Men's S&D Season Preview
10/15/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - During its first 12 seasons under the stewardship of head coach Ron Farina, the Seton Hall swimming & diving program has established a standard of excellence both in and out of the pool.
With Farina at the helm, the Pirates have set new school records in 36 different events, seven of which were re-written last year. SHU has also captured four individual BIG EAST championships during his tenure. Former swimmer Kevin Webster ('11) took home three of those titles, capping his career by earning BIG EAST Most Outstanding Swimmer honors in 2011.
In the classroom, the Pirate program is among the nation's elite as both the men's and women's squads earned their 12th consecutive CSCAA Team Scholar All-America Awards in 2011-12, with the men's team posting the 12th highest overall GPA among all qualifying schools. Between the two teams, the program also produced 32 BIG EAST Academic All-Stars a year ago, pushing the total to 264 under Farina's guidance.
"I think we have been able to find a nice balance here," said Farina. "Being in the upper-tier of the conference and right there with some of the best programs in America is something we are very proud of. We have proven that we can compete at a high level and perform in the classroom at the same time."
When it comes to competition, a seasoned core of accomplished veterans coupled with the arrival of one of the largest and deepest recruiting classes in program history has the Pirates poised to continue the tradition of success in 2012-13.
SHU sent 16 members of the men's team to the conference championship meet last season and posted an impressive 9-2 dual meet record that included wins in two out of three matchups with BIG EAST opponents. In his time in South Orange, Farina has compiled an 88-37 (.704) dual meet record on the men's side.
"The men have been very successful in terms of dual meets in recent years and I expect that consistency to continue this year," said Farina.
| Senior Ryan O'Shaughnessy |
To achieve such success, the Pirates will rely heavily on a group of talented seniors that is well-equipped to lead the team into the new-year. Co-captains Austin Acheson (Olathe, Kan.) and Ryan O'Shaughnessy (Coral Springs, Fla.) will spearhead the effort after productive junior campaigns. Last season, Acheson led the Pirates by meeting BIG EAST qualifying standards in seven different events, followed closely by O'Shaughnessy with six.
Acheson is also one of the four current team members whose name sits on the record board, swimming as part of the record-setting 800-yard freestyle event in 2009-10.
The two captains are joined by classmates Ian Keyser (Petersburg, N.J.) and Brian Pauling (Sewell, N.J.) in providing the team's veteran presence. Keyser is coming off a year in which he out-swam competitors from seven other schools to win the mile event at the Patriot Invitational and went on to place 18th in the same event at the BIG EAST Championships. A three-time BIG EAST Championship qualifier, Pauling set new personal records in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle in 2011-12 and contributed key points in several close dual meet wins for The Hall.
"This year, the men's squad is different from the women in that there is no question that the leadership comes from our seniors," said Farina. "These are guys that have been through it before and know what it takes to be successful over the course of a season. Their influence is something that will benefit the entire team as the year progresses."
The 2012-13 version of the Pirates also includes seven juniors, all of whom qualified for the conference championship twice as underclassmen.
Junior Matt Benson
Matt Benson (Overland Park, Kan.) followed up a freshman year after which he was named Seton Hall Co-Freshman Male Athlete of the Year with a stellar sophomore campaign. Benson was a part of the team's fastest relay efforts on the year in four different events. An individual scorer for the Pirates at BIG EAST, he produced season-best times in three individual events and swimming as part of a record-breaking 400-yard freestyle relay team at the meet.
That record-setting squad also included classmate Joey Lacus (Wethersfield, Conn.). Lacus set two new personal marks as a sophomore and twice swept both freestyle events for the Pirates during a dual meet (Providence and Marist). He closed the year by matching his fastest 50-yard freestyle time of the year on the conference's biggest stage.
Other key contributors in the group include Greg Black (Easton, Pa.) and Tyler Naumann (Middletown, Conn.). Black will attempt to best his efforts from a season ago that saw him post 10th place finishes in both the 100 and 200-yard butterfly at the Patriot Invitational and routinely capture valuable points in butterfly events during dual meets. Naumann was a steady contributor in both freestyle and butterfly events last season, swimming the fastest 200-yard butterfly time of any Pirate and closing the year with a career-best mark in the 200-yard freestyle at the BIG EAST Championships.
The trio of Ian DeLisio (Woodstock, N.Y.), Evan Forbes (Cinnaminson, N.J.) and Jon Ropson (McKinney, Texas) completes a junior class that is expected to have a large impact in their third year on campus.
Among returning swimmers, DeLisio and Ropson ranked among the leaders with qualifying times in four different events each last season. At the conference championship, both enjoyed the best meet of their respective careers as DeLisio set three different personal marks and Ropson surpassed his previous career-bests in two events.
A versatile performer for the Pirates, Forbes took a leap forward in the backstroke in his second year in blue and white. The Jersey product swam to new career-bests in the 100 and 200-yard backstrokes while meeting qualifying standards in both.
"We are fortunate to have a really good crop of juniors behind our seniors this year," praised Farina. "They are the biggest class on our team and they all have the potential to be a threat for us. Matt Benson scored for us at BIG EAST last year and I think Greg [Black], Joey [Lacus] and Tyler [Naumann] have the capability to do the same. With their progression as individuals, they could help us bump up a few spots in relay events as well. Watch out for Ian DeLisio, Jon Ropson and Evan Forbes as they continue to develop as well."
| Sophomore James Logan |
Though small, the Pirates' three-man sophomore class has the potential to be largely impactful. In the pool, both Richard Lessard (Wethersfield, Conn.) and James Logan (Wallingford, Pa.) turned in a number of quality performances.
