Texas’ No. 2 men’s and No. 3 women’s swimming and diving teams will take on a strong opponent in No. 9 men’s and No. 1 women’s Virginia’s swimming and diving teams in a special dual meet this weekend at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center in Austin.

The two schools have agreed to do things a little differently, both in terms of the organization of the meet and the general environment the teams will compete in.

The meet will feature a scoring system that has rarely, if ever, been used in a collegiate dual meet, said men’s head coach Eddie Reese. The men’s and women’s teams will be scored together on Friday, and the night will also include a mixed relay event between the men’s and women’s teams, which are generally only featured in international competitions.

“We’re trying to honestly make more excitement for the crowd and get more people to come watch swimming,” Reese said.

Women’s head coach Carol Capitani said the meet will feature more theatrics, akin to the excited environment of a volleyball game, in an attempt to engage more students and fans. The meet will include a tailgate, photo ops with Bevo and free Whataburger taquitos for the first 250 students to enter the natatorium.

There is a big age discrepancy on the men’s side of the competition between Texas and Virginia. The Cavaliers only feature six seniors to the Longhorns’ eight seniors and three fifth-years.

This weekend’s meet also features former Longhorn sophomore Tim Connery. Prior to transferring to Virginia, Connery was a Big 12 champion in the 100 fly and the Big 12 Championship Newcomer of the Meet at the Big 12 Championships. 

The Texas women’s team also faces a very tough challenge in the No.1 Cavaliers, who are the reigning back-to-back NCAA champions. Virginia has only had one meet thus far, defeating Florida by 65 points.

The Cavaliers feature a pair of strong swimmers in senior Kate Douglass and junior Alex Walsh. Both were Olympians in the 2020 Tokyo Games. Douglass took the bronze medal in the 200 individual medley, while Walsh — a little more decorated — took home three gold medals in the 200 individual medley, 200 free relay and the 100 medley relay.

The Texas women have a pair of Olympic medalists, as well. Freshman Lydia Jacoby was a gold medalist in the 100-meter breast and took silver in the 100 medley relay. Sophomore Erica Sullivan only swam in the 1500-meter free event, taking home silver as well.

“We’re going to be tested,” Capitani said. “We’re not expected to win, but we want to make sure we give them a run for their money. They’re a really good team, and we’re a really good team.”

The festivities and combined meet will take place Friday at 5:30 p.m and will last about an hour and a half, Reese said. Saturday will be a standard dual meet starting at 10:30 a.m. Both events will be held at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center. 

“I’m excited how much attention and care our side has put into this,” Capitani said. “It will be fun to see how many people come up and support swimming. … We want to make this fan-friendly, so if we have to take a hit maybe on the swimming side because it’s not perfectly set up, that’s all right. But getting our athletes to race with a bigger crowd, with the noise, with some fans behind them, will be pretty fun.”