The Alabama swimming and diving team will begin the 2012 season Saturday, Oct. 6, when they host Delta State at 1:30 p.m. at the Alabama Aquatic Center.

The Crimson Tide will usher in a new but familiar era in Alabama swimming and diving under its new Hall of Fame head coach, Dennis Pursley. Pursley swam for the Tide during his collegiate career, earning All-Southeastern Conference honors and an SEC 200-meter breaststroke title. He also began his coaching career at the Capstone as a volunteer coach.

Pursley returns to The University of Alabama after a busy summer in London for the 2012 Olympic Games. He is currently the head coach of British Swimming.

“It’s been great,” Pursley said. “I really haven’t had a minute to even look back or look as forward as far as I would like to. It’s just getting the ball rolling in the direction that we want it to go is where my focus is right now, and we’re really pleased with the progress we’re making.”

Pursley compared the makeup of his new roster to that of an Olympic team, and he addressed the challenge of bringing the swimmers and divers together.

“There are some similarities,” Pursley said. “An Olympic team is comprised of swimmers from all over the home country. The same is true for an NCAA team, where you get swimmers from all over the country and all over the world. It’s a matter of trying to blend together a real cohesive group.”

The Tide may not have complete team unity yet, but Pursley has begun to see leaders emerge within his first UA team.

On the men’s team, junior All-American BJ Hornikel will lead the Crimson Tide against Delta State and the rest of its opponents. Hornikel, from Boblingen, Germany, finished second in the 100- and 200-meter freestyles at the SEC Championship last season.

All-American and 2012 Olympian Kristel Vourna will lead the Alabama women’s team. Vourna, a junior from Patpas, Greece, finished 12th in the London Olympic Games this summer. Pursley will rely on her experience to benefit the Tide versus its toughest competitors.

Saturday will be a new challenge for the Alabama teams as they begin a new era with the Statesmen of Delta State. Pursley has high hopes for the upcoming season, but he also realizes that he and his swimmers will have to get adjusted to each other.

“We’re hopeful we will get off to a good start,” Pursley said. “That’s our goal and our expectation, but it’s not the end of the season if it doesn’t go according to plan.”

Pursley mentioned Appalachian State’s monumental upset over Michigan in football in 2007. He doesn’t expect the Tide to lose its first meet, but he does want to see his team learn from the experience, regardless of their opponent.

“We’re trying to raise the bar,” Pursley said. “We’re asking them to do a lot of things that they haven’t done before and, in some cases, maybe don’t believe they were capable of doing. I’m very pleased with the response that we’ve gotten.”