2006-07 Season Preview
September 22, 2006 | Men's Swimming & Diving
The Badgers return their entire scoring team from last season as they look to return to national prominence. This year's lone senior, Tom Molzahn, will be asked to lead a young, talented squad that features 19 freshmen and sophomores. Eighth-year head coach Eric Hansen thinks that this is a team that can add a sixth top-20 finish to his resume at UW.
'Our youth will be well served this year in the sense that everybody has another year under their belt,' said Hansen. 'I'm looking forward to seeing major contributions from our sophomore and junior classes, in addition to our lone senior, to take us to a solid NCAA finish.'
Relays
The Badgers return all but one member from last year's teams, which just missed qualifying for the NCAA championships. Once again, senior co-captain Tom Molzahn will be expected to lead the team back to the national meet. Last year, Molzahn teamed with then-sophomore Mike Swanson and then-freshmen Mike Desautels and Scott Rice in the 800-yard freestyle relay to earn Wisconsin's top finish of third place at the Big Ten championships.
Wisconsin also returns junior co-captain Tommy Gregory, and sophomores Kyle Sorensen and Eric Johnson, all of whom have experience under their belts from last season.
'Versatility will be key and serve our relays well,' said Hansen. 'Our relays will be our main focus to take us the next level of the NCAA championships and get back on track to get back to the top 20.'
Freestyle
Tom Molzahn and Mike Swanson will look to anchor the middle distance freestyle. Molzahn recorded top-8 finishes in the 200- and 500-yard freestyles at last year's conference meet. Swanson also will contribute in the distance freestyle as well.
Backstroke
Junior Tommy Gregory and sophomores Mike Hopkins and Nick Fulton will be the anchors of the backstroke events. Gregory led off both medley relays for the Badgers last season. Hopkins finished strong last season as he placed 12th in the 200-yard backstroke at the Big Ten championships.
Breaststroke
In the breaststroke event, it will again be Eric Johnson who will lead UW. Examine: at last year 's Big Ten championships, Johnson placed 14th in the 100-yard breaststroke and 15th in the 200-yard breaststroke.
Two Wisconsin natives will be asked to step up and fill some spots for the Badgers. Derrick O'Donnell was twice named the Wisconsin High School Swimmer of the Year in addition to being a six-time state champion, and Dan Koenig was a two-time Wisconsin state champion in the 100-yard breaststroke.
Butterfly
In the 100-yard butterfly, Rice placed 11th, while Gregory placed 15th.
Individual Medley
Wisconsin is eyeing a strong individual medley team. Sophomore Scott Rice, junior Brett Koerten and sophomore Eric Johnson all placed in the top-20 in the 200-yard IM at the 2006 Big Ten Championships. Koerten will be joined by sophomore Ben Bruce in the 400-yard IM, with Koerten placing 11th and Bruce placing 14th at last season's conference meet.
Freshmen Derek O'Donnell and Dan Koenig were both state champions in the 200-yard IM event last season and should help make the Badgers a strong contender in this event.
Diving
As with the women's team, first-year diving coach Tom Michael will look to develop a young, talented group of divers on the men's side. Sophomore Kelly Todd will be the anchor of a young squad that features four freshmen. As a freshman, Todd qualified for the NCAA Zone Qualifying Meet on all three boards.
Look for Hudson, Wis., native Tim Feyereisen to make an impact, as the All-American won the Wisconsin Division 1 state championship and also was named the Diver of the Year as a senior.
'I'm look for big things from him,' said Michael. 'He and all the other divers coming in have great team chemistry.'
The three other freshmen, Bryan Weinstein, Dan Smith and Al Morrison, are all coming off great prep careers. Weinstein was a two-time all-division selection while Smith and Morrison were both All-Americans.
