The Elizabethtown College men’s swim team hopes to improve on their 2013-2014 record when they open their season on Saturday, Oct. 25 at home. The men’s team went 2-10 last season and finished 10th at the Mid-Atlantic Conference (MAC) Championship. The men’s team hopes to improve their record for the 2014-2015 season.
Head Coach Mark Wilson leads the team with help from Assistant Coach Slater Waltz. This is Wilson’s fourth season as head coach. Wilson’s vast experience in competitive swimming has been of benefit to the program. The Philadelphia-area native is helping the Blue Jays transition from the MAC to the Landmark Conference.
The only returning senior on the team is Frank Capria, who looks to improve on his junior campaign. “My ultimate goal this season is to try to be the only swimmer in Elizabethtown’s history to win Landmark Swimmer of the Week and MAC Swimmer of the Week,” Capria said. Capria finished 12th in the 1650 free at MACs.
Sophomores Shane Bahn, Ramon Rios, Kieran Koehler, Jake Stonecipher and Ethan Weber are all looking to do better this season as well. “I want to contribute as much as I can to make the team better,” Rios said.
In the 2013-2014 season, the Etown men won a pair of dual meets and put Koehler into the A Final of the 100-yard breaststroke and the B Final of the 200-yard breaststroke at the MAC Championships. Koehler achieved the program’s two best individual finishes at the meet, taking seventh in the 100 breast and 11th in the 200.
With the loss of some key swimmers, many of the team members hope to step up and fill their shoes. “First-year David Foery will be a huge asset to the team. He is fast, versatile and can practically swim any stroke,” Bahn said.
Three of the first six meets are against conference opponents, including Susquehanna University, Drew University and the University of Scranton. Six of the nine meets are against non-conference teams. Four of the nine games will take place in the Alumni Pool while the other five are away.
The men’s team looks to get a big win at the season opener at home this Saturday, Oct. 25 against York College. Their next home meet isn’t until Nov. 21, where they will face off against conference opponent, Drew University.
