Men's Season Outlook from the
gocrimson.collegesports.com/sports/m-swim/spec-rel
Harvard Looks to Stay on Top in 2005-06
Crimson opens Saturday against Cornell, Dartmouth
*Nov. 10, 2005*
*CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - * Harvard men's swimming and diving captains Bill
Cocks
<http://gocrimson.collegesports.com/sports/m-swim/mtt/cocks_bill00.html>
and David Cromwell
<http://gocrimson.collegesports.com/sports/m-swim/mtt/cromwell_david00.html>
will be the first to tell you how hard the Crimson had to work last
season to go undefeated in dual meets, claim its 10th conference
championship in the last 13 years and finish 22nd at the NCAA
Championships. And they are ready to lead Harvard to put in that effort
again this season in order to stay on top.
"The hardest aspect of this season will be keeping everyone hungry,"
said Cromwell, a five-time All-American. "It's easier to do as a team
when you lost the year before because you're out from the get-go to
prove that last year was a fluke. The challenge this year will be to
keep that same attitude instilled in every team member, at all times."
This year Harvard has to prove that some personnel losses from
graduation and the potential for complacency after winning last year's
title are not enough to move the Crimson from the top of the EISL heap.
The team opens its season Saturday with a tri-meet against Cornell and
Dartmouth at Simmons College.
"The team goal is always the same--to be undefeated--but the means
change from year to year," said Cocks, a second team All-Ivy selection
in the 100 breaststroke last season. "We understand that we have a new
team and that what worked last year may not necessarily work this year.
All I know is we have a good chance to repeat last year's success."
Plenty of things worked for the Crimson last season, and many of the key
contributors are back. Harvard boasts a good mix of senior
swimmers--Cocks and Cromwell say the whole class takes on the leadership
role, not just the captains--and talented young athletes. Throw in the
two of the league's top divers, and Harvard should be tough to beat once
again.
"It's going to be a challenging season for us," said head coach Tim
Murphy
<http://gocrimson.collegesports.com/sports/m-swim/mtt/murphy_tim00.html>,
who has lost just three dual meets in seven seasons at the helm of the
Crimson. "We have some good leadership from the seniors, which will be
instrumental to our success this year, and the entire team needs to
raise its level of performance."
Cromwell, who earned All-America honorable mention in both the
backstroke events and set a school record of 1:43.88 in the 200 back, is
the most decorated returning swimmer. Do-it-all sophomore Geoff
Rathgeber
<http://gocrimson.collegesports.com/sports/m-swim/mtt/rathgeber_geoff00.html>
was Harvard's No. 2 backstroker last year, but his area of expertise is
the individual medley. He won the 200 IM and placed third in the 400 at
the 2005 EISL meet. Junior Jason Degnan-Rojeski
<http://gocrimson.collegesports.com/sports/m-swim/mtt/degnanrojeski_jason00.…>
was third on the team charts in the 100 back and fourth in the 200 back.
Cocks was seventh in the 200 IM at EISL's and placed in the top three in
both breaststrokes. He will be counted on again for points in those
events. Junior Joc Christiana
<http://gocrimson.collegesports.com/sports/m-swim/mtt/christiana_joc00.html>
was not far behind Cocks, placing fifth in the EISL 100 breaststroke and
sixth in the 200. Rathgeber and junior Brian Fiske
<http://gocrimson.collegesports.com/sports/m-swim/mtt/fiske_brian00.html>
also made Harvard's breaststroke charts.
Sophomore Pat Quinn
<http://gocrimson.collegesports.com/sports/m-swim/mtt/quinn_pat00.html>
and senior Mark Knepley
<http://gocrimson.collegesports.com/sports/m-swim/mtt/knepley_mark00.html>
are the top returning short-distance freestylers. Quinn placed fifth in
the 100, sixth in the 200 and 10th in the 50 free at the EISL
Championships, while Knepley was seventh in the 100 and 200.
Harvard's distance swimmers, led by sophomore Sam Wollner
<http://gocrimson.collegesports.com/sports/m-swim/mtt/wollner_sam00.html>,
who finished in the EISL's top four at 500, 1000 and 1650 yards last
year, will have the tough task of trying to make up for the loss of a
nine-time All-American John Cole
<http://gocrimson.collegesports.com/sports/m-swim/mtt/cole_john00.html>.
