2011-12 Men's Swimming Preview

SWARTHMORE, Pa. - After a strong dual meet season and a third-place finish at Centennial Conference championships, the 2011-12 Swarthmore men's swim team will once again turn to a strong crop of upperclassman in an attempt to claim the Garnet's first-ever Centennial Conference title.

Under the guidance of head coach Sue Davis, Swarthmore returns all but three members of last year's team, including all individual medalists from last year's Championships.   Central to the Garnet's title-hunt will be the three men who scored silver medals in 2011 – junior Daniel Duncan, sophomore John Flaherty, and senior Samuel Bullard-Sisken.  Duncan was the Conference's second-fastest finisher in both the 200 and 400 IM during the 2010-11 season. Flaherty, who took silver in the 200 butterfly and bronze in both IM distances, will look to improve further upon an impressive freshman campaign.  Bullard-Sisken was silver medalist in 2011 and is the program record-holder in the 100 backstroke

Senior Tim Brevart looks to dominate the sprints in his final year of collegiate competition, after tying the program record in the 50 freestyle at last season's Championships.  Juniors Charlie Hepper, Josh Satre, and Tyler Hanson are some of the top IM and distance freestyle competitors in the Conference. Sophomore Stan Le and senior Lance Liu are forces to be reckoned with in breaststroke events, and senior Dante Fuoco brings quality versatility to the pool.  Junior Roger Chin look to build on a solid 2010-11 season which saw him earn some of the team's top times in backstroke events.

Senior Travis Pollen continued his personal assault on the S9 Paralympic record books last season, taking down the American record in both the 50 (24.74) and 100 (54.73) freestyle at Conference championships last year.  Pollen will compete with team during the fall semester, after which he plans to leave Swarthmore to concentrate on training for the 2012 Paralympics.

A crop of five freshmen rounds out the squad, which is primed for improvement after suffering only two losses due to graduation.

Swarthmore begins the season with a four-meet road trip, starting with a November 2nd "320 Challenge" engagement with local rival Widener at 6:00 p.m. The third annual Swarthmore Invitational is scheduled for the 2nd and 3rd of December.  The Garnet opens the Centennial dual meet schedule on November 5th at 2:00 p.m. with a visit to McDaniel.