Men's Swim & Dive Starts Season at Montclair State
10/9/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
Oct. 9, 2013
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - After months of early mornings and late nights in the pool and on the board, the Seton Hall men's swimming and diving team finally returns to competition as the squad will take the short trip to Montclair State and square off against the Hawks to kick off the 2013-14 season.
The Pirates finished last season with a 4-5 dual meet record in a regular season that was highlighted by a rousing victory over Marist on "Senior Day" and went on to place seventh at the 2013 BIG EAST Championships.
Gone are class of 2013 members Austin Acheson, Ian Keyser, Ryan O'Shaughnessy and Brian Pauling, a veteran group that consistently contributed dual meet victories and ranked among the team's top finishers at the conference meet throughout their careers.
Assuming leadership roles will be senior tri-captains Matt Benson (Overland Park, Kan.), Joey Lacus (Wethersfield, Conn.) and Jon Ropson (McKinney, Texas), a seasoned trio that has been entrusted to guide one of the largest squads that SHU has ever fielded.
Benson will be at the forefront of The Hall's backstroke efforts while Lacus will lead the charge in sprint freestyle races. Coming off a year in which he set two personal records, Ropson will be a key part pf the lineup for head coach Ron Farina in freestyle and butterfly events while also factoring heavily into relays.
Together, they are three of seven seniors that will be relied upon to use their collective experience to lead a deep, 27-man squad. Greg Black (Easton, Pa.), Ian DeLisio (Woodstock, N.Y.), Evan Forbes (Cinnaminson, N.J.) and Tyler Naumann (Middletown, Conn.) are all also entering their final go-arounds and have each qualified for the conference championship in every one of their first three years competing for SHU.
While it may be relatively small, the Pirates' junior class is poised to have a huge impact in the team's first season as part of a new-look BIG EAST Conference.
Breaststroker James Logan (Wallingford, Pa.) is positioned to be a swimmer to watch conference-wide after he finished the 2013 championships as one of the team's top performers; collecting two scoring times and three top-20 finishes as an individual. Classmate and fellow returnee Richard Lessard (Wethersfield, Conn.) took significant steps forward in his second year at SHU, setting personal records in three different events and will add depth in a number of freestyle events this season.
Rider transfer Zach DeLillo (Sinking Spring, Pa.) joins the program after helping the Broncs to back-to-back MAAC team championships in his first two collegiate campaigns. A former high school All-American, he was also part of two medley relay teams that won conference titles at Rider and is expected to provide a boost in sprint freestyle and butterfly competition.
Perhaps the most impactful presence in among those entering their third year however is that of diver Ben Mitchell (Milford, Pa.). Mitchell delivered the most indelible moments from a season ago, performing at a rate that was previously unprecedented for a Seton Hall diver. Not only did he shatter both existing school records, consistently re-writing his own standards throughout the season, he was at his best when it mattered most.
At the BIG EAST Championships, he became the first diver in school history to reach an "A" final, placing seventh from the three-meter board after ranking 12th in one-meter competition. By virtue of his record-breaking performances in the regular season, he also qualified for the NCAA Zone A Championships in Blacksburg Va. He went on to place 26th from one-meter before qualifying for a second dive and ultimately finishing 18th in the region from three-meters.
He was one of only five BIG EAST divers to qualify for the meet.
One year after finishing second on the team by posting automatic qualifying times in six different events, Tim Bosse (New Windsor, N.Y.) leads a five-man sophomore class that features five BIG EAST qualifiers from a year ago.
Swimmers Joey Giovine and Steve Hausmann (North Attleboro, Mass.) both posted individual victories as part of strong debut seasons while Andrew William (Bayonne, N.J.) is one of eight returning swimmers who met BIG EAST qualifying standards in at least three events.
From the board, Eric Davidson (Overland Park, Kan.) provided a more than capable compliment to Mitchell, steadily improving throughout the year before closing his season with a 14th-place effort in BIG EAST one-meter competition.
A major part of the narrative for the 2013-14 men's swimming and diving team as the squad looks to make an impression in the inaugural year of a new-look conference will be the 11 freshmen that came from all across the continental United States to join the program.
Former Arizona state champion Jack Popoure (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Ian Campbell (Corvallis, Ore.) both came from the pacific time zone to become a Pirate and will look to make an immediate impact in freestyle and butterfly events.
The trip to South Orange was only slightly shorter for three-time high school All-American Zach Suter (Aurora, Colo.), a former teammate of Olympic gold medalist Missy Franklin at Regis Jesuit who helped guide his squad to a #3 ranking in the nation as a freestyler.
Ecuadorian national team member Xavier Jimenez (Cincinnati, Ohio) chose to leave the Queen City to join The Hall, bringing his talents in the backstroke and butterfly with him.
Two Massachusetts natives in Matt Labombard (Westfield, Mass.) and Colin Machat (Easthampton, Mass.) signed on after stellar prep careers in the commonwealth.
Pennsylvania product Alex Pfisterer (Mohnton, Pa.) comes aboard and will give SHU a triple threat in diving competition while fellow Quaker State natives Cooper Lindsley (Lancaster, Pa.) and Seth Underwood (Collegeville, Pa.) will look to make their mark in the pool.
Local products Keith Carlino (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) and TJ Merighi (Vineland, N.J.) round out the sizeable class, continuing the tradition of tri-state standouts who have attended Seton Hall.
Even before the season has begun, Farina noted the impact that an influx of energy and talent has had on the program.
"You can already see a difference in practice," he said. "Everyone is pushing each other and I think that has elevated our level of performance as a team. The attitude that these guys have brought is infectious even up through the coaching staff and I'm excited to get a chance to see us in action."
The regular season schedule includes six head-to-head meets beginning with tonight's meeting with the Hawks, as well four trips to multi-squad events.
The Pirates will make two home appearances on the year - one in the fall against local rival Rider (10.17.13) and one following the winter break; a January 26 showdown with Connecticut that will serve as senior day. The full schedule can be viewed HERE
It all leads to the 2014 BIG EAST Championships, a four-day event that will be hosted in nearby Sewell, N.J. from February 19-22.
With one of the strongest squads he has been at the helm of and an entirely different landscape in terms of competition within the conference, Farina believes the upcoming season has the potential to prove to be a historic one.
"It's important to keep our excitement tempered, but this group has a really unique opportunity this year," he said. "Prior to this year, this senior class was one of our largest and I think it's only appropriate that they be the ones to help usher in this new era."
"I have full confidence in our teams," he continued. "We have a number of individuals capable of winning titles and I believe that if we continue to work hard and progress, we will be right there vying for a team championship at the end of the year."
