University of Minnesota Athletics
Men's Swimming & Diving 2006-07 Season Preview
10/27/2006 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
" />The University of Minnesota will be the center of the collegiate swimming world again in 2007 as the Gophers will play host to the NCAA Championships in the friendly waters of University Aquatic Center. After consecutive 11th place NCAA finishes in 2005 and 2006, Minnesota will look to return to the top 10 and regain its perch atop the Big Ten Conference. Although Minnesota continued its impressive run of 18 straight top two finishes at the Big Ten meet last year, its string of two straight conference crowns came to an end at the hands of Indiana.
“Our goal is to win the Big Ten and that has been our goal for a number of years and that will continue to be our goal,“ head coach Dennis Dale said.
However, the road to the Big Ten crown continues to become more difficult with several teams emerging. “The Big Ten was for a dozen years or so the Big Two and the Little Eight,” Dale said. “Michigan and Minnesota occupied the top spots for quite a long time. Indiana has moved up and won the meet last year. Now, any of four teams could win the Big Ten Championship and there is a fifth team that is very, very good. The top teams are Minnesota, Indiana, Michigan and the new kid on the block is Ohio State. They are going to be very good this year. Northwestern continues to have some very elite swimmers and they will be a very good team.”
Leading Minnesota’s pursuit of a fourth Big Ten title in the last six years will be a corps of 10 returning All-Americans and 18 competitors that have scored at the Big Ten Championships. Freestyle specialists Igor Cerensek, Mario Delac and Ales Volcansek have a combined 21 All-America awards under their belts while junior David Plummer looks to pick up where he left off last year, finaling in the 100 and 200 backstrokes at the NCAA Championships. Big Ten finalists and NCAA qualifiers Dan Berve, Drew Knoechel, Colin Lee-To, Russ Payne, Tyler Schmidt and Mike Woodson also bolster the Minnesota lineup.
Diving coach Jason Baumann returns a lineup with three divers owning Big Ten Championships experience, led by senior Shaun Kennedy, who has scored four times at the conference meet in his career and qualified for the U.S. Senior Nationals over the summer.
SPRINT & MID-DISTANCE FREESTYLE
Perhaps the Gophers’ best discipline entering the 2006-07 season will be sprint freestyle. The Gophers scored huge points in these events last season, posting eight finalists and 13 scorers overall between the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle at the 2006 Big Ten Championships. “Our biggest strength is short distance freestyle,” head coach Dennis Dale said. “We are probably the strongest team in the conference from the 200 on down. Our best event may be the 100 but we are very strong in the 50 and 200.”
Leading the way will be a trio of Croatian seniors, Igor Cerensek, Mario Delac and Ales Volcansek. All three have finaled in both the 50 and 100 free at the Big Ten Championships and are multiple All-Americans. Cerensek has earned the most acclaim among the group, earning nine All-America certificates and has finaled in all nine of his individual swims at the Big Ten Championships during his career. He has also anchored or led off the 400 freestyle relay that has won three straight conference titles. “Igor is one of the really great freestylers we have had,” Dale commented. “He is certainly the guy we would want on the end of a relay if we were looking for a great anchor leg. Last year at Big Tens, we thought it was crucial to have a great lead leg to get out front and we wanted someone who was reliable and dependable so we went to Igor who led off our relay and he did a great job. He’s prepared to do any job that you ask him to do.”
Cerensek, who has enjoyed great success swimming internationally for Croatia, furthered his commitment to the U of M program by forgoing international competition this summer to train for his senior season. “He is so excited for his senior year,” Dale said. “He made a point of making it crystal clear he did not intend to represent Croatia at the European Championships this summer and that he has placed a higher premium on representing the University of Minnesota than Croatia at some meets. He really is one of the leaders on this team and he takes his role as a senior with pride and responsibility.”
