Season Preview: Men's Swimming and Diving looks to capture 13th OAC title in 2017-18
By Caleb Scott
ADA — The Ohio Northern men's swimming and diving team will look to rebound in 2017-18 and claim its 13th Ohio Athletic Conference Championship under the guidance of 14th-year head coach Peggy Ewald.
The Polar Bears posted a 5-4 record last season and finished second at the OAC Championships in 2016-17 after posting 12 straight OAC Championship seasons.
Ewald and her staff welcome back a deep roster that includes 14 letterwinners.
"Recapturing conference titles and looking beyond to the national stage is the pursuit," said head coach Peggy Ewald. "Nothing short of the same challenge presented each season. There has never been, nor will there ever be any guarantee to winning. I have always said, it takes more to stay on top than to get there once. It takes a focus of precise preparation and commitment that rises the best teams to the top. We, like all the schools in the conference, are working hard to get there."
The senior class of Duggan Trenary (Marion, Iowa/Linn-Mar), Ian Simpson (Strongsville), Michael Drake (Fairfield), Conor Cassara (Westhampton, N.Y./Westhampton Beach) and Braden Kuhn (Tiffin/Columbian) will look to lead the team in 2017-18.
Simpson returns as a 2-time OAC Champion and 6-time All-OAC honoree.
Kuhn, the 2016 OAC Diver of the Year and 2-time OAC Champion returns to the team after a season off.
Juniors Justin Chapman (Springboro), Anthony Ferrell (Canton/Glen Oak), Thomas Golba (Dayton/Alter), Pete He (Mason), and Gabe Rastatter (Springfield/Kenton Ridge) all return as 2-time letterwinners for Northern.
Through two years as a Polar Bear, He will look to continue his successful career as a 5-time OAC Champion and 9-time All-OAC honoree.
Golba, a member of the school record-holding 200 free relay, returns as a 2-time All-OAC honoree.
Ferrell also returns for ONU as a 3-time All-OAC honoree.
ONU will welcome back a strong sophomore class, led by sophomore Nolan Huey (Fort Collins, Colo./Fossil Ridge).
Huey returns after a successful freshman campaign that featured a school record in the 100 back, an OAC Championship in the 400 medley relay and as a 4-time All-OAC honoree.
Sophomores Ryan Groehl (Marysville), Nathan Donatelli (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon), and Grant Pfeifer (Bucyrus/Colonel Crawford) also return in 2017-18, adding depth and experience to the squad.
Northern will welcome 10 newcomers to the team this season.
"We have a freshman class with some versatility," said Ewald. This combined with our experienced returning team, should be a fun combination to watch. The key ingredient for us is accountability and attitude. We have energy flowing; now we need to put the intensity into our preparation and sustain it. In the end, sustained success is what we are looking for. That is something we had up to last season, now it's a true challenge to get it back. One difference this season is the full complement of divers. Going in last season without any on the men's side left a huge hole in two events."
The Polar Bears open the season on Oct. 14 as the swimmers compete in the Kenyon Relay Meet and the divers in the Denison Diving Meet.
ONU will host dual meets with John Carroll on Nov. 11, Mount Union on Jan. 13 and Oberlin on Jan. 20.
The Polar Bears will compete in the Calvin (Mich.) Invitational on Nov. 3-4, the Wooster Invitational from Nov. 30-Dec. 2, and will host the OAC Championships at the University of Akron on Feb. 15-17.
Other dual meets feature matchups on the road at Wilmington on Nov. 10, Wittenberg on Nov. 17, Colorado College on Jan. 10, Kenyon on Jan. 12, Baldwin Wallace on Jan. 19 for the annual Golden Kickboard meet and Case Western Reserve on Jan. 27.
The NCAA Championships are slated for Mar. 21-24 in Indianapolis, Ind.