1996-97 Season Outlook

Head coach Tim Welsh enters his 12th year at Notre Dame and his 1996-97 men's swimming and diving team enters its second season in the BIG EAST looking to improve upon its 1996 finish.

"Last year we were dead center in the conference, seventh out of 13 teams," says Welsh. "We were pleased with our finish last year but we think that we are capable of improving."

Welsh will bring a very young team into the 1996-97 season with well over half of the team comprised of freshmen and sophomores.

"We are a very young team with 15 freshmen and only five seniors," says Welsh. "If we are going to be fast, we will need our seniors to do a great job in leading us because we do not have much experience on this team."

Senior Matt Rose (Memphis, Tenn.) heads up this group of seniors as captain of the squad. Rose made major improvements last year as he developed into the team's top breaststroker with a pair of fifth-place finishes in the 100 (57.91) and 200 (2:06.04) breaststroke at the BIG EAST championships.

"Matt had his best year yet as a junior," says Welsh. "He has the trust and confidence of the team, as well as the leadership skills as captain to keep us focused."

Ry Beville (Chesterfield, Va.) returns to the team as a fifth-year senior after studying abroad with the University's Japan program. As a junior during the 1994-95 season, Beville became Notre Dame's top butterfly swimmer in history as he set school records in both the 100 (50.02) and 200 (1:50.33) butterfly.

"Ry Beville's return to the team will be a major boost for us," says Welsh. "Of course he will help us in the fly but also on our relays."

Senior Rich Murphy (Palisades Park, N.J.) filled in well in the fly events last year and will be needed for his ability to swim butterfly and freestyle events.

"Rich is in the best shape of his career," says Welsh. "He is very versatile and can race in almost every event. He knows how to race in the big meets and understands the skill of racing."

Josh Saylor (South Bend, Ind.) is another senior who will give the team depth in backstroke and butterfly events. He swam in four different events last season for the Irish.

Junior Ron Royer (Rochester Hills, Mich.) returns to the pool this year after upgrading his academic standing during the 1995-96 season. Royer was one of Notre Dame's top freestylers as a freshman when he swam the seventh-best 200 free and ninth-best 50 free in school history.

"Ron's return to the team will be a big boost to our team," says Welsh. "He is on a mission this year and has a big role to play."

Royer's co-captain when the two were seniors on the swimming team at Brother Rice High School, junior Brian Najarian (Troy, Mich.) is one of the team's top returning sprinters.

"Brian's role has enlarged each year he has been here," says Welsh. "He did a great job in the sprint events last season and there is room for him to continue to grow this year."

Junior Steve Cardwell (Marietta, Ga.) enters the 1996-97 season healthy after battling through injuries last season during which he was able to compete in only in seven events.

"Steve had a great finish to an injury-filled season last year," says Welsh. "We are looking for him to be a leader this year."

A first-year junior at Notre Dame, Peter Clearkin (Cushendall, Ireland) comes to Notre Dame with swimming experience in Ireland. The ST MacNissis College exchange student swam in the Irish nationals in the sprint freestly events.

Welsh is counting on the sophomores, who made major contributions as freshmen a year ago, to continue to contribute to the team.

"That group of guys really came in as freshmen and gave us clutch performances," says Welsh. "They will do great again with the year of experience that they now have."

The team's top freshman a year ago, sophomore Scott Zumbach (Katonah, N.Y.) swam the four fastest times in Notre Dame history in the 400 individual medley (3:59.91) and the fastest 1650 freestyle (15:47.50). He was also one of the team's best performers at the BIG EAST championships with three top-10 finishes in the 1650 free, 200 IM and 400 IM.

"Scott Zumbach is one of the swimmers who we are really counting on this year," says Welsh. "He did some great things for us last year and we hope he will continue."

Chris Fugate (Independence, Mo.) swam the fastest 100 backstroke (52.19) in school history last year on his way to his sixth-place finish at the BIG EAST championships. The sophomore also placed eighth in the 200 backstroke (1:53.55) at the BIG EAST championships.

"Chris gave us some great results last year," says Welsh. "He is such a committed swimmer and trained well this summer."

Steele Whowell (Fontana, Wis.) should boost Notre Dame in the breaststroke events as he did last season with his seventh place finish at the BIG EAST championships in the 100 breaststroke (58.17).

"Steele did a tremendous job for us stepping up into the 200 breaststroke from the 100 breaststroke," says Welsh. "He is a great athlete and competitor."

Sophomore Jeff Page (Louisville, Ky.) returns as the team's top swimmer from 1996 in the 100 butterfly. Page also won three races in the 200 individual medley and should help out the Irish again with his solid results.

Welsh is also counting on sophomore Wes Richardson (Overland Park, Kan.) who had six second-place finishes last year in distance freestyle events.

"Wes Richardson had a great summer after he broke his collarbone this past spring," says Welsh. "He looks ahead of where he was last fall despite the break."

Welsh is also excited about the 1996-97 freshman class which he feels could rival last year's freshmen.

"Our incoming freshman class is large and fast," says Welsh. "It also includes some experienced divers. The freshmen will definitely contribute points on the scoreboard especially in the shorter freestyle events and the relays."

Freshmen Josh Cahill (Richmond, Ky.), Raymond Fitzpatrick (Doylestown, Pa.), Brian Kolle (The Woodlands, Texas) and John Steffan (Memphis, Tenn.) are expected to contribute in the sprint freestyle races.

Charles Bard (Flemington, N.J.) swam butterfly on the YMCA national champion 200 and 400 medley relay teams and should help out in fly events.

Antonio Fonseca (Greenville, R.I.), a four-time all-state selection at Bishop Hendrickson High School, participated in the 100 and 200 breaststroke at the 1995 and 1996 junior nationals and should help out Rose in the breaststroke events. Fellow freshmen Kevin McCluskey (Lima, Ohio), Michael Revers (Naperville, Ill.) and Bryson Toothaker (South Bend, Ind.) should join in the breaststroke events. Peter Mehok (Stamford, Conn.), a participant in the junior nationals, should help out the Irish in the backstroke events.

Robert Fetter (Lakeland, Fla.) was named both a swimming and academic All-American and should contribue in the individual medley. Sean Casey (Little Rock, Ark.) and John Lubker (Roswell, Ga.) should team together to give Notre Dame depth in the distance freestlye events.

Welsh and second-year diving coach Caiming Xie have a new and talented group of divers this season, one the team's biggest areas of improvement. The lone returning diver who will give the Irish a sound foundation, senior Rob Lambert (Valley Forge, Pa.) won two diving events a year ago and placed 17th at the BIG EAST championships.

Joining with Lambert and highlighting the group of newcomers is freshman standout Herb Huesman (Cincinnati, Ohio) who was a first-team All-American all four years in high school and should give some immediate results in diving. He was a member of the Junior Olympic champion team in 1994 and has competed individually in the junior nationals on six occasions.

"Herb is a very experienced diver," says Welsh. "He is among a more elite level of U.S. diving and his presence will help out the other divers on the team. They will train together and their improvement will be drastic."

Freshmen Tyler Maertz (Laguna Hills, Calif.) and James McInerney (Bethesda, Md.) should benefit from the tutelage of Xie and help Notre Dame in the future.

"With the addition of the freshman class and some strong divers, we are really excited about our second year in the BIG EAST," says Welsh. "We are looking for a winning season and with the balance we now have, that is definitely possible."