Men's Swimming & Diving | 10/19/2016 8:30:00 AM

ROCHESTER, NY — The RIT men's swimming and diving team looks to improve on a successful 2015-16 season in which the Tigers finished third in the Liberty League Championship and fifth at the Upstate New York State Collegiate Swimming Association (UNYSCSA) Championship.
 
The Tigers return 23 student-athletes in 2016-17 along with 10 talented newcomers that head coach Mike Cahill said will have the chance to contribute immediately.
 
"Overall as a group this is an exciting time for us," said Cahill. "We're very, very deep and strong on top. The men are going to be really strong again like they've always been, and it's going to depend on some of the underclassmen stepping up and filling in some places."
 
The Tigers will have to replace four graduating seniors, including 2015-16 captains and Liberty-League All-Academic Team honorees Matt Berus (East Amherst, NY/Williamsville North), Derek Brown (Canisteo, NY/Canisteo-Greenwood) and Matthew Butler (Buffalo, NY/Kenmore East). Butler left RIT holding two program individual records.
 
The large sophomore class of 11 athletes made an impact for the Tigers in their first season and look to add onto that this year. Derek Rothrock (Ashburn, VA/Briar Woods) broke an eight-year old RIT record in the 100-yard backstroke, swimming a speedy 52.60 seconds. He was also named a Liberty League Rookie of the Week. Joe Wang (Framingham, MA/Framingham) and Carl Schlehr (Maineville, OH/Kings) teamed up as a one-two punch in the distance races for RIT in 2015-16. Wang recorded victories in the 1,000-yard freestyle against Alfred, SUNY Oswego and Fredonia, while Schlehr won the event against St. Lawrence, and posted very strong times throughout the year. Craig Evbers, Tim Haines (Middletown, NY/Middletown), Wil Seifried (Springfield, PA/Springfield) and Daniel Yuen-Schat (Honolulu, HI/Kaiser) also made splashes in the pool during their freshman seasons, and look to contribute even more this upcoming year.
 
Diver Alex Dieroff (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt) competed in the NCAA Region 4 Diving Championships in his first season with RIT. In 2015-16, Dieroff was a two-time Liberty League and ECAC Diver of the Week. Chase Van Duyne (Auburn, NY/Auburn) also finished a strong rookie season for RIT with a 15th place finish in the 1-meter dive at the UNYSCSA Championship. Junior co-captain Benjamin Hamilton (Addison, NY/Addison) also produced a lot off the diving board for the Tigers during his sophomore season. Hamilton picked up his first collegiate victory against Hamilton and Vassar, with a score of 239.90 in the 3-meter dive. He also placed second four times and finished the season with a ninth place finish in the 1-meter dive at the UNYSCSA Championship.
 
"We started the season off with a bang in our first practices, we were going full-bore and the students were handling it very well," said Cahill. "We're doing a couple different things and trying to get a little more speed out of the swimmers this year."
 
Like last season, four seniors will lead the Tigers at the top: co-captains Steven Paine (York, PA/Dallastown Area) and John O'Gorman (Yarmouth, ME/Yarmouth), Austin Hayes (Aurora, OH/Aurora), and Ryan Leeson (East Aurora, NY/Iroquois). Paine was victorious on three occasions last season, in the 100- and 200-yard races. O'Gorman won twice in the backstroke and finished in ninth place in the 50-yard backstroke at the Liberty League Championships. Hayes finished second on three occasions in the freestyle, and boasted a time of 1:47.10 in the 200-yard event at the UNYSCSA Championships. Leeson returns this season for his final year after working on co-op in 2015-16.
 
"Our main goals are always to win a championship and set school records," said Cahill. "We have to be good, we have to be a little lucky, and have to beat those top teams. It's going to be an exciting year."
 
The Tigers will compete at Judson Pool six times in 2016-17. RIT opens the season on Oct. 19 against Oswego State at 6 p.m. After a road trip to Rensselaer, the Tigers will return home to host Fredonia State on Oct. 29 and St. Lawrence on Nov. 5. The middle of the season will see three consecutive home events, as RIT hosts Alfred on Nov. 19, the Liberty League Championships on Dec. 2-3 and Hamilton College on Jan. 14. RIT closes the regular season on the road, including meets at nearby University of Rochester on Jan. 21 and Nazareth on Jan. 28. The postseason will begin with the UNYSCSA Championship on Feb. 15-18 and the NCAA Region 4 Diving Championship on Feb. 24-25. Both evens will take place at Ithaca College.