1997-98 Men's Swimming Outlook
Arizona State men's swimming finished 11th at the NCAA Championships, fifth at the Pac-10s, arguably the best conference in the country, recorded a school record 14 new top-10 times and four new school records. By most teams standards you would feel that this was a tremendous success. Sun Devils' head coach Ernie Maglischo saw the season as a "qualified success." This statement exemplifies where the Arizona State men's swimming team is headed in the very near future.
Last season the Sun Devils recorded a 7-4 dual meet record, seeing 12 of 14 swimmers better their season best times at the Pac-10s. Francisco Sanchez shined once again, winning two events and setting two new Pac-10 records in the 50 free (19.80) and 100 free (43.24). ASU's 200/400/800 relay teams of Sanchez, Craig Hutchison, Felipe Delgado and Nelson Vargas all earned All-America honors for their finishes at the NCAA Championship.
ASU once again will compete in arguably the best conference in the country. Last season the Pac-10 placed five teams in the top-16, with Stanford placing the highest at No. 2.
Here is a breakdown of this season men's swimming team:
Freestyle
Once more the freestyle events look to be the strongest for the Sun Devil
swimmers. Heading the list is junior Francisco Sanchez. Sanchez followed his
50 free NCAA Championship in '96 with a fourth place finish in '97. At the
Pac-10s, Sanchez set conference records of 19.80 in the 50 free and 43.24 in
the 100 free, en-route to winning the conference crowns. This year, Sanchez
should once again compete for top honors in the 50 and 100 free events. Senior
Craig Hutchison returns and will make a strong contribution to the sprint
events. Hutchison recorded the second fastest time of any returning swimmer in
the 50, 100 and 200 free events. Junior Guillermo Diaz De Leon returns after
posting a solid season that should set him up as one of the fastest returning
sprinters. Sophomores Greg Plank, Kevin Butler and Corey Martin will add depth
after completing their first year of collegiate swimming. Incoming freshman
Lukas Forney and Jeff Kelley are also expected to make immediate contributions.
The distance corps is depleted with the loss of Richard Greves. However, Plank posted the third fastest time in the 500 free, while junior Brian Hatlelid posted top-five team highs in three distance events. Freshmen Matt Carter, a summer national finalist in high school, and Austin Paulsen will make a big contribution immediately. Matt Barry and Patrick Little also enter the program giving ASU a strong nucleus to build around for the future.
Backstroke
The backstroke is an area were Maglischo expects to see quite a bit of
improvement. Returning to the team are last years' top finishers Pablo Abal
and Plank, who should both be able to improve after gaining a year of
experience. Redshirt-freshman Rory McVay and incoming freshmen Christian
Jacobsen, a senior national finalist in high school, and Scott VonSchoff add
depth to the backstroke team.
Butterfly
ASU returns the same team from a year ago, marking this event as one of the
key elements that could vault them to a higher national finish. Once again,
Sanchez will compete for conference and national honors in the 100 fly. Diaz
De Leon adds depth to Sanchez and will also be competing for a spot at the
nationals. Forney, Martin and McVay will also add depth to the team as sprint
flyers. The 200 fly group will be led by senior Robert Delgado. Delgado
recorded a team and personal best 1:48.74 last season. Scott Brown, Adam
Wolfenberg and Hatlelid all finished within eight hundredths of a second of
each other, giving this year's butterfly team maturity, leadership and depth.
Breaststroke
Along with the backstroke, Maglischo expects his breaststroke squad to be
"greatly improved." Ivan Rodriguez Mesa recorded the best time of any ASU
swimmer that returns in the 100 breast. Jonathan Tunstall swam the fastest
time a year ago in the 200 breast and the third fastest time in the 100 breast.
Richard Morris clocked in the second fastest times in both the 100 and 200
breast. Another name to watch for is Juan Beltran, who finished with fourth
and third fastest times in the 100 and 200 breast respectively. Andrey
Trinidad returns to the squad after a season ending injury. Freshmen Adam
Guzauskas, who ranked third in the U.S. among high school swimmers and Otto
Hinks, a Canadian National Finalist, are expected to vye for time on this
year's squad.
Individual Medley
Diaz De Leon will lead a strong cast of IM swimmers for this year's team.
Diaz De Leon just missed a spot at nationals last year, but will be a strong
candidate to qualify this year. Trinidad should once again regain the form that
made him one of the Sun Devils top 200 IM competitors. Beltran is also
expected to make an impact on the 200 IM squad. Paulsen, a 1996 Junior
National Champion in the 400 IM, along with Brown, Hatlelid and Hinks are
expected to challenge in the 400 IM.
Relays
Arizona State lost two of four All-American swimmers that saw two of it's
relay teams place in the top-five at the NCAAs and the other finishing eighth.
Gone are Felipe Delgado and Nelson Vargas, leaving two spots open for the free
relay teams with Sanchez and Hutchison. Butler, Diaz De Leon, Kelly, Martin,
McKay, Paulsen, Plank, Trinidad and VonSchoff are all candidates to add to the
200 and 400 free relays which should once again compete for national berths.
The 800 free relays will see competition between Butler, Carter, Diaz De Leon,
Paulsen, Plank and VonSchoff. The medley relays will provide a tight battle
for spots, but will be deep with both experienced and young swimmers. Abal,
Hutchison and Sanchez were mainstays last year and should again add leadership.
Beltran, Delgado, Diaz De leon, Guzauskas, Hinks, Plank and Trinidad will all
fortify this year's medley relay teams.
Diving
Mark Bradshaw begins his first year as the Sun Devils diving coach,
inheriting a men's team that should improve with another year of experience.
ASU returns two divers who placed in the top-10 at the Pac-10 Championships.
Allan Sonkin recorded a sixth place finish on the platform competition and
Scott Lemke finished eighth in the 1-meter competition. This year ASU will
host the Pac-10 Championships at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center.