Men's Swimmers Breaking New Ground
October 17, 2001 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Expectations are high this year for the Wisconsin men's swimming and diving team. With the return of a talented veteran core, the team is looking to continue rewriting the record books after tying its best finish since 1976 with an 18th-place finish at the 2001 NCAA Championship.
Senior co-captains Lance Jones and Brendan Coyne will lead the way. Both capped outstanding years with solid performances at the NCAA championship. The duo teamed with sophomore Dale Rogers and departed senior Adam Byars to set a school record in the 400-yard freestyle relay at the NCAAs.
While relays have been the strength of the team in the past, a deeper Badger squad looks to emerge in other events and continue to excel in the relays.
'We started the previous year knowing that we wanted to focus on the relays in order to progress our team - to move our team into the position that we wanted to be in,' coach Eric Hansen said. 'We showed up at the Big Ten championship and made a huge impact and all four individuals that we took [to the NCAAs] established themselves as first team all-Americans and put Wisconsin men's swimming and diving back on the map.'
The 43 team points at the NCAA championship were the most in school history and the return of three all-Americans puts that record in jeopardy.
'Needless to say, we want to build on that momentum, ' Hansen said. 'We lose one individual in Adam Byars who was a great team captain and a great role player in the backstrokes, but we are adding some tremendous backstroke talent this year, in addition to other National qualifiers in our freshman class. So we're looking for substantial improvement this year.'
Freestyle
The freestyle is quickly becoming a strength for the Badgers led by Dale Rogers and Matt Marshall.
Rogers set a school record in the 100 free (44.23) in his debut at the NCAA championship, placing 27th. Rogers also placed 44th in the 50 free (20.36) and swam in all four relays.
Marshall is the top returnee behind Rogers, providing depth in the sprints and relays.
"Sprint freestyle, which has previously not been a strong point of our program, is quickly becoming a strength,' Hansen said. 'In order to be successful at the NCAA level you need to have sprint relays. I look for Dale Rogers and Matt Marshall to have big breakthrough years.'
Jones and Coyne also look to be impact swimmers in the freestyle, particularly bolstering the relays. Hansen also has Matt Zuiderhof at his disposal. Zuiderhof had the team's top time last year in the 200 free (1:38.07) and second-fastest time in the 500 free (4:31.81).
Backstroke
The loss of Byars leaves an opening for someone to step in and lead the medley relay and open events. Wisconsin's versatility will help tremendously in the back with several swimmers having success in the backstroke.
Coyne and Marshall will again give the Badgers a boost and incoming freshman Adam Mania earned all-American honors in high school in the 100 back. Fellow frosh Tim Liebhold gives Hansen a threat in the 200.
'Tim Liebhold will be a huge addition to our backstroke core and we'll look to him to make an impact,' Hansen said.
Breaststroke
The breaststroke will be one of the many strengths of the Badgers in 2001-02.
Lance Jones leads a talented group in the 100 followed very closely by Dale Rogers and Brian Neuman. Transfer Kevin Zakrzewski will provide additional depth in the event.
'We will have an impact at the Big Ten level and at the national level with our breaststroke group,' Hansen said. 'We could potentially qualify three or four breaststrokers to the NCAA championship and that in itself would be a huge boost for us.'
Neuman, Jones and Zakrzewski will play roles in the 200 breaststroke.
Butterfly
Coyne and Marshall team up in the butterfly to give the Badgers one of the top duos in the nation.
'Coyne has definitely set himself apart from the rest of the flyers in the country,' Hansen said. 'I look for Marshall to be a scorer at NCAAs also.'
Pat Torpey will contribute in the 200 fly. The sophomore had the second fastest time in the event last year (1:47.22) behind Coyne.
Individual Medley
Coyne and Neuman will head up the 200 IM. Coyne placed second in the event at last year's Big Ten championship.
In the 400 IM, Brink Cifferi, Liebhold and Andrew Ackley will provide the scoring punch.
Diving
The Badgers lose NCAA qualifier Aaron Forgy, leaving the diving duties up to senior Kevin Engholdt.
