The Minnesota swim and dive community will be glued to TVs Monday night when one of its own, David Plummer, goes for gold in the 100-meter backstroke final at the Rio Olympics.

Gophers swim and dive alumni are gathering at Sally's Bar and Grill for a viewing party, while many other supporters have plans to watch the race with family and neighbors at 8:38 p.m. CT on NBC primetime.

Plummer is 2008 graduate from the U and still trains on campus with the team's coaching staff. He is also the Wayzata boys' swim coach and an assistant for the Minnetonka girls' team.

"The entire state and entire swimming community here is behind him," said Haley Spencer, who was an assistant coach at Wayzata under Plummer last season and is also a Gophers alum. "I'm so excited for David and so, so proud of him."

Spencer listened to Sunday's semifinal race in her car and yelled with excitement when he finished with the second-fastest time (52.20) in his heat.

Gideon Louw, one of the coaches Plummer trains with at the U, will watch Monday's final with sweaty palms and an analytical eye. On Sunday night, Louw said he thought Plummer looked confident and had great tempo.

"He looks great in the water and very confident each time on the blocks," Louw said. "He looks confident and ready to go. … He just needs to keep doing what he's doing.

"I'm sure there will be a lot of excitement in the air."

Louw's expects Plummer will need finish "52-low or 51-high to win it. My hope is that he can find it and go that fast. He has the potential."

Louw plans to watch the race at home with his wife and maybe some neighbors.

Spencer said during Sunday's Senior State meet in Rochester, Minn., that TVs were scattered around the pool streaming the Olympic races throughout the day. An announcement was made that if the local meet went long and conflicted with Rio's 100-meter backstroke semifinal, then the races in Rochester would be paused for a moment to turn all eyes towards Plummer.

On Monday night all eyes will be on Plummer as the Olympic rookie attempts to win gold at 30 years old.

Get to know Plummer a little better in this fun Q&A provided by Gophers Sports: