Oct. 20, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. -- For the first time since 1959, Northwestern enters its season with a defending NCAA champion and high hopes for its second-consecutive top-10 national finish. The Wildcats return all of their record 23 All-America honors earned last season -- awards achieved by four athletes who brought home the most points-per-swimmer of any team and led NU to an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Championships.
Northwestern has three meets during its opening weekend. The 'Cats first travel to UW-Milwaukee Friday for a dual meet beginning at 4 p.m. Saturday, NU welcomes Texas A&M to the Norris Aquatics Center for a 1 p.m. dual meet. Sunday, the Wildcats host their annual NU Relays beginning at noon.
All NU home meets will be broadcast live on the internet this year with streaming video available at NUsports.com via CSTV's All-Access. To subscribe to All-Access, visit NUsports.com and navigate to the audio/video page. Each day's live events can be found at the top of the A/V page. Links will become live shortly before the start of each home meet.
"We finished last season on a very high note, and because of that we have high expectations for this year," reigning Big Ten and NCAA Coach of the Year Bob Groseth says. "An examination of our roster shows that 80 percent of this team are freshmen and sophomores, so the early part of the year will be ragged but we expect good results at the end."
Leading the way is 2005 100 backstroke NCAA champ Matt Grevers, who currently ranks third in the FINA world rankings in the event. He was named to the USA Swimming National A Team fresh off a four-medal performance at the World University Games in August.
The junior broke five Big Ten conference records and seven Northwestern records en route to being named Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships with five conference titles. He brought home seven All-America honors.
Grevers' classmate Mike Alexandrov also earned seven All-America accolades last season, highlighted by a silver medal finish in the 200 breast and a bronze effort in the 100 breast at last year's NCAA Championships. Alexandrov set two Big Ten records and eight Northwestern records last season and participated in the World University Games in August for his native Bulgaria.
"The linchpin of this team is the performance of Grevers and Alexandrv," Groseth says. "They have shown they are top swimmers in the nation and big players internationally. We will experiment in different events during the year to explore their capabilities and see how well they will fare."
Returning for his sophomore season with five All-America honors to his name is Kyle Bubolz, the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Bubolz set three Big Ten and five Northwestern records to go with his four Big Ten titles last season.
"Kyle had an amazing Big Ten meet as a freshman," Groseth says. "His big improvement this year needs to come in the individual events at the NCAA meet. I think he learned some lessons there last year and whetted his appetite to be an elite swimmer on the national level."
Rounding out NU's quartet of returning All-Americans is relay specialist David Kormushoff, who won four accolades as the anchor of the Wildcats' four NCAA relay squads.
Senior Ben Dexter joined his All-America teammates on the All-Big Ten first team as a member of NU's Big Ten champion 200 medley relay. He and distance freestyler Brian Davis are NU's lone returning seniors in the swimming events.
"We are very young, but we have more good swimmers in the water right now than we have ever had since I have been here," Groseth says. "The key is how much we make them better."
Despite winning more events than any other school at the Big Ten Championships, NU finished in fourth last year. With NU's expanded pool of talent, a higher finish is on the radar.
Following is an event-by-event look at the 2005-06 Wildcats:
Sprint Free
"This will be a strong event for us for the next few years with Matt and Kyle finishing 1-2 at the Big Ten meet," Groseth said. "This is a key event because it solidifies our relays."
In addition to Grevers and Bubolz, Groseth is looking for a number of newcomers to step up and provide depth in the 50 and 100 events.
Middle-Distance Free
The arrival of Virginia transfer Charlie Cunnick along with freshmen Eric Nilsson and Gavin D'Amico lend plenty of depth at the 500 free level.
"We have lots of possibilities now, which allows more flexibility with Brian Davis," Groseth says.
Distance Free
Davis, the school-record holder and NCAA qualifier in the 1650 free, returns to anchor the distance events for NU as a senior. Nilsson and sophomore Daniel Walls will both factor into the event as well. Walls had a great race at the Big Ten Championships last year, shattering his personal best.
"This has been a traditionally strong event for us in the past, but it was not last year," Groseth says. "At the Big Ten meet last year, we won three events the first day and four the second, but none on the third. The 1650 free and 200 fly are both final day events, so we are emphasizing them this season and focusing on having a strong last day."
