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The William and Mary men’s swimming team had one of its most successful seasons ever in 2011-12, but with more than 80% of the Tribe’s scoring output back and one of, if not the, most talented recruiting classes in school history, expectations are even higher heading into 2012-13. Director of Swimming Matt Crispino ’02 and his staff welcome back multiple school record-holders, NCAA qualifiers, and conference award winners this winter, and will be looking to make history and challenge for the Colonial Athletic Association title.
Sprinters
The sprint freestyles, up through the 200, have become one of the strongest and deepest units on the pool deck for W&M over the past few years, a trend that should continue this season despite the loss of three-time CAA Champion Stephen Fay ’12 to graduation. The group figures to be led by senior Hunter Perrot, a two-time CAA Champion on the 800 free relay. Perrot has the Tribe’s best returning times in both the 200 (1:38.66) and the 100 (45.75), and also ranks fourth in the 50 at 21.48. Classmate Ben Ward is atop the depth chart in the 50 (20.83) and third in the 100 (46.50), with senior Sidney Glass close behind at 20.84 and 47.58, respectively. Junior all-everything Andrew Strait, while concentrating in the IMs and breaststrokes, is also fast enough and strong enough to earn a spot on the free relays with his times of 21.26 and 46.45, both among the team’s top-three entering the fall.
In addition to the strong upperclassman leadership and veteran depth, Crispino and his staff have added two top newcomers. Freshman Ryan Natal has gone 46.35 in the 100 free, and was a prep All-American after helping set the national public-school record in the 200 medley relay (SCM). Redshirt-junior Jake Stronko transferred to W&M from the Air Force Academy last spring, and has gone 1:40.26 in the 200 free. Stronko was a prep All-American at Osbourn Park High in Virginia.
Distance
The Tribe returns four of the most talented swimmers in school history in the 500, 1000, and 1650. Leading the way is sophomore Kemp Pettyjohn, the CAA Rookie of the Year last winter. Pettyjohn was second at the conference meet in both the 500 and 1650 as a freshman, breaking W&M’s school records and qualifying for NCAAs in both events as well as the 1000. Pettyjohn also led-off the gold-medal 800 free relay, breaking the freshman record with his 1:39.14 200 free leg.
The Tribe also returns the services of senior Kyle McVeigh, who was the silver-medalist at 1650 in 2010 and 2011. McVeigh has held the school records at both 1000 and 1650, as well as the 100 back during his career so far. Hunter Perrot can also range up into the middle-distances, where he has gone 4:30.31 in the 500. Junior Tyler Poling set personal-bests at all three distances during the CAA Championships, including 15:56.20 in the mile to take 16th.
Backstroke
The backstroke lane already was one of the team’s strongest components, with a school record-holder and an Olympic Trials qualifier returning from last season. Recruiting added even more, including another Olympic Trials qualifier, making the backstroke a truly daunting unit that could sweep the titles at the conference meet. Top returners include the senior trio of Sidney Glass, Kyle McVeigh, and Evan Rutherford. Glass qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 100m backstroke over the summer, and finished fifth in that event at the conference meet. He has gone 49.75 in the 100 and 1:49.44 in the 200 as well. McVeigh holds the W&M record in the 100 back at 49.64, in addition to his work in the distance group. Rutherford is atop the depth chart in the 200 at 1:49.00, second-best all-time, and is third on the team this year in the 100 at 51.24.
Also returning is sophomore Chad Nowakowski, who broke through at the Terrapin Invite to swim 1:50.58 in the 200 back and rank sixth all-time at the College. New to the team this year is Will Manion, a four-time prep All-American and Olympic Trials qualifier in the 100m back last summer. Manion’s best high school time of 49.04 in the 100 is well below the current school record, and he has also timed 1:49.64 in the 200 back. Justin Barden has timed 1:48.92 in the 200 back, and 51.08 in the 100 back where he won three region titles and was third at the Virginia AAA state championships.
Breaststroke
The breaststroke is another veteran –dominated stroke, with the three men at the top of the depth chart combining for the past several freshman and school records. Andrew Strait was second in the 200 breast at the CAA Championships last year, qualifying for NCAAs after timing a school-record 2:00.22. He also swam a best of 56.81 in the 100 breast last year, a performance all the more impressive because it came in a dual meet in early October.