Volcansek and Delac are both six-time All-Americans and have been key scorers at the Big Ten and NCAA meets. Volcansek finaled in the 50 and 100 freestyle each of the last two seasons at the Big Ten Championships while adding points in the 100 backstroke. Delac looks to rebound from a disappointing year by his standards. “Mario had a good summer,” Dale said. “In 2005, he had a bad summer and he didn’t swim as well as he would have liked last year. This year, he had a great summer and will hopefully follow it up with a great year. We have made some adjustments in his training to help his body hold up. He is very talented.”
The Gophers have plenty of other potential scorers on the roster in the sprint freestyle events. Junior Tyler Schmidt had a breakthrough sophomore season, finaling in the 100 and 200 freestyle and placing 10th in the 50 freestyle events at Big Tens and earning three All-America certificates on relays. “He was awesome all year,” Dale remarked. “The fact that he swam so well at Big Tens was a great surprise. We are looking forward to even bigger and better things from Tyler.”
Junior Mike Woodson will also be leaned on heavily in the 100 and 200 free after taking seventh in the 200 and 13th in the 100 at the 2006 Big Ten meet. Two-time Minnesota State High School Swimmer of the Year Mark Solfelt will also see action in the 100 and 200 free, although his best events may be the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke. The talented freshman finaled in the 100-meter free at the 2006 U.S. Junior Nationals.
Sophomore Colin Lee-To and freshman Peter Mullee will also figure heavily in the Gophers’ sprint free rotation. Lee-To, a former Minnesota state champion in the 50 free, narrowly missed scoring in the event at the 2006 Big Ten meet, while Mullee won the Wisconsin State title in the 100 free as a senior. Junior Matt Engel is poised for a breakthrough after posting an Olympic Trials cut in the 50 freestyle at the 2006 U.S. Senior Nationals. He has two years of experience at the Big Ten Championships and has come extremely close to scoring at the meet.
Other Gophers in the mix in the 50, 100 and 200 free will be junior Jason Timmer and freshman Jake Kittilstad.
In the 200 freestyle, Dale will also turn to freshman Ray Betuzzi. The Calgary native won a record nine medals at the 2005 Canada Games and owns several age group records in his home country. He will immediately step in the lineup in the 200 and 500 free and likely the 100. “Ray will play some very important roles in the 200 and 500 freestyle,” Dale said. “The question will be whether he swims down at the 100 or move up to the mile.”
DISTANCE FREESTYLE
Senior Zach Wood takes over the reins for the Gophers in the distance freestyle events. After finaling in the 500 and 1650 free the last two years, Wood appears ready to challenge for an individual Big Ten title. “Zach has to have the kind of year he had over the summer,” Dale said. “He had a great year last year, he finaled in three events at the Big Tens. We don’t have too many swimmers who can do that. He has to come through again. It helped Zach this summer that he was our number one distance swimmer. He took the leadership role and ran with it.”
In addition to Wood, Minnesota returns two swimmers that scored in the 1650 free in sophomore Mike Holmes and senior Fabian Toth. Holmes blossomed at the end of the season as a freshman and scored huge points for Minnesota with a seventh place finish at Big Tens in the 1650 and a 15th place mark in the 500. Toth placed 13th in the 1650 free at the 2006 Big Ten meet and looks for more improvement in his senior season. Also in the mix in the distance free events will be freshmen Michael Daup, Kevin Ewald and Jon Menozzi, juniors Erich Welton and Tim Loeffler and senior Jimmer Dorweiler.
Senior Drew Knoechel, primarily a breaststroke specialist, also contributes in the 500 free, where he scored at Big Tens in 2006. Sophomore Adam Weis is also a key player in the 500, swimming the event at the Big Ten Championships last year.
