The Kalamazoo College men's swimming and diving team had a strong overall regular season finishing 2-1 in the conference. This was all despite a delayed start for the Hornets as other teams within the conference began competition as early as November.
History
Coach Jay Daniels is in his fifth season as head coach of the Kalamazoo College swimming and diving program with Brie Powers in her fourth season as assistant coach. On the diving side, Coach Kyle Oberhill is in his twelfth season with the Kalamazoo College program.
Last year the Hornets finished fourth accumulating 546.5 points at the conference championships behind Albion College (933.5), Calvin University (838), and Hope College (693) while beating out Olivet College (330) and Alma College (187).
Schedule
When: Thursday, March 11 and Saturday, March 13, 2021
Where: Venema Aquatic Center, Hosted by Calvin University
What: Albion College, Alma College, Calvin University, Hope College, Kalamazoo College, and Olivet College will be competing in the MIAA Conference Championship meet.
What to Watch
Building on a strong year in 2020, the Hornets' backstroke group has only gotten bigger and better this year going into conference. In the 200 backstroke, the Hornets have two returners seeded within the top-16 (Jr. Tyler Sakalys-Moore and Sr. Max Ambs) while both of their newcomers, Andre Fouque and August Thielking are seeded within the top-8.
For the second year in a row, each of the IM events look to be a strength for the Hornets as they have a solid group of veterans as well as promising new talent representing them in both the 200 and 400. In the 400 IM, Howrey leads the Hornets into the event seeded second. The Hornets have all four of their 400 IMers seeded within the top-16 (Sr. Matt Howrey, Fr. August Thielking, Sr. Max Ambs, and Fr. Ethan Charles), two of which are seeded within the top-8.
Despite losing three top-16 finishers in the 200 breaststroke last season, the Hornets still look to have a strong showing in the event this year at conference. Both breaststrokers are seeded within the top-16 as Sr. Matt Howrey and Fr. Ethan Charles look to surprise some people this year.
Sr. John Crane looks to lead a sprint freestyle group that is filled with newcomers. In the 50 freestyle, freshman duo Andre Fouque and Tim Karubas are the lone Hornets in the event as they are each seeded within the top-17. Each of them will be looking to fight their way into a B-Final spot. In the 100 freestyle (Fr. Tim Karubas, Sr. John Crane, So. Nick Cohee), while the Hornets don't have any swimmers seeded within the top-16, this young group is eager to prove their worth in two of the more competitive events within the conference.
On the diving side of things, So. Sam Ankley is the lone Hornet diver heading into their conference championships. Still, Ankley finished fourth in the 1M Diving and third in 3M Diving last year in his freshman season. As he put in work to learn even more dives this year, Ankley looks to improve on an already very impressive career representing the orange and black.
Coach Quotes
"The resolve and dedication our men have shown this season is impressive. Based on the work we have put in at practice and our strong performances at our meets, I'm genuinely excited to see how we compete within the MIAA. I'm incredibly proud of how this group tackled the challenges of this season. The culture that has been established this season has laid the foundation of a strong future. I cannot put into words how proud I am of this group."
-Head Coach Jay Daniels