Bryant ready to keep building towards MAAC trophy
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's swimming team is back for a 2018-19 season that is full of promise after setting a program record at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships a season ago.
With the graduation of a historic senior class, the Bulldogs are reloading towards another run at the conference meet in February and are not looking to skip any beats.
"We graduated a lot of talent and personality last season, but we are very excited for the upcoming year," head coach Katie Cameron said, entering her 13th season at the helm of the program. "Each year, we start fresh and we came into the fall in better shape than we have in the past and are ready to once again rewrite the record board."
The Bulldogs are again looking to build on their performance at the conference championships in Buffalo, N.Y. last season, in which they set a program record with 536.5 points, good for third in the league.
"On the guy's side, we have two new freshmen and absolutely expect to improve on last year's MAAC results," diving coach Chuck LoCurto said. "We have a full roster and are ready to compete."
One of the divers he is looking to is junior Zach Vogel (South Easton, Mass.), who returns after missing most of last season.
"This year, we are definitely going to be able to improve on our results from last year," Vogel said. "Along with our returning talent, our new freshman have come in and shown that they are very talented and hard-working. I look forward to having us all in finals this season."
In addition to the diving boards, senior captain Tavish Boyle (Springfield, N.J.) is confident that the Bulldogs will be formidable off the blocks as well, right down to the team's newcomers.
"We have a very strong freshman class, as well as the great sophomore and junior classes that are continuing to build our program," the captain said. "They have really been a big part of our progress and have been able to grow in these first couple of weeks."
Cameron has graduate student Micah Ornelas (San Diego, Calif.) on close watch, as the transfer is ready to place his name on the record board.
"We have something special in Micah," Cameron said. "What is awesome about him is that he has raised the bar in training and shown what it is to be a good teammate."
All of this newcomer promise is adding onto what the Bulldogs had last season, including the current 1-meter and 3-meter record holder, sophomore Trevor Hazlewood (Corpus Christi, Texas) and the 2018 MAAC Men's Most Oustanding Rookie, sophomore Matthew Mays (St. Croix, Virgin Islands).
Bryant opens their 2018-19 campaign on Friday night when they travel to Boston College for a 5 p.m. meet with the Eagles. The Bulldogs won for the first time ever over the ACC member last season 161-137.