"We're lucky in that we have a deeper distance lane as a whole this
year," Cromwell said. "Sam had a great summer, earning his first Olympic
Trials qualifying time, and seniors Billy Gray
<http://gocrimson.collegesports.com/sports/m-swim/mtt/gray_billy00.html>
and John Hastrup
<http://gocrimson.collegesports.com/sports/m-swim/mtt/hastrup_john00.html>,
along with freshman Eric Lynch
<http://gocrimson.collegesports.com/sports/m-swim/mtt/lynch_eric00.html>,
have the potential to push each other to do great things if they stay
focused."
The Crimson also took a hit in the butterfly races, losing James Lawler
<http://gocrimson.collegesports.com/sports/m-swim/mtt/lawler_james00.html>,
last year's EISL champion at both distances, to graduation. Cromwell
finished just one spot behind Lawler in the 100 fly, while
Degnan-Rojeski is Harvard's top returnee in the 200. Senior Stephen
Norberg
<http://gocrimson.collegesports.com/sports/m-swim/mtt/norberg_stephen00.html>
and junior Rich Goettke
<http://gocrimson.collegesports.com/sports/m-swim/mtt/goettke_rich00.html>
could be heard from in both races.
Few league teams can challenge Harvard in the diving events. Senior
Danil Rybalko
<http://gocrimson.collegesports.com/sports/m-swim/mtt/rybalko_danil00.html>
made the All-Ivy first team at one and three meters a year ago. He and
sophomore Lucas Sanders
<http://gocrimson.collegesports.com/sports/m-swim/mtt/sanders_lucas00.html>
will once again form a tough 1-2 punch.
Harvard dominated with its depth last year, earning All-America status
in the 800 free and 400 medley relays and winning all five EISL relays.
Cromwell and Rathgeber made up half of the All-America teams and will
have help from All-Ivy swimmers like Christiana, Quinn and Wollner in
the relays again this season.
Murphy says there is no definitive favorite in the league, but thanks to
a talented roster and a senior class that wants to stay on top, look for
Harvard to compete for yet another EISL crown in 2005-06.
Harvard Men's Swimming and Diving 2005-06
At the strike of midnight Oct 1 our new season began. Our first practice
was a very important one. We started with a presentation of our
championship trophies and discussion of the Major H Award. We reviewed
the history of the trophies and passed them around one last time. The
trophies were then retired into the trophy case along with our status as
league champions. Next we reviewed the values each team member listed on
their goal sheets. Here is an overview of things the team values about
the opportunity to be a student athlete at Harvard.
*/_Harvard Student_/*
*/_Harvard Athlete/Team_/*
Academic opportunity Camaraderie &
Team Spirit
Athletic opportunity Individual
achievement
Dynamic of Bright Minds Represent Harvard
Athletics
Caliber of fellow students Quality of Team
Prestigious institution Great
physical Training
City of Cambridge Friendships /
Brotherhood
Relationships / Networking 75 years of
Tradition & History of Excellence
Challenge / Education Post grad Ops Commitment to Excellence
Opportunity to excel Support &
Common Goals
Social community Pride and Honor
Standards Alumni
accomplishments
Recognition Winning
/ Sportsmanship
Great college community Attitude of Champions
Amazing people / Diversity Challenge
Teachers / Resources Work hard /
Have fun
Extracurricular Top
Division 1 program
Tradition of Excellence Passionate
Swimmers & Coaches
Support System Travel
History of Harvard Opportunity
to make contribution
We concluded the meeting portion of our practice with a brief silent
ceremony. It involves looking into each of your teammate's eyes while
shaking their hand. This forges their commitment to the team and the
goals we have for this year's season. Our list of values will serve as a
blueprint for our season and lay the foundation for our success.
We open up the season this Saturday with Dartmouth/Cornell. I look
forward to introducing you to this year's team and our results in future
e-mails. We hope to see you during the season. Your support in the
stands and as Friends of Harvard Swimming is greatly appreciated.
GO CRIMSON !!!
