Oct. 21, 2010
PHILADELPHIA - The men's and women's swimming & diving teams are set to kick off their 2010-11 campaign this weekend with a pair of dual meets.
Both teams will face Syracuse and Villanova at the Villanova Swim Center on Friday at 4:00 p.m. The Explorers will then return home for a 1:00 p.m. meet against Drexel at Kirk Pool.
"It's a great opportunity for our team to finally get out and have the opportunity to compete a little bit after all the hard work in practice," head coach Matt Nunnally said. "I'm really looking forward to that and it should be really competitive meets on both sides."
The men's and women's teams will be paced by a strong group of returning swimmers and will also look to several newcomers to make big contributions throughout the season.
On the distance side, defending 2010 Atlantic 10 1650-free champion Emily Health returns for her junior season. She will be relied on in the 1000 and 500-free events as well, alongside Stephanie Wirtshafter and Megan Forlini.
The men's distance squad is led by Zach Anderson, who finished in the top 15 in the 1650 free at A-10s last season, Brian Batson, who has a top 10 A-10 performance under his belt, and Sean McCall, a freshman who took gold in the 500-free at the 2010 New Jersey State High School Swimming & Diving Championships.
The sprint events feature several strong athletes. Holly Biro, the La Salle record holder in the 50 and 100-free, will be joined by freshman Katie Snee, who is expected to make an immediate contribution. A-10 finalist Austin Thomas will anchor the men's sprint events and newcomer Dave Derr should provide depth to the group.
Backstroke should be a strong area for the Explorers this season with the return of Jessica Carbin, the school record holder in the 100 and 200-back. Ed Carnes and Tom Lawrie, who was named Most Outstanding Rookie at A-10s after earning a silver in the 400-IM, will lead the men's backstrokers.
Liz Jordan, a bronze medalist in the 100-breast at last year's A-10s, and Jessica Simunek, a transfer from Rutgers, will anchor the breaststroke group. For the men, Blase Szyszko will return after an impressive freshman campaign that saw him finish fourth in the 200-breast at A-10s. Szyszko also brings experience gained over the summer while participating at Senior Nationals, where he qualified in the 100-breast.
In the fly, Aubrey Cefalo, a top-16 finisher at A-10s, will lead the women's group, while Thomas, Joe Jung and graduate student Charlie Zettel will pace the men's side.
The diving squad returns two A-10 finalists in Jordan Baker and Laurie McLaughlin, who took home the bronze in the 1-meter dive at last year's A-10s. Diving coach Steve Kuttruff has also brought in a large recruiting class, including Matthew Nickerson, Tyler Rieker, Robert Freeling, Courtney Gress and Shauna Hannings, to bolster the squad.
The Explorers will compete in 11 meets during the season before gearing up for the A-10 Championships, which will be held in Buffalo, NY from February 23-26, 2011.
