University of Minnesota Athletics
Men's Swimming and Diving Preview: Part 3
10/14/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
Relays:
The Gophers’ relays should be strong again this year. The 200 and 400 free relays—both of which earned All-America honors in 2010—return all of their members: seniors Michael Richards, Curt Carlson, and Kevin Baseheart, and junior Zach Bolin. “I would say we’re one of the favorites to win the sprint relays at Big Tens,” said Minnesota head coach Dennis Dale.
The 800 free relay also earned All-America honors, but two of its members—Ray Betuzzi and Alex Wold—graduated this spring. Senior Curt Carlson and sophomore Hrvoje Capan are back from last year. Senior Kevin Baseheart will swim the third leg this year. “He’s been a member of that relay at other times during his career, so he’s ready to step up and join that relay,” said Dale. Possible contenders for the final spot include freshmen Kyler Van Swol and Drew Johnson, junior transfer Mike Vernoia, and senior Matt Papenfuss.
Diving:
Diving will be one of the Gophers’ strongest areas this season. “Our diving is very strong for us,” said Dale. “I think we have the best diving coach (Wenbo Chen) in the country. We have put money into diving in terms of facilities and upgrading things for them.” Senior Drew Brown and sophomore Kristoffer Jorgenson are returning NCAA Championships competitors. Brown earned All-America honors by finishing 13th on the 1-meter board. Jorgenson finished 21st on the platform.
The Gophers also have three freshmen Dale believes will score at the Big Ten Championships this season. Those freshmen are Turner Eckstrom, Andres Hansen, and Jonathan Roby. Eckstrom and Hansen were both state champions in high school, while Roby was a state runner-up.
Players Mentioned