BACKSTROKE
Another of Minnesota’s stronger disciplines will be backstroke, led by junior David Plummer. A first team All-American in the 100 and 200 backstroke at the 2006 NCAA Championships, Plummer followed up the stellar showing with an outstanding summer. He finished fifth in the 100 back and sixth in the 200 at the U.S. Summer Nationals, earning a spot on the USA National B Team and a chance to compete at the Pan Pacific Championships where he swam both events. He also was named to the USA roster for the 2007 World University Games. “David is incredibly talented. He is hungry,” Dale noted. “The opportunities to represent the USA at the Pan Pacific Championships made him even more hungry. He was an NCAA finalist in the 100 and 200 back, but he wants more.”
Senior Dan Berve, a two-time finalist in the 100 back at the Big Ten Championships, and Volcansek, who has scored in each of the last three Big Ten meets in the 100, also return. Dale will also count on junior Mike Woodson to be a big contributor in both events after scoring in the 100 at Big Tens each of the last two years. Mullee, the Wisconsin state champion in the 100 as a senior is also strong in the 100 backstroke.
In addition to Plummer in the 200 back, Dale will lean on junior Russ Payne, who won the consolation final at the 2006 Big Ten Championships. He also expects freshman Nico Zebley to be a key player in the event..
BUTTERFLY
The Gophers are blessed with a good deal of depth in the butterfly. At the top of the list in the 100 fly is Berve, a two-time finalist at Big Tens, and sophomore Evan Bernier, who took sixth in the event as a freshman and narrowly missed qualifying individually for the NCAA meet.
Junior Matt Engel, who narrowly missed the consolations at Big Tens each of the last two years, also returns and should continue to improve. He had an outstanding summer, establishing an Olympic Trials cut in the 100 fly. Freshman Nadav Kochavi is the national record holder in the 100 fly in his native Israel and will immediately be a factor in the event. Senior Hiro Sugimoto hopes to fit in the lineup as well after arriving for the spring semester last year as a transfer from Saddleback College in California. Sophomore Anthony Portela will also see action in the 100 and 200 fly.
In the 200 fly, the Gophers will lean on Wood as well. He had a fantastic summer in the event, reaching the finals of the 200 at the U.S. Summer Nationals. He is also a two-time Big Ten finalist in the event. After Wood, Dale will turn to sophomore Adam Weis, who scored at the Big Ten meet last year and senior Mike Natali, a fly specialist who is poised to crack the Gophers’ lineup for the Big Ten meet for the first time. He came just .13 seconds short of the Olympic Trials cut in the 200 fly this past summer. Freshman Alex Wold will also see significant time in the event.
BREASTSTROKE
Perhaps the weakest stroke event for the Gophers will be breaststroke, but Minnesota still has plenty of scoring opportunities. Leading the way is Knoechel who stepped up as a junior by finaling in the 100 and 200 and earning All-America honors on the 200 medley relay. Lee-To returns after a solid rookie campaign, placing seventh at Big Tens in the 100. Timmer looks to return to the form of two years ago, when he placed sixth in the 100 breast at Big Tens and earned All-America honors on the 200 and 400 medley relays. Timmer battled shoulder injuries all of last year and still managed to score in the 200 breast at the Big Ten Championships. After rehabbing for most of the summer, Timmer appears to be back on track for 2007.
A newcomer for the Gophers in the 100 breast will be Solfelt, who won the last two Minnesota state titles in the event. Freshman Rob Schaefer will also have an opportunity in both the 100 and 200 this year.
INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
The Gophers will have a challenge on their hands in replacing 11-time All-American Adam Mitchell in the individual medley events. Mitchell graduated after establishing himself as one of the nation’s finest in the event. Helping ease the loss of Mitchell will be Solfelt. “You can’t suffer the lost of Adam Mitchell and not be weakened by it,” Dale admitted. “But, the addition of Mark Solfelt helped soften the loss. I see a bright future for him. He steps in already as our best in the 200 IM.”
Solfelt made a name for himself nationally after winning the 2005 U.S. Junior National title in the 200 IM in addition to capturing three straight Minnesota High School titles in the event.
Payne will also be counted upon heavily in the 200 and 400 IM. He qualified for the NCAA meet in both events as a freshman and looks to return to that form. In addition to his prowess in the backstroke events, Plummer also specializes in the 200 IM, scoring at Big Tens each of the last two years.
