Men's Swimming Opens Season Hosting Ball State, Western Kentucky
11/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
Nov. 2, 2006
The 54th season of Miami University men's swimming and diving kicks off this weekend when the Redhawks host Ball State and Western Kentucky in a pair of dual meets at the Nixon Aquatic Center. Miami hits the pool for a co-ed meet with Ball State on Friday at 5 p.m. and faces Western Kentucky Saturday at 1 p.m.
PRESEASON POLL: As the defending conference champions, Miami was tabbed second in the MAC Preseason Coaches Poll. The Eastern Michigan Eagles, who finished as the MAC runner-up to Miami last season, were picked as the preseason conference favorite. Behind the top two schools in the preseason poll, Ohio, Ball State and Buffalo placed third through fifth, respectively. The bottom three schools in the poll finished in the same order at last season's conference meet.
FIRST TIME OUT: In the unofficial start to the 2006-07 season, the Red team captured a 176.5-146.5 victory over the White team Oct. 30 at Miami's annual Red and White Intrasquad. Paul Ricard led the way with three wins in the freestyle events, placing first in the 200, 500 and 1,000 freestyle. The 2006 MAC Swimmer of the Year, Ricard won all three distance freestyle events and was one of three swimmers to win multiple events. Junior Ryan McHugh captured a pair of victories, sweeping the 50 and 100 freestyle, while freshman Matthew Grubb placed first in both the 100 and 200 backstroke.
WHO IS BACK: Coming off a 2005-06 season in which the RedHawks won their first Mid-American Conference Championship in seven years, Miami returns six individual MAC champions and 16 returning letterwinners. Top returnees include Paul Ricard and Chris Heaton, the defending MAC Swimmer and Diver of the Year, respectively. Ricard won MAC titles in the 500 freestyle and 1,650 freestyle last season, posting a school-record time in the 1,650 freestyle (15:19.40), while Heaton took home MAC titles in the one- and three-meter dives and became the seventh diver in program history to sweep the boards at the conference meet.
GUESS WHO ELSE IS BACK: In addition to Paul Ricard and Chris Heaton, the RedHawks welcome back three additional MAC titlists, including the conference's top returnees in both breaststroke events. Junior Theo Kuczek and senior Griffin Marshall won MAC gold medals last season in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, respectively, while senior Michael Donohoe returns as the defending conference champion in the 200 butterfly.
Players Mentioned
