2005-06 UMASS DARTMOUTH MEN’S SWIMMING PREVIEW
NORTH DARTMOUTH, MA-Last year, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men’s swimming team went 6-6, finished fifth at the New England Division III Championships and qualified four student-athletes for the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships.
This year, the Corsairs hope to continue their improvement, finishing above .500 and bettering their performances.
“I’m excited about our men’s team,” said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach Cathy Motta. “They’ve grown both in strength and in squad size. We have a very strong nucleus that’s been established, and we hope that will help us be successful in championship meets this year.”
UMD returns all four swimmers who qualified for the ECAC Championships. Juniors Nicolas Almeida (Auburn, MA/Auburn HS), Adam Barkley (Berea, OH/Berea HS), Tom Cakounes (Chelmsford, MA/Chelmsford HS) and senior Garrick Wong (Needham, MA/Needham HS) represented the Corsairs at ECACs last season.
Almeida was fifth in the 50-yard freestyle and sixth in the 100-yard freestyle at last year’s New England Championships. Leite, who competed as Gino Escalante, was third in the 200-yard individual medley, and fourth in the 400-yard individual medley and the 200 butterfly, Cakounes was fourth in the 100 yard butterfly, and Wong was fourth in the 50 yard backstroke. Then aforementioned four also formed relay teams that placed third in both the 200-yard freestyle relay and the 800-yard freestyle relay.
Wong is one of three seniors who will be counted on heavily. Classmates Jay Brinley (Melrose, MA/Boston College HS) and Gino Leite (Fall River, MA/BMC Durfee HS) should also be major contributors. “I am counting on Gino and Jay to have great senior years,” said Motta.
George Aulson (Peabody, MA/Peabody HS) should lead the way in diving, while sophomore Frank Pearson (Niantic, CT/East Lyme HS) and freshman Andrew DiBenedetto (North Andover, MA/North Andover HS) will add quality and depth. Pearson was fourth in the 1000-yard freestyle and fifth in the 1650-yard freestyle at last year’s New England Championships. “George Aulson should do well in diving,” said Motta. “Freshman Andrew DiBenedetto will contribute, and Frank Pearson is going to do well in the distance events.”
The schedule is difficult. Although there is no Little East Conference championship on the men’s side, the Corsairs will have the opportunity to qualify for the ECAC Division III Championships on the same weekend that the women will host the LEC meet.
“It’s head to head, and all the teams on our schedule are tough,” said Motta. “The men are hoping to participate in the ECAC Division III Championships, [place higher than they did last year at the New Englands, and return to the ECAC Championships in Pittsburgh.”