Backstroke
Grevers returns to defend his NCAA title in the 100 back. There will be more depth behind him this year with sophomore Eric Simpson and freshmen Adam Beckman and Dmitri Kouzmine all vying to develop into Grevers' successor.
"We are looking harder at the 200 backstroke this year, too," Groseth said. "Beckman, Simpson and Brian Davis are all capable of having success in that event."
Breaststroke
Alexandrov is the leader of the breast group with his two placings at the NCAA Championships last season. There is a great deal of potential behind him in freshmen John Franklin and Alex Hostoffer and sophomores Adam Lewno and Kormushoff.
"We will have much more depth in this event like in all of our events at the Big Ten level," Groseth said.
Butterfly
Strength at the top is again the theme with Big Ten champ Bubolz returning. Kormushoff, Jon Ehret, Franklin and Beckman provide depth in the 100, while D'Amico and Andy Long will be contributers in the 200.
Individual Medley
"We have many swimmers who can be competitive in these events," Groseth says. "Again, we have much more depth than in the past which gives us plenty of options and flexibility. Even the guys in our second tier are capable of scoring at the Big Ten meet and swimming at the NCAA Championships -- something we have not had in the past."
Alexandrov, Grevers and Davis lead a group that includes Beckman, Nilsson and Cunnick as options.
Relays
"It will be very difficult to duplicate our relay success from last season," Groseth says. "We are going to try hard to do it. This year we want to make the 800 free relay capable of scoring at the NCAA Championships. We want four relays to finish in the top-eight this season."
Diving
Northwestern diving is taking on a new meaning for the 2005-06 season. With more experience at the top, more depth all-around and more talent throughout, the Wildcats are poised to break out on the national stage this season.
Six divers -- three men and three women -- comprise this year's squad, the biggest since sixth year head coach Tom Michael took over the program in 2000. Sheer volume is not the sole reason for excitement, however. Michael feels every student-athlete on his roster has the ability to do something special.
"Since I have been here, the program has increased in the number of athletes as well as in the quality of the athletes," Michael says. "Not only do I think we can have finalists at both Big Ten meets, but I believe we have the chance to win some events."
Michael is looking to his upperclassmen to lead by example and to build on the success they have had in the past. On the men's side, senior Mike Oxman has made the finals at the Big Ten Championships in all three of his previous seasons. For the women, junior Leanne Dumais earned Big Ten Diver of the Week honors twice in 2004-05.
"I am looking for upperclassmen to be the leaders on the largest diving team NU has had since I have been here," Michael says. "Oxman was the alternate for the men's NCAA Championships last year, so this season we hope to make improvements to get him to the big dance. Leanne is a seasoned competitor at the junior world levels."
Returning for their sophomore seasons are Ryan McIntosh for the men and Beth Campbell for the women. Both qualified for the NCAA Zone meet last season.
This year's squad brings a pair of newcomers in Alex Kiaie for the men and Chelsea Davis for the women. Kiaie was a two-time All-America honoree in high school, while Davis is one of the most talented springboard divers in the country.
"Chelsea brings a vast amount of depth to this program," Michael says. "She has raised the bar for training here. She was a member of the 2005 World Championships diving team and we are looking for some big things from this young lady throughout her four years here."
With all four returners having already qualified for the NCAA Zone meet in their careers, and two newcomers with impressive credentials, all signs point to the 2005-06 season signaling the arrival of NU diving on the national scene.
"Without singling anybody out, I think we could win events at both the men's and women's Big Ten Championships meets," Michael says. "I also think we can give anybody in the country a run for their money."
With Northwestern's swimming programs both established players at the NCAA Championships level, the increased depth of NU diving will be key to the collective Wildcats' overall success in the pool this year.
"The diving team has steadily grown and gotten better," Michael says. "With the amount of divers and the depth we have on both sides, I feel we can be major contributers to both swimming programs at the Big Ten and NCAA levels.
"In terms of both the men's and women's teams, I would like to see four finalists at the Big Ten Championships, with all divers scoring."
If ever that goal was attainable for Northwestern diving, this is the year.