Ferrums College Joins Conference Ranks
FOREST, Va. --- The newest ODAC sport is set to embark upon its second season of competition as the conference's men's swimming members open their 2015-16 schedules. The league's 24th sport enjoyed a banner inaugural campaign, culminating in a championship event that not only saw expected meet records established in all 18 events competed, but just as many new overall records eclipsing performances during the regular season.
The conference's men's swimming membership will look a little different in year two compared to its first season. Greensboro College, an associate member for both men's and women's swimming, has elected to suspend operation of its men's program for the 2015-16 season. But the ODAC's contingent will remain at four competing schools with the addition of Ferrum College. The Panthers became the conference's fourth associate member in September, joining Catholic University in football as well as Greensboro and Notre Dame of Maryland University for swimming. Ferrum will compete in both the men's and women's ranks towards ODAC championship participation.
Entering the new season, 25 of the 33 overall All-ODAC honorees are set to return to ODAC waters. Washington and Lee University proved victorious in the first conference championship, racking up 1,024 points powered by eight individual event victories. The Generals' return 16 all-conference athletes from that squad, including reigning ODAC Rookie of the Year Tommy Thetford. He won three times individually and went on to compete at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships at the CISD Natatorium in Shenandoah, Texas. He swam three times at the event, earning a pair of All-American honors. After setting a new personal-best -- and breaking the ODAC record -- in the preliminaries of the 50-yard freestyle (0:20.10), he went on to place fourth at 0:20.17. He finished 31st in the 200-yard freestyle on day two, but did set a new ODAC record with a of 1:40.29. He rebounded nicely on the third day, touching the wall fifth in the 100-yard freestyle in 0:44.44 to secure his second All-American award and set new ODAC and W&L records.
Thomas Caldwell joined Thetford as a multiple event-winning General, capturing titles in the 500-yard freestyle (4:43.75) and the 1,650-yard freestyle (16:33.81). Brennan Haley returns to Lexington after winning the 100-yard butterfly in 0:49.72. Trent Babcock and Noah Schammel also put forth triumphant efforts, capturing individual wins in the 200-yard breastroke (2:07.13) and 200-yard butterfly (1:53.84), respectively. Washington and Lee, which boasts the return of nine of its 10 All-ODAC First Team honorees, also won four of the five relays competed at the 2015 ODAC championships. W&L's wins came in the 200-yard (1:23.39) and 400-yard (3:05.09) freestyle relays, as well as the 200-yard (1:32.53) and 400-yard (3:24.14) medley relays.
Randolph-Macon College and reigning ODAC Men's Swimming Coach of the Year, Brent Kintzer, feature nine All-ODAC returning athletes, but will be tasked with replacing the contributions of Bobby Brajdic, winner of three individual championship events and the first ODAC Men's Swimmer of the Year award. Four from the first team head back to Ashland, led by event winners Ivan Fadeyev and Robert Redenz. Fadeyev won the 400-yard individual medley in 4:05.61, while Redenz stopped the watches first in the 100-yard breaststroke in 0:58.24. Mohamed Saleh and Tyler Shand join Fadeyev and Redenz as 2015 first teamers. Saleh was the runner-up in the 100-yard free (0:46.44), while Shand placed second on three separate occasions -- 500-yard free (4:49.03), 200-yard free (1:45.81) and 1,650-yard free (16:46.40). The Yellow Jackets also claimed the 800-yard free relay title in 6:58.96.
Besides being a new sport for the conference, men's swimming still has some of that "new car smell" at Hampden-Sydney College where the Tigers prepare to open the program's fifth campaign. Last season's roster featured eight first year athletes, but H-SC head coach Betsy Leonard has upped the ante with nine newcomers this year. Several strong competitors return to lead the Tigers' youthful roster. Ryan Mitchell was the lead Tiger in a trio of championship events last season, finishing seventh in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:26.31), eighth in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:06.08) and 11th in the 200-yard IM (2:10.65). Calvin Charles and Conor O'Heir each led H-SC in a pair of events. Charles stopped the watches eighth in the 100-yard backstroke (1:01.60) and 12th in the 50-yard free (0:23.93), while O'Heir was seventh in the 200-yard butterfly (2:34.40) and ninth in the 100-yard fly (0:58.97).
Ferrum is under the direction of first year head coach Margaret Parcell. She was a four-year swimmer at Virginia Tech, helping the Hokies to four Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) titles from 2012-15. Her first roster features just two seniors in Frank Boxley and Christopher Roberson, with nine combined sophomores and freshmen ready to take to ODAC waters. Boxley (breastroke/IM) along with second-year athletes Aaron Brown (butterfly/IM), Walker Kale (freestyle/IM) and Wade Webster (freestyle/IM) will be expected to lead the way. Kale set school-records i nthe 500-yard (5:40.93) and 1000-yard (11:45.26) freestyles as a freshman, while Boxley and Brown own the records for the 200-yard breastroke (2:42.18) and 100-yard fly (1:03.76), respectively.
For more information on ODAC men's swimming, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com. Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow @odacathletics on Twitter.