BATON ROUGE -- Five swimmers from the 19th-ranked LSU men's team received bids to the 2010 NCAA Championships, it was announced Wednesday.
Senior Sean LeNeave, juniors Hannes Heyl and James Meyers and freshmen Andrei Tuomola and Craig Hamilton will race for the Tigers at the meet, which will be held March 25-27 on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.
"I'm excited to see those five guys qualify for the meet," LSU head coach Adam Schmitt said. "I think we have the potential to score lots of points and finish the year strong with several relays seeded pretty high and numerous opportunities in individual races."
LeNeave, a three-time All-American in 2009, will be making his second NCAA appearance and will be a pivotal contributor as a freestyle swimmer on four relays. The Conroe, Texas, native will also swim in his first individual race at the national level as he recorded a provisional mark in the 50-yard freestyle (20.25 seconds) at the SEC Championships last month.
Heyl, a four-time All-American, earned his third career invitation to NCAA's. The German will play a valuable role on four relays as a butterfly and freestyle swimmer and will compete individually in the 100 butterfly, 100 backstroke and 100 free.
Meyers, Tuomola and Hamilton will be making their first trip to NCAA's.
Meyers, the team's fastest backstroker, will lead off both medley relays and swim on both the 200 and 400 free relays. In addition, the local product from Baton Rouge will race in the 100 back.
Tuomola will be the team's breaststroker on medley relays and a major part of the 200 and 400 free relays. The Haarajoki, Finland, native also earned the chance to swim the 50 and 100 free and 100 breast.
Hamilton was invited based on his school-record time in the 1650 free (15:08.28) and will also take part in the 500 free in Columbus.
Men's divers Brian Gemberling and Jesse Lyman will attempt to qualify for NCAA's at the Zone 'D' Diving Regional, which begins Friday in College Station, Texas.
