New-Look Men's Squad Primed for 2014-15
10/7/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The length of a swimming & diving season is not confined to the number of meets on the schedule.
Maintaining peak performance levels requires a year-round commitment that often sees competitors rising before the sun to hone their craft. With much of that preseason work now behind them however, the Seton Hall women's swimming & diving squad is primed to begin its 2014-15 slate tomorrow against Montclair State.
Wednesday's matchup with the Hawks will be the first of 10 regular season dates for the Pirates, six of which will occur prior to the winter break.
The Hall will take on Rider and travel to Baltimore for a quad meet at Loyola (Md.) before making its home debut on Saturday, November 1 against BIG EAST rival Providence. Two multi-day meets precede the traditional winter training trip to Ponce, Puerto Rico as the Seton Hall women will clash with familiar foes in Georgetown, Rutgers and Villanova at another quad meet in Piscataway before closing the fall at the highly competitive Patriot Invitational hosted by George Mason.
The Pirates will be re-introduced to competition through two home dual meets against local competition as Iona (1/14) and Marist (1/24) will both visit South Orange before Seton Hall closes its dual meet schedule the following day with a visit to former conference foe Connecticut.
A trip to Bucknell for an invitational meet on the final day of January closes out the regular season and the Pirates will then have just over two weeks off from competition before heading to Ithaca, N.Y. to vie for their first-ever BIG EAST crown.
The Seton Hall women are coming off a year in which they finished third in a new-look BIG EAST conference and garnered three individual titles courtesy of Most Outstanding Diver Ben Mitchell (Milford, Pa.) and team captain James Logan (Wallingford, Pa.).
Along with Mitchell and Logan, five other team members earned All-BIG EAST accolades by placing in the top-three of an event final at the conference meet, four of whom return to the 2014-15 squad.
The Pirates did welcome 11 newcomers on the men's side so on the eve of the new season, here is a look at the lineup options that will be present for head coach Ron Farina during the upcoming campaign:
BACKSTROKE
Sophomore Keith Carlino (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) stands as the Pirates' top returning performer in backstroke events after he delivered a standout freshman campaign that culminated in a dominant performance in the consolation final of the 100-back at the BIG EAST Championships.
Carlino placed ninth overall with a time that would have been good enough for a bronze medal had he qualified for the `A' final. Carlino did qualify for the championship final the following night in the 200-back and took home eight-place points to further aid The Hall's cause.
Junior Tim Bosse (New Windsor, N.Y.) also ranked among the team leaders in the 200-back and also plays a key role on many of the top relay squads.
Freshman Michael Mattera (Deer Park, N.Y.) will be looked upon to add depth to a re-structured backstroke contingent that is aiming to replace several of the primary contributors from a year ago.
BREASTSTROKE
With Logan standing as the clear leader and one of the premier breaststrokers across the conference, the Pirates stack up well against the rest of the BIG EAST.
Aside from 200-breast gold, the Wallingford product also left Sewell with a bronze in the 100-breast around his neck as the breaststroke accounted for two of his five All-BIG EAST performances from a season ago.
Junior Steve Hausmann (North Attleboro, Mass.) also ranked among the top-five on the team in each breaststroke event but with an influx of newcomers including All-State performers Collin Dunn (Litchfield, Conn.) and Sean Sali (Bridgewater, N.J.), The Hall remains well-positioned to compete with the top of the league.
BUTTERFLY
In his first season at Seton Hall, Zach DeLillo (Sinking Spring, Pa.) emerged as one of the most consistent butterfly competitors in the new conference. The Rider transfer placed in the top-six at both the 100 and 200 yard distance in his first trip to the BIG EAST meet. Junior Andrew William (Bayonne, N.J.) also placed among the top-10 in the 200-fly while sophomore Seth Underwood (Collegeville, Pa.) is another returning swimmer who was one of the top-five fastest performers in the event as well.
DIVING
From the diving board, the Pirates are the most formidable force in the conference. Mitchell has established himself as one of the most prolific divers in not only the conference but also the region and enters his final campaign hoping to push his title total to four.
A dual school record holder, Mitchell has also advanced to an "A" Final at the NCAA Zone A Championships and a qualification for the national championship would represent just another notch in his already decorated career.
Junior Eric Davidson (Overland Park, Kan.) was a contender for most improved performer on the squad last season and finished off a stellar campaign with a silver and bronze of his own.
Despite battling injuries all year, sophomore Alex Pfisterer (Mohnton, Pa.) placed fourth in the one-meter competition at the BIG EAST Championships and has the potential to improve upon that with a full campaign under his belt.
FREESTYLE
Perhaps where the Pirates are deepest is in freestyle events as the stroke is listed as the primary discipline for 11 other team members.
Bosse and sophomore Cooper Lindsley (Lancaster, Pa.) entered the BIG EAST meet as the top two Seton Hall seeds in the 200-free while Lindsley also ranked second on the squad behind Underwood at 500 yards.
In the mile, Lindsley and Underwood were joined by classmate Ian Campbell (Corvallis, Ore.) in the team's top-five while fellow sophomore Colin Machat (Easthampton, Mass.) ranked among the fastest 100-free times for The Hall as well.
An extensive freshman class that features a host of prep standouts from around the globe should serve to supplement an already experienced core of veterans and make it difficult to out-pace the Pirates consistently throughout the lineup.
INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
Campbell (10th), Underwood (11th) and William (13th) all contributed points in the 400-IM at the 2014 BIG EAST Championship, an event in which the second-fastest time on the team during the regular season belonged to another returnee in Hausmann.
William and DeLillo rank atop the list of returning swimmers in terms of 200-IM marks from last season but a total of three newcomers are slated to compete regularly in individual medley races as the men's side looks to bolster its IM results in the new year.
The Pirates will get their first shot at competition tomorrow against Montclair State. Start-time is scheduled for 5:00 p.m., with the swimming portion to be held at MSU and the diving competition to be hosted by The Hall.
