Northwestern University Athletics
No. 8 Northwestern Opens Season at No. 12 Indiana
10/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
Oct. 26, 2006
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The 2006-07 season marks the capstone campaign for two of the most dominant student-athletes in the history of the men's swimming program.
After leading the Wildcats to three-consecutive top-11 finishes at the NCAA Championships, Mike Alexandrov and Matt Grevers return for a senior season that has the potential to launch Northwestern to multiple NCAA titles and the best team-finish on the national level since the heydey of the program back in the 1920s and '30s.
"This will prove to be an interesting year because more so than in the past, the emphasis will be on doing well at the NCAA Championships," NU head coach Bob Groseth says. "The addition of Bruno Barbic gives us a chance to compete for the national title in the medleys and place high in the free relays."
Barbic, a junior transfer from the University of Washington, finished 13th in the 50 free at last year's NCAA Championships to earn All-America honors. He is just one swimmer in the sophomore and junior classes who Groseth, entering his 18th season as NU's head coach, expects to step up this season.
"We will be looking to those two classes to take a more active role this season, especially at the Big Ten Championships," Groseth says. "The conference is stronger this year than it has been in recent memory, and we need those guys to step up to improve on our fourth-place finish last year, and to put us in a position to be successful after the graduation of Matt and Mike."
Grevers enters this season with 14-career Big Ten titles and 21 All-America honors -- both school records. Alexandrov has eight conference crowns and 20 All-America accolades.
"Having one guy with the abilities Matt and Mike have is a luxury, but having two has just been an amazing run for Northwestern swimming," Groseth says. "Both of these guys have embraced taking Northwestern from a largely obscure position and putting it at the forefront of the national scene. We hope their legacy will lay the groundwork for the team to continue to be strong in the future."
The 2006-07 season gets underway at 3 p.m. CT Friday, Oct. 27 when No. 8 Northwestern travels to No. 12 Indiana for an early matchup of conference powers. At No. 8 in the CSCAA dual meet coaches poll, the Wildcats are ranked higher than ever before in program history.
Following is an event-by-event look at the 2006-07 Wildcats:
Sprint Freestyle
With Grevers, juniors Kyle Bubolz and Barbic, and freshman Chris Doman, the sprint freestyles will be the strongest individual events for Northwestern. In addition to his skill in the free, Bubolz is the two-time defending Big Ten champ in the 100 fly.
"Matt, Kyle and Bruno are among the top five sprint freestylers in the Big Ten, if not better than that," Groseth says.
"Matt is hoping to close his career in grand style," Groseth says. "He'll again be shooting for three individual Big Ten titles and also hopes to increase his NCAA title collection by repeating in the 100 back and adding a couple of other events."
Grevers is the only swimmer in Big Ten history to win the 50 free and 100 back conference championships in three-consecutive years. He has won the 100 free twice, as well.
"Bruno is a welcome addition to the team," Groseth says. "He's an accomplished and excellent sprinter who will compliment our 400 medley and 200 medley relays, and give them a chance to compete for the national title at the 2007 NCAA Championships.
"Chris will provide excellent depth in the sprint and mid-distance freestyle events," Groseth says. "He is a great worker who we expect to see tremendous improvement from this year."
Middle and Distance Freestyle
This group is anchored by sophomore Eric Nilsson, who finished 17th in the 200 free at the NCAA Championships as a freshman. Adam Beckman, Charlie Cunnick and Jimmy Sourbeer will be factors in the 200 free, while Daniel Walls and Andy Long will contribute in the 500. Both Walls, who placed in the 1650 at the Big Ten meet as a freshman, and Long will be major players in the distance freestyle with the possibility of Nilsson joining the mile swim at the conference meet.
"Eric is our most improved swimmer from last year," Groseth says. "He has stepped up to a leadership role and is expected to be a major contributor in both individual events and relays at the Big Ten and NCAA Championships.
"Adam is expected to be a factor in both the 100 and 200 back as well as the IM if he continues to improve," Groseth says. "He has the ability to qualify for NCAA's in a number of events.
"Charlie is coming off an injury, and assuming he recovers from that, he will be making major contributions in the butterfly events and the mid-distance freestyles.
"Jimmy has shown this fall that he is on a mission to be a big part of our relays and score in individual events at the Big Ten Championships," Groseth says. "He hopes to put himself into position to make the NCAA Championships on a relay.
"Daniel had a rough year as a sophomore and has proved to be determined to put that behind him and get back to the form he had as a freshman when he scored at the Big Ten Championships," Groseth says.
"Andy is another swimmer who put in a good summer, and we will be looking for him to score points in the distance events at the Big Ten meet this year."
Breaststroke
Alexandrov earned a silver and bronze in the two breaststroke events at the NCAA Championships as a sophomore, and is looking to capture those crowns in his senior season. John Franklin, Adam Lewno and Alex Hostoffer join what is a strong stroke for Northwestern.
"Mike hopes to close out his career at NU with more Big Ten Championships and an NCAA title," Groseth says. "He came very close in 2005, and he is shooting for that gold medal.
"John had an excellent summer, making his Olympic trial cut in the 200 breast," Groseth says. "We expect him to be a major contributor at the Big Ten Championships this year.
"Adam has the ability to be a major factor in the 200 breast at the Big Ten level," Groseth says. "We also believe he has the ability to score in the 100 breast at the conference meet.
"Alex has matured into an excellent breaststroker and has taken on some distance freestyle events as well," Groseth says. "He will be part of what should be a strong breaststroke group at the Big Ten Championships."
Butterfly
With Bubolz anchoring this stroke, Cunnick, Jon Ehret, freshman Bryan Pinkston and Nilsson again form what is a deep group for Northwestern.
"With the graduations on the national scene after last year, Kyle is aspiring to add an NCAA title to his Big Ten championships," Groseth said. "He also is a key member of all of our relays that scored at the NCAA meet last season.
"Jon is making the transition from rookie to grizzled veteran," Groseth says. "He has had some great training this fall and is going to make a huge impact in the short fly events while challenging for a spot on the 200 and 400 free relays.
"Bryan is an exciting new butterflier," Groseth says. "He is kind of a diamond in the rough who can end up making important contributions by the end of the year."
Backstroke
In addition to two-time defending national champion and three-time defending Big Ten champ Grevers, NU fields Alec Hayden, Eric Simpson and Jake Vogel in the backstroke events.
"Alec and Eric are two swimmers who have made steady improvements during their first two years here, and have put themselves in a position where they can be factors at the Big Ten meet and in dual meets this season," Groseth says.
"Jake is another exciting freshman who was the Illinois state champ in the 100 back last year," Groseth says. "At the end of the year, he should be able to score at the Big Ten meet and possibly make the NCAA cut time."
Individual Medley
Northwestern has the luxury of multiple swimmers who can excel in the individual medley events. Alexandrov has competed at the NCAA Championships in both the 200 and 400 in the past, while Grevers has proved to be a solid performer in the stroke after turning in one of the best times in the country in the 200 last year.
Both Beckman and Vogel also should be strong IM options for the Wildcats in 2006-07.
Relays
Relays will be Northwestern's greatest strength both at the Big Ten and NCAA levels. With Grevers, Alexandrov and Bubolz returning from four relays that reached the championship heats at the NCAA Championships last year--the first time that has happened in school history--and with the addition of Barbic, Groseth believes all of the relays have a shot at the title in 2007.
