Eleven seniors will be honored - six from the No. 8-ranked Aggie women's team and five from the No. 20 men's team - prior to the Aggies and Tigers' showdown in the pool.
The Aggie women's matchup against the No. 23 Tigers will be especially meaningful for A&M women's head coach Steve Bultman, who graduated from LSU and also coached the Tiger swimmers previously. For A&M, which is 3-2 in dual meets this season, Saturday's meet against the Tigers (10-3 in duals) will be the final competition before the Big 12 and NCAA Championships.
"I always want LSU to do well, except for that one meet a year when we're facing them in the pool," Bultman said. "They are having a very good season and have some very talented athletes. I know they will be a good challenge for us, which is what we're looking for at this point of the season. This will be our last competition before the championship season, so this meet will help us with the evaluations that we have to make over the next month."
Holmes' 4-0 Aggie men's team will face a strong test from No. 22 LSU, which is 6-4 this season and have won five of their last five competitions. It's always a hotly contested battle between the Aggies and Tigers, who have split the last four meetings.
"I know our team looks forward to the annual meet with the LSU Tigers," Holmes said. "It means something to them. It's a great rivalry and we consider it serious business to represent Texas A&M against LSU. We've recruited guys on their team and they've recruited guys on our team, so both teams are familiar with each other and that makes it fun. We expect LSU to come out fairly aggressive and we look forward to the challenge.
The seniors being honored from the women's team are Melanie Dodds (Maple Ridge, BC, Canada), Hannah Kinder (Cape Girardeau, Mo.), Lindsey King (Portland, Ore.), Caroline Maxvill (Dallas, Texas), Jaele Patrick (Lilydale, Victoria, Australia) and Maria Sommer (Brenham, Texas).
"This is a special group of seniors that have definitely made their mark on the Texas A&M swimming and diving program," Bultman said. "This class came on the heels of two really successful senior groups, and it's been fun to see this group of seniors step up into a leadership role. They've made their mark, and I expect them to make an even bigger mark over the next two months."
The men's senior class of 2011 is Andres Van Dam (Caracas, Venezuela).
"This group of seniors all came from different places and different programs, but they came in here determined to develop the culture of Texas A&M swimming and diving," Holmes said. "They did a great job of buying into what we're trying to accomplish and doing whatever it took to be successful. I have a real appreciation of this class and their decision to try to make Texas A&M a great program and wanting to be a part of the process."
Admission to the competition is free, and a live stream of the A&M-LSU matchup can be accessed at AggieAthletics.com.