Bernier has the ability to swim both IM events, scoring the 200 IM at Big Tens as a freshman. Dale also expects to use Timmer in the 200 IM in addition to his slate of breaststroke events as well as Kochavi.
Aside from Payne, the Gophers lack experience in the 400 IM, although Dale said that Wold and Zebley have the potential to be outstanding in the event.
DIVING
After qualifying for the U.S. Senior Nationals for the first time, senior Shaun Kennedy is poised for a strong senior season to lead the diving corps. Kennedy is a three-time Big Ten platform finalist and also scored on the 1-meter as a junior. “Shaun had a strong year last year, with a great finish on platform at the 2006 Big Tens and qualifying for the Senior Nationals this summer,” second-year diving coach Jason Baumann said. “He is a lot more relaxed and already far ahead of where we were last year at this time. He worked really hard over the summer and that work is paying off.”
However, Kennedy is just one of three divers returning with Big Ten experience. Sophomore Cole Young returns after finishing 15th on the 1-meter at Big Tens as a freshman and narrowly missing the scoring column on the platform and 3-meter. “Cole made some great changes and his work ethic is very high. We just never quite put it all together in meets, but he is working very hard on the mental aspect of diving,” Baumann said. “Cole is a great all-around diver, with springboard being his best events for now. He has done all of his dives on the 10 meter platform in practice and hopefully we can compete them in that way.”
Junior Joe Skeate competed in all three events last year at Big Tens and continues to improve, especially on platform, where he should be an important element this year. “With three returning divers all having competed at the 2006 Big Tens, I expect that all know what it is going to take be successful,” Baumann added. “Last year, Joe and Cole really came on during the year and had moments of really great diving. I am very excited about our team this year. I am very glad that Shaun, Joe, Cole and I have had a year of working together, they are doing a great job and we are really working well together.”
The newcomer to the diving team is freshman Tyler Jepsen. The Downers Grove, Ill. native was a NISCA and AAU All-American as a high school senior and is a two-time sectional champion. “Tyler is a nice addition to our team. He is athletic, smart, and fun to work with,” Baumann said. “In the little time he has been here, I have already seen a dramatic change in his diving. If he keeps making corrections, he will be a consistent performer for our team.”
SCHEDULE
The obvious highlight of Minnesota’s 2006-07 schedule will be hosting the NCAA Championships at University Aquatic Center March 15-17. It will mark the second time in the last three years and the fifth time overall that the Aquatic Center will host the NCAA Men’s Championships. However, the road to the NCAA meet starts with an annual dual with Iowa on October 20 at the Aquatic Center. Then, the Gophers will travel to Gainesville, Fla. to face the Florida Gators for the third time in the last four years. The meets have been very competitive, with Florida winning both by a combined nine points. A week later, the Gophers will hit the road again to Chapel Hill, N.C. to compete against North Carolina for the 10th straight season.
Minnesota will host its annual Minnesota Invitational Nov. 17-19 before heading to the Ohio State Invitational, also the site of the 2007 Big Ten Championships. “The Ohio State Invitational is the meet that we will be focusing on in the fall,” Dale said. “It’s at the site of the Big Ten Championships. It should be a very fast meet and it not only gives us a chance to swim in the Ohio State pool, but to race some top swimmers.”
Minnesota will travel to Honolulu for its annual winter training trip at the beginning of January and will return to regular competition on Jan. 19-20 when it travels to Madison, Wis. to face Wisconsin and Purdue in Big Ten triple dual action. The final tuneup for the postseason meets will be the Minnesota Challenge January 26-27 at the Aquatic Center.
The Big Ten Championships will be held at Ohio State, Feb. 15-17, which is a week earlier than previous years. The conference championships and the NCAA meets were moved up a week so the NCAA Championships would not fall at the same time as the World Swimming Championships.
