University of Massachusets Athletics
Swimming And Diving Ready For A-10 Championships
February 16, 2009 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Feb. 16, 2009
AHMERST, Mass. - After months of training and competing the men's and women's swimming and diving teams are ready for their biggest competition of the season. Both teams will head to Buffalo, N.Y. this week to compete at the Atlantic 10 Championships, a meet that both coaches noted is the most important, before the season began. At last year's Championships the men's team brought home their 10th A-10 Championship, their third in a row, while the women's team notched a fourth-place team finish. The meet will be held at Flickinger Aquatics Center and begin on Wednesday, Feb. 18, and continue through Saturday, Feb. 21.
Last Year At The Atlantic 10 Championships
Head coach Russ Yarworth was named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year last year for the ninth time of his career after the Minutemen won their tenth Atlantic 10 Championship as a team last season, notching six individual victories and two relay wins. Then-senior R.J. Rape was the top finisher for the Minutemen as he placed first in both the one and three-meter diving events, setting new Atlantic 10 records in both events. Juan Moliere, Justin Brooks, Andrew Willbrant, Nate Bromage, and Mike Berthaume were also named A-10 individual champions as they finished first in their respective events. Moliere brought home the 50 free as he finished in 20.77 while Berthaume took the 200 fly, finishing in 1:51.66. As Bromage grabbed his third-straight individual title in the 100 fly (:48.88), Brooks and Willbrant both made it two in a row last year as Brooks earned his second consecutive in the 1650 free (15:41.72) title and Willbrant notched his in the 100 back (50.33).
Top finishes weren't the only thing that helped the Minutemen to their third-straight A-10 Championship as they placed an additional 29 members of their team in the top-eight spots, and finished at least one person in the top-eight of every event. All five first-place finishers for the Minutemen also placed among the top-eight in at least one other event at the Championships. Brad Sloan, Max Butler, and Brian Schmidt all added two top-eight finishes for the Minutemen. Sloan finished seventh in the 500 free and eighth in the 400 IM; Butler took second in the 100 back, and fourth in the 200 back; and Schmidt placed third in the 400 IM, and fourth in the 100 and 200 breast events.
The Minutemen also racked up points on the diving board as they finished five in the top-eight in the one-meter dive, and four in the three-meter dive.
A Glimpse Of What's Ahead
Earlier in the season the Minutemen faced a variety of Atlantic 10 competition as they took on Rhode Island, La Salle, and George Washington at the Rhode Island Invitational, and then later faced Fordham in their final dual meet of the season. The Minutemen are a perfect 4-0 against Atlantic 10 teams this season as they finished first at the Rhode Island Invitational and notched a win in the Bronx over Fordham.
So Far This Season
The Minutemen finished up their regular season with a 6-1 dual meet record, their only loss of the year coming in their first meet of the season at Boston University. They also added first-place team finishes in both of their invitationals this season. The Minutemen improved on the two-loss season they had last year by doing something they had never done before. In their three all-time meetings against Army, the Minutemen fell just short each time. The men turned the tables this season as they notched a 174-126 victory at their home opener over the Black Knights.
The Minutemen also improved their all-time records to remain unbeaten against Stony Brook, Colgate, and Binghamton, while also adding to their extremely dominant all-time record against Boston College. At invitationals, the Minutemen took first at both the Terrier and Rhode Island Invitationals for the third year in a row.
School History
Before even reaching the most important part of their season, which is often when they perform their absolute best, numerous Minutemen have made their marks among the all-time record books at UMass.
Freshman Joey Sborodn has been a nothing but top finishes for the Minutemen so far this season. In his first ever collegiate 1650 free competition, Sbordon finished the race in 15:56.62, which ranks him fourth all-time in school history. The freshman has also already made his mark on the 200 free (1:40.67) as he now holds eighth-place, and the 500 free (4:32.13) where he sits in third-place in the UMass record books.
Freshman Chris Howard has been a late bloomer for the Minutemen as he didn't compete in a meet until January's Rhode Island Invitational. Since then he has put together one first-place finish as well as three second-place finishes. Of these top performances, his first-place finish in the 50 free against Boston College ranks him ninth all-time at UMass in the event, he finished the race in 20.90.
Also a freshman, Jason Cook has made his mark on the record books as well. Cook now holds the school record in the three-meter dive as he scored 359.63 in his first career meet at Boston University. The freshman also holds the fourth-best score in the one-meter dive as he notched a 317.10 in the final dual meet of the season at Fordham.
Chart Toppers
On top of their dual meet success and school record breaking, the Minutemen have also dominated the Atlantic 10 this season with their individual wins and top times. Twelve Minutemen rank among the top-five performers in the A-10 heading into the Championships, and four of them hold the top times in five events.
Freshman Joey Sbordon leads the way for the Minutemen as he holds the top time in the 1000 free (9:38.62) as well as the 1650 free (15:56.62). The freshman also ranks second in the 500 free (4:32.13) and third in the 200 free (1:40.67). Sbordon has dominated his competition all season with these kinds of top performances as he finished the season with 21 individual wins and still remains unbeaten in the 500 and 1000 free events. These performances have also earned him numerous accolades throughout the season including A-10 Rookie of the Week honors four times, and UMass/ Dinn Bros. Athlete of the Week honors three times.
Top diver Jason Cook has also been carrying an unbeaten streak in his first season at UMass. The freshman has yet to be beaten in the three-meter diving event and holds the top score in the A-10 for that event as he notched a 359.63 at Boston University. Cook also ranks second in the conference in the one-meter dive (317.10), an event he has also dominated and only finished as low as second, two times. These top scores and individual wins earned Cook A-10 Rookie of the Week honors after his performance at Binghamton.
Senior captain Nate Bromage and freshmen Chris Howard also hold top times in the A-10 as Bromage ranks first in the 100 fly with a time of49.93, and Howard holds the top spot in the 50 free after finishing the event in 20.90 at home against Boston College.
Diving Domination
The diving board has been an X-factor for the Minutemen all season as the divers have consistently performed and added top points for their team to help secure a win. Freshman Jason Cook has led the way for the men with 14 individual wins, and behind him has been junior Byron Johnson, who has come away with five second-place finishes and six third-place finishes this season. When adding sophomore Adam Duffield, who took first in the one-meter and second in the three-meter at the Rhode Island Invitational while also adding six third-place finishes throughout the season, as well as sophomore John Clark, who had two second-place finishes and a third-place finish against BC and Colgate, to the one-two punch of Cook and Johnson it makes the Minutemen seem almost unstoppable.
First Time For Everything
So far this season freshmen have been some of the top competitors for the Minutemen adding in first-place and top-five finishes all across the board. Ryan Brooks, Chris Howard, Jason Cook, Kyle Jennings, and Joey Sbordon will all compete at this year's Atlantic 10 Championships for the first time after making an impact throughout their first season.
Both Sbordon and Cook will carry their unbeaten streaks into the Championships this week and have been top performers for their team all season as they have combined for 35 individual wins so far. Both also hold top times and scores in the conference and will look to remain atop the competition. Howard will also look to defend and build on his conference top-time in the 50 free heading into A-10s. Though he hadn't competed until the end of the season, he has shown he is ready for the conference competition.
Brooks and Jennings have been consistent top-five finishers for the Minutemen all season and Brooks is a member of the 800 free relay team that holds the top time in the Atlantic 10 while Jennings ranks four in the conference in the 200 back (1:53.65).