Lessard swam season-fastest times in four different events over a three-day span at the Patriot Invitational.
Logan steadily improved as the year progressed and by season's end, only O'Shaughnessy had posted faster times in the 100 and 200-yard breaststrokes. He closed his first year by recording a top-20 finish in the 100-yard breaststroke and just missing out on another in the 200-yard breaststroke (21st) while posting three personal records at the BIG EAST Championships.
The only individual school record holder on the current roster; Ben Mitchell (Milford, Pa.) returns for his second season after a highly productive debut campaign from the diving board. Mitchell established the new school record from the one-meter board in a win at Providence, just one of seven event victories for him on the year. A BIG EAST qualifier from both one and three-meters, he finished in the top-20 in each competition. Mitchell scored for the Pirates by placing 15th in the three-meter dive and was just outside the consolation round from one-meter, placing 17th.
"Our freshmen came on and did a great job for us last year, which is not an easy thing to do," said Farina. "Ben was tremendous and really added a dimension to our team that we didn't have before. Now he's gotten a taste of competition and he's come back a lot more confident and in the right frame of mind. JC [Logan] is someone who continually got better for us, to the point where he almost scored at BIG EAST and I expect him to continue to elevate his performance this season."
Joining the Pirates' 14 returnees is a group of five incoming freshmen. Tim Bosse (New Windsor, N.Y.) is slated to aid the squad's efforts in backstroke and freestyle while Andrew William (Bayonne, N.J.) will compete in butterfly and individual medley events.
Steve Hausmann (North Attleboro, Mass.) and Jersey-product Joey Giovine will both compete in breaststroke events. Hausmann will mix in some distance freestyle while Giovine will see time in individual medley races.
After captaining Blue Valley North to a 6A Kansas state championship in 2011 and a runner-up finish in 2012, Eric Davidson (Overland Park, Kan.) will join Ben Mitchell on the diving board for SHU.
"I think we brought in a set of guys who can push to be a factor from day one," said Farina. "With freshmen, it is about getting them in the pool and acclimated to collegiate competition. These are guys that are going to play an important role for us and could be pushing to score for us by the end of the season as well."
"Our men's team is one of the deepest we have had here," continued Farina. "Now it comes down to seasoning them and making sure they are all peaking at the same time. I believe we have built a schedule that should play into that."
The aforementioned schedule is a challenging slate that stands between the Pirates and the 2013 BIG EAST Championships. It features showdowns with some familiar foes as well as conference rivals. The team will also swim in two in-season invitational-style events.
The 2012-13 season kicks off on Tuesday, Oct. 16 when SHU hosts a head-to-head matchup with Montclair State. Other home dates include Providence (Sat, Nov. 3) and Marist on Saturday, Jan. 26, a meet that will serve as Senior Day for the Pirates.
SHU will travel to take on Rider (Oct. 18), Iona (Oct. 30), Saint Peter's (Nov. 9) in one-on-one matchups prior to their winter training trip to Puerto Rico. BIG EAST adversaries Villanova (Jan. 15) and Connecticut (Jan. 19) await the Pirates in head-to-head competition after the break.
The schedule also includes a trip to Baltimore, Md. to swim against Drexel, Lafayette and hosts Loyola (MD) in a quad meet (Oct. 27). The Pirates will also take part in the Patriot Invitational (Nov. 15-17) and the Bucknell Invitational (Feb. 2) before closing the regular season with a meet against Georgetown on Saturday, Feb. 9 in Piscataway.
"We changed up our schedule a little bit this year," said Farina. "It's always a good meet when we swim against Rider and it serves as a barometer for us early in the season. We host Providence in our BIG EAST opener, a meet that we are very much looking forward to. The Patriot is a great event for us because it gives us a chance to rest the kids and give them a chance to hit some cuts in some different events. We'll head to Puerto Rico in the winter and continue our training. In the second half of the year, we'll really need to be on our game to beat teams like UConn, Villanova and Marist. UConn is a meet that gives the kids a good feel for what to expect at the conference championships, but we go up against a number of BIG EAST teams during that stretch which should be a good test for us."
Helping Farina guide the Pirates through the demanding schedule will be a pair of second-year assistants in Kara Lennon ('98) and diving coach PJ Hughes ('10).
Lennon and Hughes both previously competed for the Pirates and each joined the coaching staff prior to the 2011-12 season.
"I think Kara and PJ both took a lot away from their first year," said Farina. "They both competed here but it is different being on the other side. Now, they know what the competition is like and they know what they are up against. On the recruiting trail, they both worked extremely hard and their time and effort really paid off. They have learned a lot since coming on. As a staff, we continue to grow and I think that is a big part of moving forward as a program."
Another former Pirate, Andrew Le Blanc ('06), also returns to the program for his second season as volunteer assistant coach.
Following the regular season, SHU will head to the Midwest for the conference championships. The 2013 BIG EAST Championships will be held at the IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis, Ind. on Feb. 27-Mar. 2. The Pirates will be looking to improve on last season's eighth place team finish after posting a program-best sixth place finish the year before.
"This year the BIG EAST meet is a week or so later than it usually is, giving us some extra time to prepare and focus," Farina stated. "IUPUI is a very prestigious pool; it's sort of like playing in the coliseum in Los Angeles. It's also a very fast pool and serves as a great venue for a championship meet."
"This year we are looking for that second swim at BIG EAST," continued Farina. "Qualifying is nice, but if we're in a relay we want to set a record and in individual races, we're looking to score. I know this team has the ability to get those things done for us."
The season-opening meet against Montclair State will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, Oct. 16 inside the Arthur E. Imperatore Natatorium. Start-time is scheduled for 5 p.m.
