TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The new-look No. 14 Sun Devil men's swimming and diving team looks to make their season debut in a dual meet with Florida State alongside the Arizona State women's squad this Friday in Tallahassee.
The trip out west marks the first as a full squad, as only women's swimming made the trek up to the Pacific Northwest to face conference foe Oregon State three weeks ago.
The Sun Devil men come into their 2018-19 campaign complemented by 25 new faces, including seven first-year transfers, to go along with the returning athletes that include World University Games qualifier Grant House and four additional 2018 NCAA qualifiers in Zach Poti, Danny Comforti, Cameron Craig and Youssef Selim.
The incoming class – named the fifth-best in the nation by Swim Swam Magazine – is full of a diverse set of talent that includes 18 freshman and seven transfers from some of the top swimming programs in the country.
Diving is set for their first taste of competition on the season this weekend as well, adding two new men – freshmen Brandon Spencer and Caleb Ives – and one woman, Hannah Sanders.
"Florida State has two very good male and female divers, so it'll pose a very good early challenge for us," head diving coach Mark Bradshaw said. "It'll give our divers an idea of where their competitors are in terms of their training and skill level."
Spencer was a three-time Wisconsin state champion in high school, while Ives was a three-time All-American out of Colorado. Although Sanders' high school didn't have a diving program, the Portland native was a six-time national qualifier and regional and zone champion.
"All three of them are about the same level skill-wise coming in and they're all very solid with a lot of room to improve," Bradshaw said. "This weekend will be a test for them because it'll give them a chance to test where they are against divers of Florida State's level."
The three add to an already robust diving squad compromised of 2018 Pac-12 1M Champion Selim and David Hoffer, who redshirted in 2017-18 but looks to provide invaluable leadership as the only senior between both the men's and women's diving programs. On the women's side, All-American Frida Kaellgren and NCAA qualifier Ashley McCool look to build upon their successful 2017-18 campaigns.
"David's a fifth-year senior, so he's been around for a while and has had pretty much all of the experience you can have in terms of competing in dual meets, conference meets, zone meets and then NCAAs," Bradshaw said. "He's a pretty calm guy, so he'll lead in that way when it comes to not only this meet, but throughout the season."
Despite the turnover on the men's side, the women brought back most of last year's team and added just one transfer in Cierra Runge and also earned votes in this week's CSCAA Poll.
After a solid 153-96 victory last time out that included victories in every single event and sweeping finishes in five, the women set their sights on their first ranked opponent, as the Seminoles men and women both check in at No. 21 this week.
Last season's meeting between the two programs marked the first in program history, and the Sun Devils notched victories on both the men and women's sides.
The Seminole women boast a 3-0 record so far, claiming victories over Georgia Tech, Pitt and an upset win over No. 13 Minnesota. On the men's side, FSU is 1-2 with their lone victory coming against Pitt.
ASU is set to kickoff competition against FSU at noon MST this Friday. Fans can keep up with the action by following @ASUSwimDive on Twitter or on Meet Mobile.
The trip out west marks the first as a full squad, as only women's swimming made the trek up to the Pacific Northwest to face conference foe Oregon State three weeks ago.
The Sun Devil men come into their 2018-19 campaign complemented by 25 new faces, including seven first-year transfers, to go along with the returning athletes that include World University Games qualifier Grant House and four additional 2018 NCAA qualifiers in Zach Poti, Danny Comforti, Cameron Craig and Youssef Selim.
The incoming class – named the fifth-best in the nation by Swim Swam Magazine – is full of a diverse set of talent that includes 18 freshman and seven transfers from some of the top swimming programs in the country.
Diving is set for their first taste of competition on the season this weekend as well, adding two new men – freshmen Brandon Spencer and Caleb Ives – and one woman, Hannah Sanders.
"Florida State has two very good male and female divers, so it'll pose a very good early challenge for us," head diving coach Mark Bradshaw said. "It'll give our divers an idea of where their competitors are in terms of their training and skill level."
Spencer was a three-time Wisconsin state champion in high school, while Ives was a three-time All-American out of Colorado. Although Sanders' high school didn't have a diving program, the Portland native was a six-time national qualifier and regional and zone champion.
"All three of them are about the same level skill-wise coming in and they're all very solid with a lot of room to improve," Bradshaw said. "This weekend will be a test for them because it'll give them a chance to test where they are against divers of Florida State's level."
The three add to an already robust diving squad compromised of 2018 Pac-12 1M Champion Selim and David Hoffer, who redshirted in 2017-18 but looks to provide invaluable leadership as the only senior between both the men's and women's diving programs. On the women's side, All-American Frida Kaellgren and NCAA qualifier Ashley McCool look to build upon their successful 2017-18 campaigns.
"David's a fifth-year senior, so he's been around for a while and has had pretty much all of the experience you can have in terms of competing in dual meets, conference meets, zone meets and then NCAAs," Bradshaw said. "He's a pretty calm guy, so he'll lead in that way when it comes to not only this meet, but throughout the season."
Despite the turnover on the men's side, the women brought back most of last year's team and added just one transfer in Cierra Runge and also earned votes in this week's CSCAA Poll.
After a solid 153-96 victory last time out that included victories in every single event and sweeping finishes in five, the women set their sights on their first ranked opponent, as the Seminoles men and women both check in at No. 21 this week.
Last season's meeting between the two programs marked the first in program history, and the Sun Devils notched victories on both the men and women's sides.
The Seminole women boast a 3-0 record so far, claiming victories over Georgia Tech, Pitt and an upset win over No. 13 Minnesota. On the men's side, FSU is 1-2 with their lone victory coming against Pitt.
ASU is set to kickoff competition against FSU at noon MST this Friday. Fans can keep up with the action by following @ASUSwimDive on Twitter or on Meet Mobile.