Northwestern University Athletics
Men's Swimming Season Recap
5/13/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
May 13, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Using a combination of young and old, Northwestern put together its best season in 60 years and has the hardware to prove it. The 'Cats postseason run began with a third-place finish at the Big Ten Championships and climaxed with an 11th-place finish at the NCAA Championships, the Wildcats' best since 1944.
NU earned Big Ten Championships in five different events this season, setting meet records in four of them. Following the strong conference performance, Northwestern brought home 13 All-America selections at the NCAA meet, the most in school history. The Wildcats also recorded a 6-3 record in dual meets this season.
"We knew we could be a player at the NCAA Championships coming into this year, and we have achieved that," Northwestern head coach Bob Groseth said. "The attitude this team has shown all year has been fantastic and it has really paid off in the end."
Freshman Matt Grevers (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) was a contender from the beginning. In his first year, Grevers collected Big Ten Freshman of the Year and Co-Big Ten Swimmer of the Year, putting up competitive times throughout the season. Grevers led the way for the 'Cats at the NCAA Championships with his sixth place finish in the 100-meter backstroke, good enough for All-America honors.
Grevers also received Honorable Mention All-America selections for the 50- and 100-meter freestyle events. Further adding to his list of debut achievements, Grevers added four Big Ten Championship gold medals in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle, the 100-yard backstroke and the 400 medley relay events.
Senior Tony Swanson (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) earned NU's other individual Big Ten Championship in the 100-meter butterfly. He also was a member of the 200- and 400-meter freestyle and 200- and 400-meter medley relay squads, all of which earned All-America honors. Swanson also received Honorable Mention All-America awards for his efforts in the 100-meter butterfly and the 200-meter individual medley at this year's NCAA Championships.
The 400-medley relay squad took home a first place finish at the Big Ten Championships, recording the second fastest time ever at the meet and breaking the Northwestern record.
Freshman Mike Alexandrov (Champaign, Ill./Centennial), collected three of his own All-America honors in the 100-meter breaststroke and the 200- and 400-meter individual medleys. Together with Grevers, the two were the most successful freshmen duo at the NCAA Championships this year. Alexandrov was named first-team All-Big Ten team along with teammates Grevers, Swanson and Mark Hamming (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest).
Also participating as individuals at the NCAA meet were Louis Torres (Morton Grove, Ill./Niles West), Matt Wever (Boise, Idaho/Boise), and Brian Davis (Issaquah, Wash./Issaquah).
As a team, the 'Cats combined to break 13 of 19 school records this year, replacing four out of five previous relay times. Grevers (7), Swanson (5), Alexandrov (4) and Ben Dexter (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli) (2) all had a hand in establishing new Wildcat standards.
Adding to the glory of NU's All-America relay performances were Dexter in the 200- and 400- meter freestyle and 200-meter medley; Hamming in the 400-meter medley and the 800-meter freestyle; Davis in the 800-meter freestyle; Torres in the 200-meter medley and Wever the 200-, 400-, and 800-meter freestyle.
Diver Mike Oxman (Mequon, Wis./Homestead) also participated in the posteseason, qualifying for and participating in the NCAA Zone Diving Meet.
In addition to its four first-team All-Big Ten selections, Northwestern placed eight student-athletes on the Academic All-Big Ten squad. Shelby Clark (Aurora, Colo./Smoky Hill), Mike Gustafson (Lowell, Mich./Lowell), Hamming, Tommy Lockman (Savoy, Ill./Champaign Central), Oxman, Steven Petric (Mequon, Wis./Homestead), Swanson and Dan Williams (Hinsdale, Ill./Central) all earned the honor for the 'Cats.
