Northwestern University Athletics
Season Recap: Wildcats Demolish Record Books
5/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
May 17, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Before the 2004-05 season began, head coach Bob Groseth made it obvious he wanted to improve on the previous year's stellar campaign. Coming off a third-place finish in the Big Ten, and an 11th-place finish at the NCAA Championships, Groseth declared: "Last year we were a half-point out of 10th, this year we want to be in the top 10."
Groseth's goals came to fruition in late March when the Wildcats capped off one of the most successful NU swimming seasons in memory, with an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Championships and the school's first individual men's swimming national champion since 1958.
Led by super sophomores Matt Grevers and Mike Alexandrov, who both earned seven All-America honors, the 'Cats' swimmers who qualified for the NCAA Championships stormed the meet, earning more points per swimmer than any other school.
The Wildcats collected 23 All-America honors in total, Matt Grevers won the NCAA championship in the 100 backstroke, and Bob Groseth shared co-coach of the Championships honors as the Wildcats clawed their way into the top 10 with an eight-place finish overall.
The NCAA success followed a solid regular season, and an exceptional Big Ten Championships showing. Landing in fourth place, the Wildcats garnered six first-team All-Big Ten honors, along with Championships in seven events at the meet, the most of any school.
Grevers won five Big Ten titles and set four conference records, while Alexandrov won four championships and set two Big Ten standards. Big Ten Freshman of the Year Kyle Bubolz set three conference records en route to four championships of his own.
Matt Wever also enjoyed a championship as a member of the Big Ten record-setting 400 Medley Relay, while Ben Dexter (200 Medley Relay) and David Kormushoff (200 Free Relay) also earned titles.
While he did not win a title, junior Brian Davis had a great Big Ten meet as well, breaking the school record in the 500 freestyle and earning a spot at the NCAA Championships.
For the remarkable performance in the Championships, Groseth was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year.
Also posting good seasons were the Wildcat divers, with both Mike Oxman and Ryan McIntosh earning invites to the NCAA Zone Qualifier.
While other Big Ten annual powerhouses jumped right out of the box into contention for NCAA bids, the young Wildcats steadily gathered momentum into the postseason. With only a handful of returning upperclassmen, the burden for Groseth's team fell on the youngsters. Facing quality opponents weekly, the young Cats' defended their No. 14 national ranking with wins over ranked opponents Wisconsin and Notre Dame, and captured both the TYR Invitational and annual NU Relays.
While the underclassmen laid the foundation for future seasons, the upperclassmen provided the "glue," captaining the team to a successful season. Breaststroker Louis Torres put together a solid senior season and senior Mike Gustafson achieved a great feat, winning his first dual meet event at Northwestern ever in the final meet of his career. Proving hard work and determination can deliver success, Gustafson set the tone of hard work for the elite Wildcat squad.
Senior Phil Mercier also rounded out his career well, coming in at third on the Wildcats' butterfly depth chart for the season.
The team presented its awards at its banquet May 3, naming Grevers and Alexandrov the most valuable swimmers. Davis was named the hardest worker, while Gustafson and Kormushoff were named most improved.
Team captains for 2005-06 will be rising seniors Davis, Dexter and Oxman.
With much of the NCAA qualifying team returning, the 2005-06 Northwestern squad will continue to make a lot waves next season in both the Big Ten and at the NCAA Championships.