Sophomore Matt Goetz quietly built his way to a breakout showing at the CAA Championships, where he dropped a jaw-dropping 3.4 second improvement in the 100 breast to break the school record and take fifth at 56.19 seconds. Goetz also held the freshman record in the 200 breast for a few hours after timing 2:04.34 in the prelims, before classmate Chris Dong went 2:04.16 in the finals to finish 10th in the league. Dong has also swum 57.23 seconds in the 100 breast, just behind senior Ben Ward’s 57.07 from the 2011 conference meet.
Butterfly
Senior K.J. Shaw holds both school records in the butterfly events after timing 49.36 and 1:47.82 in the prelims of the CAA Championships last spring, and went on to take third in the 200 fly at the meet as well. He’ll lead the fly group, which includes several more veteran swimmers and a number of impact freshmen. In the 200 fly , junior John Rittenhouse is coming off of a personal-best performance of 1:53.56 at the Terrapin Invite in February.
Joining the team in 2012-13 will be four newcomers. Ryan Natal was second in the Virginia AAA championships as a junior in the 100 fly, and has timed 50.35 and 1:52.29 already in the two events. Justin Barden succeeded him as the silver medalist last year, and has just scratched under the 50-second barrier in the 100. In the 200 fly, Charley Bowles has swum 1:51.95 and was a three-time Scholastic All-American at Tabb High in Virginia, while Jake Stronko has also gone 1:53.17 in the event.
Individual Medley
Even though most of the Tribe’s IM swimmers compete mainly in other events, such is the strength and versatility of the team that W&M could still lay claim to the title of best medley team in the conference. Andrew Strait is a big reason for that, as he holds the school record in both the 200 and the 400. After a disappointing prelim swim in the 200 at the conference meet last February, he came back firing at night and won his finals heat with a school-record time of 1:50.64, and went on to take second in the 400 IM with an NCAA-qualifying 3:53.00.
The 200 will also be bolstered by seniors Evan Rutherford and K.J. Shaw, with times of 1:51.71 and 1:52.90, respectively. In the 400, sophomore Kemp Pettyjohn swam 4:01.59 in the CAA finals to finish sixth, and become the second-fastest swimmer in school history behind only Strait. The freshman class will contribute Will Manion to the 200 IM, where he has swum 1:52.78 and earned prep All-American honors after winning the New Jersey state title as a junior. The top freshman in the 400 IM is Charley Bowles, who has already timed 3:58.42 in the event where Strait is the only man to ever break four minutes.
Sprinters
The sprint freestyles, up through the 200, have become one of the strongest and deepest units on the pool deck for W&M over the past few years, a trend that should continue this season despite the loss of three-time CAA Champion Stephen Fay ’12 to graduation. The group figures to be led by senior Hunter Perrot, a two-time CAA Champion on the 800 free relay. Perrot has the Tribe’s best returning times in both the 200 (1:38.66) and the 100 (45.75), and also ranks fourth in the 50 at 21.48. Classmate Ben Ward is atop the depth chart in the 50 (20.83) and third in the 100 (46.50), with senior Sidney Glass close behind at 20.84 and 47.58, respectively. Junior all-everything Andrew Strait, while concentrating in the IMs and breaststrokes, is also fast enough and strong enough to earn a spot on the free relays with his times of 21.26 and 46.45, both among the team’s top-three entering the fall.
In addition to the strong upperclassman leadership and veteran depth, Crispino and his staff have added two top newcomers. Freshman Ryan Natal has gone 46.35 in the 100 free, and was a prep All-American after helping set the national public-school record in the 200 medley relay (SCM). Redshirt-junior Jake Stronko transferred to W&M from the Air Force Academy last spring, and has gone 1:40.26 in the 200 free. Stronko was a prep All-American at Osbourn Park High in Virginia.
Distance
The Tribe returns four of the most talented swimmers in school history in the 500, 1000, and 1650. Leading the way is sophomore Kemp Pettyjohn, the CAA Rookie of the Year last winter. Pettyjohn was second at the conference meet in both the 500 and 1650 as a freshman, breaking W&M’s school records and qualifying for NCAAs in both events as well as the 1000. Pettyjohn also led-off the gold-medal 800 free relay, breaking the freshman record with his 1:39.14 200 free leg.
