The George Washington men’s swimming and diving team begins 2015-16 competition at Howard on Saturday with the hopes of taking the first steps toward building a championship program under first-year head coach James Winchester.
The Colonials return 12 letterwinners from last year’s squad, including 2015 A-10 medalist Oliver Keegan. GW welcomes 10 talented newcomers to the team who look to help the Buff and Blue improve upon last year’s conference finish.
GW will look to returners to lead the way, but newcomers are expected to make an immediate impact in 2015-16.
Freestyle
The sprint freestyle events will be led by sophomore Adam Drury, who broke the program record in the 100-yd freestyle and helped set a new program mark in the 400 freestyle relay during his rookie campaign. Junior Bogdan Balteanu will be another experienced presence, while freshmen Alexander Auster and Austin Pyrch will add depth in the sprint free events.
“We’re expecting big things out of Adam Drury this year after breaking the 100 free mark last season – even in the 50 and 200 freestyles this year,” said Coach Winchester. “Bogdan Balteanu will add depth, while a pair of good freshmen will push us in the events.”
In the distance freestyle events, Liam Huffman will lead the Colonials. Huffman returns after a strong Atlantic 10 Championship performance in 2015, reaching the consolation finals of the 200 and 500 freestyle events and finishing eighth overall in the 1,650 free.
Backstroke
Sophomore Gustav Hokfelt, the squad’s 2014-15 Newcomer of the Year, will be a top competitor for GW in the backstroke events. Hokfelt reached the championship finals of the 100 backstroke at the 2015 A-10 Championships, placing fifth overall, and won the consolation final in the 200 backstroke. Sophomore Clarke Indek, junior Ryan O’Malley and freshmen Harrison Boubon and Nicolas Reeves will provide depth for the Colonials.
“Gustov Hokfelt had an excellent freshman year – he’ll definitely be looking to make an assault on the school records this season,” said Coach Winchester.
Breaststroke
GW’s top returner in the breaststroke events will be Balteanu, who will be joined by a trio of newcomers. Junior transfer student Andrea Bolognesi – coming to GW from the University of Monaco – will be a strong addition to the squad, while freshmen Josh Monacelli and Luke Cowden will also compete in breaststroke events.
“Bogdan is our top returner in the breaststroke, and we’re really excited about our freshmen and transfer,” said Coach Winchester. “Andrea Bolognesi should have a chance to break school records and is going to be pushed very closely by Josh Monacelli.”
Butterfly
Senior Oliver Keegan and junior Ben Fitch will lead the Colonials in the butterfly events. Keegan earned a bronze medal in the 200 fly at the 2015 A-10 Championships for the second consecutive year after winning the event with a new school and conference record in 2013. Fitch will also return to compete in the fly events after a strong 2014-15 season, placing sixth overall in the 100 fly and 10th in the 200 fly at the A-10 Championships. Bolognesi and Monacelli will add depth for the Colonials in the fly events.
“Oliver Keegan has been a consistent top performer at the conference level since his freshman year in the 200 fly,” said Coach Winchester. “Ben had a great breakout year last season in the butterflies as well, and both of those gentlemen should be top competitors in the conference this year.”
Individual Medley
In the IM events, Balteanu and Bolognesi will lead the Colonials, and rookies Luke Cowden and Patrick Lersch will also compete for GW.
Diving
In GW’s second season after diving’s reinstatement in 2014-15, freshman Jake Ortiz will serve as the Colonials’ diver under second-year head diving coach Anthony Crowder.
Ortiz begins his collegiate career with a strong background in gymnastics and several years of diving experience and looks to make an immediate impact as a Colonial. Throughout preseason training, Ortiz has displayed a positive work ethic and is expected to be a contributing factor at the Atlantic 10 Championships in his first collegiate season.
“Jake is very strong and very talented,” said Coach Crowder. “He is up for the challenges that are innate to the sport of diving, and he has already had some big successes during preseason. I expect him to do very well in conference this year as we continue to build up basic skills and advance to more difficult dives.”
The Colonials will open the season with a trio of dual meets before traveling to Cleveland State for the Magnus Cup Invitational. Three additional dual meets and one tri-meet in January will conclude the regular season. The 2016 A-10 Championships will take place at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, from Feb. 17-20.
Overall, the combination of strong returners and a talented group of newcomers should set GW up for a strong first season under Coach Winchester. The Magnus Cup Invitational (Nov. 19-22) will serve as the biggest mid-season test for the squad before the Atlantic 10 Championships. The four-day meet will allow the Colonials to compete in a format similar to the A-10 Championships, with preliminary heats preceding final races for long days of competition.
“The mid-season Magnus Invite will be a great chance for us to compete against a lot of top teams,” said Coach Winchester. “That will give us a great opportunity to prepare ourselves for the championship season.
“We have a lot of talent returning to the team, and we’re very young with freshmen coming in,” said Coach Winchester. “We have some excellent chances of having some guys place very high at the conference meet.”
The Colonials open the 2015-16 season at Howard on Saturday for a 1 p.m. meet.
Swimming news courtesy of George Washington Swimming & Diving.