Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Swimming and Diving Announces 2016-17 Schedule
8/10/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
2016-17 Schedule
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- Marshall's swimming and diving coach Bill Tramel announced the Thundering Herd's 2016-17 schedule on Wednesday.
The slate includes teams from four of the Power 5 Conferences. Marshall will compete against two teams from the Big Ten Conference, two from the Southeastern Conference, five from the Atlantic Coast Conference, and in-state rival, West Virginia University from the Big 12 Conference.
"I'm really excited about this schedule." coach Tramel said. "We want to compete against the best teams possible. That's how we prepare for the championship season, by forcing ourselves to execute every time we get into competition. Really, there are no easy meets here. There are probably a half dozen teams we have never beaten. It's going to take superior efforts from everyone on our team if we are going to have a similar regular season as last year. This will be much more difficult but very valuable."
The Herd opens the season with the sixth annual West Virginia Games from Oct. 7-8. The invitational gathers all West Virginia collegiate programs. This will be the third time the event is hosted in Huntington.
Marshall travels to four double dual meets this season. They include stops at Illinois with fellow Big Ten foe Michigan State, as well as a trip to Saint Louis University with Arkansas-Little Rock.
The Miami (Ohio) series returns after an eight year hiatus. The meet in Oxford, Ohio includes Bowling Green. The Herd also travels to James Madison with VMI.
The Thundering Herd was invited to the inaugural NC State Invitational held at the Greensboro Aquatic Center from Nov. 17-19. The meet will feature host NC State, North Carolina, Duke, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Miami (Fla.), and West Virginia.
Home contests include visits from SEC member Vanderbilt, as well as Ohio, and Cleveland State. All Home meets will all be held at the Fitch Natatorium in the Cam Henderson Center.
The 2017 Conference USA Championships return to the 1996 Olympic Pool in Atlanta on February 22-25. Marshall finished a program best third place in last year's championships, a mere 17.5 points away from second place Rice.
Those who advance to post season will compete at the NCAA Championships held in Indianapolis.
