Swimming and Diving Set to Open 2003-04 Campaign
10/16/2003 3:57:33 PM | Swimming / Diving
The Syracuse swimming and diving team opens its 2003-04 season on Friday, Oct. 17, at Colgate, beginning at 4 p.m. The very next day, SU hosts St. Bonaventure with diving beginning at 9 a.m. and swimming starting at 12 p.m. at Ted Webster Pool.
Coach Walker in his 25th Season Coaching the Orangemen
Lou Walker is beginning his 28th season coaching swimmers at Syracuse University. That is how long he has been in charge of the women's program. This year, he celebrates his 25th season as head coach of the men's team. For his career, Walker has guided the Orangemen to an all-time dual-meet record of 149-83-1. He has led the women to a 162-91-3 mark. Walker was named BIG EAST Coach of the Year five times during his tenure (1982, 1988, 1990, 1995, 1996).
Anstrom, Polucha and Raymond to Serve as Men's Captains
Junior Mike Anstrom was voted a team captain this season, along with third-year veterans Steve Polucha and Spencer Raymond, who both served as Orangemen captains a season ago. Raymond and Anstrom are returning BIG EAST point scorers. Raymond earned his points in the breaststroke and sprint freestyle events. Last year, he set a Webster Pool record in the 100 breaststroke, placed third in the same event at the Nike Cup (55.97) and then topped that time at the BIG EAST Championship with a time of 55.95 to finish sixth. He and Anstrom were part of SU's 400 medley relay team that placed ninth at the 2003 ConocoPhillips National Swimming Championship in Indianapolis. As a sophomore, Anstrom was eighth in the 100 butterfly at the conference championship with a personal-best time of 49.23. He also scored in the 50 freestyle and the 100 freestyle.
McDonough Back to Lead the Orangewomen
Senior school record-holder Elyse McDonough is back with her sights set on qualifying for the NCAA Women's Championship at Texas A&M University this March. McDonough will serve as team captain for the second consecutive season, along with sophomore distance freestyler Lisa Wittich. McDonough owns school records in the 100 butterfly (55.60), the 200 butterfly (2:00.90), the 200 individual medley (2:02.75), the 400 individual medley (4:23.91) and the 200 medley relay (1:46.61). Last season at the BIG EAST Championship, she topped her own times in the 100 fly, 200 fly and 200 IM. She won a silver medal, her best finish ever at the conference meet, in the 200 butterfly.
Wittich, the Orangewomen's 2003 Rookie of the Year, burst onto the college scene last year in the distance events. She won her first nine individual races during dual-meet competition and overall finished first in 11 of 15 individual dual-meet swims. She hit her fastest times of the season at the BIG EAST Championship in the 200 freestyle (1:52.25), the 500 freestyle (4:56.23), the 800 freestyle (7:39.76) and the 1,650 freestyle (17:04.15).
Mahi Returns for Senior Campaign
Senor Kalei Mahi finished in the top six in the 200 breaststroke at the 2003 BIG EAST Championship last season (2:20.28), and was nearly a finalist in the 100 breaststroke, where she placed 10th with a time of 1:05.14. She still holds the school record in the 100 breaststroke, which she set as a freshman at 1:04.04.
Talented Crop of Newcomers Join the SU Family
Three freshman swimmers have brought a wealth of international experience with them to Syracuse University. On the men's side, rookie Luk Boral, a native of Poznan, Poland, won the National Senior Championship in the 100 and 200 breaststroke. He was the European Junior Champion in the 200 breaststroke his junior year. He also competed in the World University Games in Daegu, South Korea. For the women, SU welcomes Vanessa Martinez from Maunabo, Puerto Rico, who is fresh off a Pan America Games appearance. She won a pair of gold medals in two relays and a set of bronze medals in the 200 IM and 400 IM events at the 2002 Centroamerican Games in San Salvador, El Salvador. Classmate Randi Beaulieu from Mississauga, Ontario, was a Canadian National qualifier in the 50, 100 and 200 backstroke events, and the 50 and 100 butterfly before she arrived at Syracuse.
