The Liberty Swimming & Diving team, under the direction of 10th-year Head Coach Jake Shellenberger, has announced an exciting 2019-20 season schedule. Highlights include trips to Penn State, BYU and Florida.
Liberty had posted a 99-30 all-time record in dual meets and needs one more victory for 100 wins in program history. The defending CCSA champion Lady Flames are riding a 23-meet winning streak, the second-longest active dual meet winning streak in NCAA Division I women’s swimming & diving.
Lynchburg area swimming & diving fans will have several opportunities to see the Lady Flames in action at the Liberty Natatorium, beginning with an intrasquad scrimmage on Sept. 21.
The Lady Flames open the regular season with a tri-meet hosted by Penn State on Oct. 4 5 where they will take on the Big Ten’s Nittany Lions along with St. Bonaventure. This trip has special meaning for Liberty coaches Jake Shellenberger and Jessica Barnes, as Shellenberger was an assistant coach at Penn State for three years and Barnes swam for the Nittany Lions.
While in Pennsylvania, the Lady Flames will also take on Saint Francis (Pa.) on Oct. 5.
The following week, Liberty’s swimming & diving squad will split up, as the swimmers will take on Campbell on Oct. 11 in Buies Creek and the divers will contest a tri-meet at UNCW the next day.
Liberty hosts UNC Asheville in its regular-season home opener, a meet that will take place on Oct. 25-26.
The month of Nov. opens with a trip to Provo, Utah, where the Lady Flames will compete in a meet hosted by BYU, Nov. 8-9. The Lady Flames will then have an opportunity to cheer on Liberty’s football team at BYU.
For the second year in a row, Liberty will host an in-season invitational, as the 2019 TYR ’85 Invite is scheduled for Nov. 22-24.
The Lady Flames will open the new year in Gainesville, Fla., taking on Florida, Vanderbilt and North Florida on Jan. 3. Then, Liberty will face longtime CCSA rival FGCU on Jan. 4 in Fort Myers, Fla. Last year, Liberty picked up its first-ever dual-meet win over the Eagles.
Liberty’s divers will compete in the Navy Diving Invite Jan. 17-19 in Annapolis, Md.
Liberty closes out its home schedule on Jan. 25, hosting Campbell and James Madison for the TYR Senior Celebration.
For the first time since 2014, the CCSA Swimming & Diving Championships will be held at Allan Jones Aquatic Center in Knoxville, Tenn., Feb. 19-22. The last time the CCSA Championships were held at Tennessee, Liberty earned its first-ever conference title. The facility was also the site of current Liberty diving coach Tori Lamp Wood’s All-American career.
Liberty will host the third annual Liberty Last Chance Invitational, Feb. 28 through March 1, as competitors make their last attempt at NCAA qualifying times.
Divers who earn qualifying marks will compete in the NCAA Zone A Division Championships, March 9-11 in Morgantown, W.V.
The 2020 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving Championship will be held March 18-21 at IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, Ind. The last time the NCAA Championships were hosted at IU Natatorium was 2017, when Alicia Finnigan competed in both the 100 and 200 fly.
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