flavor as we head to Kentucky which will include my alma mater, LSU. We have plenty of strong ACC competition,” Skinner said.

Virginia Tech will host ACC and in-state rival Virginia as well as Towson on Jan. 15 as part of the Senior and Parent’s Weekend that will take place on Jan. 16. The team travels to face the Bearcats of Cincinnati and Wright State the following weekend.

The Hokies finish the regular-season hosting the Virginia Tech Invitational on Feb. 6-7 before shipping off to the ACC Championships held in Greensboro, N.C. with the women’s championship taking place Feb. 17-20 and the men’s held Feb. 24-27.

The NCAA Zone A Diving qualifiers will be in Annapolis, Md. with the NCAA Championships held in Atlanta, Ga. in March.

For updates on Virginia Tech swimming & diving, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_SwimDive