After finishing 14th at the NCAA Championships in 2008, the Springfield College men's swimming and diving team continued to prove it was one of the top programs in the country.
The Pride, which finished third in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) in 2008, have a handful of returning national qualifiers upon which to build for the upcoming year.
Senior Greg Pearsall and junior Matt Manoni return after achieving national qualifying standards a year ago, and will lead the Pride this year along with senior Anthony Bruno, junior Ryan Mackstutis, and sophomore Andrew Blakesley . The emergence of sophomore Brian Sobol last year on the diving boards proved that the Pride will be strong on both ends of the pool once again this year.
The 2008-09 men’s swimming and diving team at Springfield College is headed by Coach John Taffe who enters his 20th season directing the Pride. Nine Pride squads have finished among the top 20 teams in Division III over the past 11 years, as Taffe guided the Pride to its first-ever NEWMAC championship in 2005. That earned him NEWMAC Coach of the Year honors that year. Taffe feels that this year's squad will maintain its high level of performance, thanks in part to one of his strongest freshman classes in years. Looking to make an impact in their first year in the pool at Springfield are Brian Way,Joshua Ernst, John MacDonald, Scott Mackstutis, and Gary York.
The diving team is led by Coach Peter Avdoulos in his 24th season. The 1985 graduate of SC was named the 2005 NCAA Division III Men’s Diving Coach of the Year. He was also named the NEWMAC Men’s Diving Coach of the Year in ’05, ’06, and '08.
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Men's Swimming and Diving Team Photo
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Men’s Swimming & Diving News
Justin Zook, a senior captain on the Springfield College men's swim team, won four events and set multiple records at the U.S. Paralympic Swim Trials, held April 3-5 at the University of Minnesota. Zook, who previously represented the U.S. at the Paralympic Games in 2004 (Athens), will be representing the U.S. at the Paralympic Games in Beijing, Sept. 6-17.
Watch video of Zook here. |
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