The Tribe also returns the services of senior Kyle McVeigh, who was the silver-medalist at 1650 in 2010 and 2011. McVeigh has held the school records at both 1000 and 1650, as well as the 100 back during his career so far. Hunter Perrot can also range up into the middle-distances, where he has gone 4:30.31 in the 500. Junior Tyler Poling set personal-bests at all three distances during the CAA Championships, including 15:56.20 in the mile to take 16th.
Backstroke
The backstroke lane already was one of the team’s strongest components, with a school record-holder and an Olympic Trials qualifier returning from last season. Recruiting added even more, including another Olympic Trials qualifier, making the backstroke a truly daunting unit that could sweep the titles at the conference meet. Top returners include the senior trio of Sidney Glass, Kyle McVeigh, and Evan Rutherford. Glass qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 100m backstroke over the summer, and finished fifth in that event at the conference meet. He has gone 49.75 in the 100 and 1:49.44 in the 200 as well. McVeigh holds the W&M record in the 100 back at 49.64, in addition to his work in the distance group. Rutherford is atop the depth chart in the 200 at 1:49.00, second-best all-time, and is third on the team this year in the 100 at 51.24.
Also returning is sophomore Chad Nowakowski, who broke through at the Terrapin Invite to swim 1:50.58 in the 200 back and rank sixth all-time at the College. New to the team this year is Will Manion, a four-time prep All-American and Olympic Trials qualifier in the 100m back last summer. Manion’s best high school time of 49.04 in the 100 is well below the current school record, and he has also timed 1:49.64 in the 200 back. Justin Barden has timed 1:48.92 in the 200 back, and 51.08 in the 100 back where he won three region titles and was third at the Virginia AAA state championships.
Breaststroke
The breaststroke is another veteran –dominated stroke, with the three men at the top of the depth chart combining for the past several freshman and school records. Andrew Strait was second in the 200 breast at the CAA Championships last year, qualifying for NCAAs after timing a school-record 2:00.22. He also swam a best of 56.81 in the 100 breast last year, a performance all the more impressive because it came in a dual meet in early October.
Sophomore Matt Goetz quietly built his way to a breakout showing at the CAA Championships, where he dropped a jaw-dropping 3.4 second improvement in the 100 breast to break the school record and take fifth at 56.19 seconds. Goetz also held the freshman record in the 200 breast for a few hours after timing 2:04.34 in the prelims, before classmate Chris Dong went 2:04.16 in the finals to finish 10th in the league. Dong has also swum 57.23 seconds in the 100 breast, just behind senior Ben Ward’s 57.07 from the 2011 conference meet.
Butterfly
Senior K.J. Shaw holds both school records in the butterfly events after timing 49.36 and 1:47.82 in the prelims of the CAA Championships last spring, and went on to take third in the 200 fly at the meet as well. He’ll lead the fly group, which includes several more veteran swimmers and a number of impact freshmen. In the 200 fly , junior John Rittenhouse is coming off of a personal-best performance of 1:53.56 at the Terrapin Invite in February.
Joining the team in 2012-13 will be four newcomers. Ryan Natal was second in the Virginia AAA championships as a junior in the 100 fly, and has timed 50.35 and 1:52.29 already in the two events. Justin Barden succeeded him as the silver medalist last year, and has just scratched under the 50-second barrier in the 100. In the 200 fly, Charley Bowles has swum 1:51.95 and was a three-time Scholastic All-American at Tabb High in Virginia, while Jake Stronko has also gone 1:53.17 in the event.
Individual Medley
Even though most of the Tribe’s IM swimmers compete mainly in other events, such is the strength and versatility of the team that W&M could still lay claim to the title of best medley team in the conference. Andrew Strait is a big reason for that, as he holds the school record in both the 200 and the 400. After a disappointing prelim swim in the 200 at the conference meet last February, he came back firing at night and won his finals heat with a school-record time of 1:50.64, and went on to take second in the 400 IM with an NCAA-qualifying 3:53.00.
The 200 will also be bolstered by seniors Evan Rutherford and K.J. Shaw, with times of 1:51.71 and 1:52.90, respectively. In the 400, sophomore Kemp Pettyjohn swam 4:01.59 in the CAA finals to finish sixth, and become the second-fastest swimmer in school history behind only Strait. The freshman class will contribute Will Manion to the 200 IM, where he has swum 1:52.78 and earned prep All-American honors after winning the New Jersey state title as a junior. The top freshman in the 400 IM is Charley Bowles, who has already timed 3:58.42 in the event where Strait is the only man to ever break four minutes.
