Hogs dive into regular season

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – On Friday, the Arkansas women’s swimming and diving team opens its season against SEC foes Tennessee and Vanderbilt in a double-dual meet in Knoxville, Tenn., on a quest for its second consecutive winning season behind third-year head coach Jeff Poppell.Last season, the Razorbacks posted a 7-5 dual record, the first winning record since the 2000-01 season when the team finished 8-4. Last season’s victories included a 195-38 win over Vanderbilt in the programs’ first meeting. Although Arkansas and Tennessee both competed at the Indiana Hoosierland Open last November, the teams have not faced each other in a dual meet since the 2004-05 season when Tennessee won 121-111, giving the Lady Vols a 6-0 lifetime record over the Hogs. Anchored by returning All-Americans Stephanie Carr (1650 free), Katie Kastes (500 free, 200 fly) and Madison Palmer (one-meter dive), and aided by 13 newcomers including three-time Olympian Yi Ting Siow and Canadian Olympic Finalist Liana Bugslag, the Razorbacks hope to improve upon their 7th place SEC finish last year, the team’s best finish since taking 7th in 2004-05.The teams push off at 1 p.m. on Friday in the first meet to be held at Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center, which opened earlier this year on the University of Tennessee campus. For complete coverage of Razorbacks swimming and diving, log onto ArkansasRazorbacks.com.