Oct. 28, 2005
Young, Talented Squad Hopes to Lay
Foundation in 05-06
The graduation of 10
seniors from last year’s squad makes
the 2005-06 Youngstown State
swimming and diving team small in
numbers, young and untested. But
head coach Matt Anderson is
confident that the six returnees
from last season and the group of
eight incoming freshmen will lay a
solid groundwork for the future
success of the program.
"We can develop the foundation of the future of the program
with this group, because I really
think we have a great group of
talented athletes," Anderson said.
"If we can come in and prove what we
can do with a small group and add to
it next year, I think we’re going to
be sitting really good a couple
years down the road."
Returning from last year’s squad are three of the top
freestylers, the school
record-holder in the breaststroker,
a diver and an IMer. The team’s
three junior captains – Becky
Bertuzzi, Kim Hanley and Cortney
Harless – will have the job of not
only providing leadership in the
pool, but keeping a sense of unity
within the team.
"We have to key in on making everybody work well together
because it’s a small group and we
don’t have a lot of depth," Anderson
said. "We can’t rely on just winning
by numbers. We have to win by
quality."
Being a small group does have its advantages, however. With
no seniors on the squad, younger
athletes have assumed the leadership
role, and the freshmen will have the
opportunity to get experience in
pressure situations as they will be
counted on to contribute
immediately. The addition of the
program’s first full-time assistant
in Jillian Coleman will also allow
the swimmers to get more specialized
personal attention in workouts.
The team also has goals outside of the pool to have a
combined grade-point average of at
least 3.3 and reclaim the Horizon
League Community Service Award.
Freestyle
The freestyle events will be YSU’s strongest area as the
squad has solid swimmers from the
50-yard free to the mile.
Anchoring the group will be two of
the best sprinters in school history
in Bertuzzi and sophomore Brittany
Senn.
Bertuzzi ranks second all-time in school history in the 100
and 200 free. She missed breaking
the school mark in the 200 free at
last season’s Horizon League
Championships by .4 seconds with a
12th-place time of 1:55.95. She
added a 14th-place finish in the 100
free at the meet with a
personal-best time of 53.74.
Senn finished 10th in the 50 free at the conference meet last
season with a personal-best time of
24.82, which ranks third all-time in
school history. The sophomore ranks
fifth all-time in the 100 free after
placing 18th in the conference in
the event last year. She has also
stepped into a leadership role as a
leader-by-example in practice with
her work ethic.
Hanley and sophomore Amanda Ladd will take the blocks as the
returnees in the distance free
events. Hanley began last season as
a breaststroker but made a strong
transition to set three
personal-best marks at the Horizon
League Championship. Ladd finished
17th in the mile at the conference
meet and has shown promise with a
good training attitude.
Joining them will be a strong group of freshmen that includes
Erin-Michelle Gordon, Jessica Front,
Natasha Bray and Olivia Arnold.
Gordon is a solid swimmer from the
sprints to distance events and
should rank among the team leaders
in every event. Bray has impressive
incoming times in the distance
events and should be able to
contribute immediately. Arnold, an
Australia native, has improved
greatly since the beginning of
workouts and could step up to be one
of the top threats by the end of the
season. Front is strong in the
middle distance events and will add
depth to the relay events.
Butterfly
The Penguins will also be strong in the butterfly as
Bertuzzi, Ladd and Senn will join Bray for a deep group. Bertuzzi is the squad’s
top returnee in the 200 fly as she ranks in school history in the event. She
finished 13th at the Horizon League Championship with a personal-best time of
2:19.27. Ladd turned in a 16th-place finish in the 200 fly at the league meet a
year ago and ranks sixth all-time in the event. Senn is coming off a 12th-place
finish in the 100 fly at the conference meet. She ranks fifth all-time in the
event with her personal-best time of 1:01.95.
Backstroke
The Penguins will be lacking depth in the backstroke and
will have to rely on IMers and a developing backstroker. Freshman Erin Sayre
swam the stroke on a limited basis in high school and will concentrate on
improving steadily throughout the season. Arnold, Bray, Ladd and Senn will all
be counted on to use their versatility from swimming in the individual medley to
rotate in and add depth.
Breaststroke
Sophomore Julia Darling returns to anchor the breaststrokers
after establishing herself as YSU’s top athlete in the event in school history.
As a freshman, Darling broke two individual records and was part of two
record-setting relay teams at the Horizon League Championship. In the individual
events, she turned in a ninth-place time of 1:08.46 in the 100 breast and a
10th-place time of 2:28.27. According to Anderson, she should improve on those
marks as she is stronger and more mature. Hanley will split time between the
breast and the distance free, and Bray and Arnold will also help to add depth.
Individual Medley
Anderson will have a deep group of swimmers in the individual
medley led by Bray and Ladd. Ladd was solid in the 400 IM as a freshman,
finishing 15th at the conference meet and ranking sixth all-time. Darling was
also solid last season in the 200 IM as she placed 19th at the league meet and
ranks third all-time in school history. Senn and Hanley will also rotate in to
add depth to the event.
Diving
Diving coach Nick Gavolas will be in an uncustomary situation
this season as he does not have a returning conference champion for only the
second time in seven years after the graduation of four-time Horizon League
Champion Kalyn Leveto. But Harless returns as an upperclassman leader and a
scorer at the conference meet, and Gavolas brought in a talented freshman duo of
Kelly Reese and Amanda Zhelesnik.
"I think we have more talent this year in total, but I’m
cautiously optimistic," Gavolas said. "I’ve had to replace three of the top
three conference divers in the past three years, and bringing new kids that are
untested is a little scary."
Reese was a three-time All-Ohio selection and an Academic
All-American at Canfield High. Zhelesnik earned individual titles at the
conference and sectional levels and was a two-time district finalist at Medina.
"Kelly might have more talent than anyone I’ve had. She’s
absolutely God-gifted," Gavolas said. "Amanda came in with no experience on
3-meter, but she’s already started to come around and understand what she needs
to do up there. She’s getting better every day at it."
Schedule
The Penguins will open the home portion of their schedule
at the Beeghly Natatorium with duals against Cansius and Marshall on Oct. 28 and
Oct. 29. After the Clarion Diving Invitational on Oct. 30, YSU will play host to
Horizon League rival Cleveland State on Nov. 10.The Penguins will then face a
stiff test in a double-dual against Akron and Ohio before competing in a
conference-like meet at the Radford Invitational. The squad will wrap up its
regular season with a double-dual against Cleveland State and Illinois-Chicago
in Cleveland on Feb. 4. The conference meet will be hosted by Cleveland State
from Feb. 22 to Feb. 25. |
