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Men's Swimming Team to Begin New Season Saturday

BLOOMSBURG— There will be a new coach guiding the Bloomsburg University men's swimming team as first-year coach R.J. Wojtylak assumes the helm of the team. Wojtylak has set several goals for the Huskies as they begin their new season on Saturday, Oct. 25th at the Clarion Invitational.

“My goal is to see us move up in the conference and qualify individual athletes for the 2004 NCAA Division II swimming championships,” said Wojtylak.

The Huskies, sixth in the PSAC last year, are led by the relay team of Steve Fisher, Brandon Hilt, Tom DiSalvatore and Jason Davis, who placed fifth in the 400-relay.

“There are two levels in the conference, West Chester and Clarion and then everyone else,” Wojtylak said. “We were sixth last year. We want to be competitive with Kutztown, Shippensburg and Indiana (Pa.) and be third in the conference.”

Jason Davis

In the sprints, Wojtylak said the Huskies have a lot of depth.

“The sprints is probably the deepest section of our team,” he said.

Matt Fender and Travis Backenstoe return this year for Bloomsburg, although Backenstoe spend the majority of his freshman year out with an injury. Fender finished third in the 100-freestyle at Ithaca, swimming a 50.19. He also placed third at the Golden Bear Invitational in the 100-freestyle with a time of 50.30. Against Lycoming, Backenstoe finished first in the 100-freestyle with a time of 50.40 and was third in the 50-freestyle finishing in 22.98. Sophomore transfer Bret Palmer and freshmen Chris Rumfelt join the team this year and Wojtylak feels they will have an immediate impact.

In the middle distances, Wojtylak feels there are three men who will lead the team.

“Andy Wise and Steve Post will be swimming the mid-distances,” he said. “Also, Eric Weathers, who was hurt, will help us this year.”

Wise captured the 200-freestyle title at the Golden Bear Invitational finishing with a time of 1:51.34 and was second at Shippensburg in the 500-freestyle with a time of 5:11.31. In his freshmen campaign, Post's top finishes include a second-place finish at Shippensburg in the 200-freestyle with a time of 1:52.26.

In the distances, Rob Robitaille, a junior, and Dave Rude, a sophomore, will lead the Huskies. Robitaille finished third in the Golden Bear Invitational in the 400 IM with a time of 4:52.67. Rude's top finishes include a first place in the 1,000-freestyle at Lycoming with a time of 10:46.57.

Also returning for the Huskies are two seniors, Brandon Hilt and Jason Davis. Hilt holds the school record in the 100-backstroke, while Davis holds the school record in the 100 and 200-breastroke. Wojtylak feels Hilt and Davis will help the team with their strong performances in theses evens through the course of the season. Also returning in the breaststroke is senior Ryan Farrell. Last season, at the Golden Bear Invitational, Farrell placed fifth with a time of 1:06.28.

Wojtylak said he hopes the team can start producing national qualifiers, along with PSAC qualifiers. The last swimmer to represent Bloomsburg at NCAA Division II Swimming Championships was Jeff Jones in 1993.

“It's been a long time since we've had any swimmers going to NCAA's,” Wojtylak said. “The women have been competing on the national level for a number of years and we're looking to start doing that.”

This year, the team has gone from having double practice twice a week to practicing twice a day, four days a week. In the mornings, they alternate swimming with lifting and swim every afternoon. With a new training schedule and the addition of a few freshmen, Wojtylak feels the beginning of the season has been a big adjustment for everyone on the team.

“The training is new to everyone,” he said. “They're doing really well. It's probably easiest for the freshmen because it would have been new to them no matter what. For the returners, it's a lot different. They're working a lot harder than they did before and we hope to see good results in the pool this year because of this new training.”