BY CSTV.com

Men's Swimming and Diving Enters New Era With Added Depth
During its time at the NCAA Division II level, the UC Davis men's swimming and diving team was one of the best programs in the country. ...

DAVIS, Calif. - During its time at the NCAA Division II level, the UC Davis men's swimming and diving team was one of the best programs in the country. Now in their first year as an official Division I member, the men will again begin that process with a squad that features depth in each event.

The Aggies get their season underway Saturday, Oct. 13 as they travel to San Jose for a dual with UC Santa Cruz at 1 p.m.

UC Davis was picked to finish third in the Big West Conference in the preseason coaches poll. The men placed third at the Big West Championships last season with 660 points. UC Santa Barbara was picked to reclaim the conference crown with four first-place votes while defending conference champion UC Irvine was picked second.

"The Gauchos are loaded and have restocked and I think they have the chance to be the best Big West team of all-time," said head coach Pete Motekaitis. "It would be an incredible year if we could finish second. We'd like to build upon last year and see if our newcomers can seize the opportunity and raise the bar for UC Davis excellence one more time."

Unlike other UC Davis team, the swimming and diving programs have been able to compete for a conference title since 2004-05. They will have the ability to qualify for the NCAA Championships this season for the first time since 2002-03.

"We've been really lucky because we've been able to compete for the Big West title, so it's not a huge deal for us," said Motekaitis. "It's great we have the NCAA Championships (to look forward to), but I can't say enough about the swimming coaches allowing us to compete for the conference title. It's exciting to get guys to the dance, but we've felt very welcomed at the conference level and that's been great."

The team will have a huge void to fill as junior Scott Weltz will redshirt this season to focus on competing for a spot at the United States Olympic swim trials in Omaha, Neb. next summer. Weltz has been a huge contributor since his freshman year and currently holds a total of nine school records.

The Aggies will also look to replace the leadership of departed senior captains Patrick Jacobson and Kyle Payne. Nik Kemp and Toki Burke were named team captains for their senior seasons. Both have three years of experience in Big West competition and will look to improve on solid efforts at last year's Big West Championships.

Senior Russell Taylor will look to lead the Aggies in the breast stroke and individual medley events. He is second on the all-time list in the 100-yard breast stroke and is third in the 200 breast. He also sits fourth in the 200 IM.

Junior Alex Arbios will be counted on to lead the way in the distance freestyle events after a stellar sophomore campaign last year. Arbios earned all-conference accolades last season in all three distance events as he finished second to Weltz in the 500 and 1,000 and was third in the 1,650.

Senior Kyle Leto is also expected to add depth in the distance free events. His best finish at conference was a fourth-place showing in the 1,000 free while also making the finals in the other two distance events.

Sophomore Russ Underwood and junior Evan Kraus look to continue their improvement in the 50, 100 and 200 free events. Both swimmers contributed to three school-record times in relay events last season. Kraus cracked the top five of the all-time list in the 50 and 100 free and scored 30 points at the conference championships. Underwood made the finals in both the 500 and 100 free en route to 27 points.

Sophomore Danny Donnelly moved into the top three of the record books in the backstroke and butterfly events. With a full year of experience, Donnelly will look to improve on his freshman season in which he made the finals in two events and scored 32 points at the conference championships.

Juniors Adam Pluemer and Jason Kim are back after sitting out last year and are expected to help strengthen the backstroke and individual medley events.

The team will also rely on several freshmen to contribute in their first collegiate seasons. Jimmy Fong is a North Coast Section champ in the 100 back and is expected to help solidify that event along with Donnelly. Kyle Anderson, Adam Borchard and Jeffrey Babock enter with the expectations to add depth in the breaststroke and freestyle.

Matt Herman will help Arbios and Leto make up a solid tandem in the distance free events. In high school, Herman was a North Country Athletic League champion in the 500 free as a senior and all-league for three consecutive years while putting up solid times at the regional meet.

The diving squad also anticipates another solid year. Seniors Stephen Lee and Kevin Reagle will again lead the pack on both 1-meter and 3-meter boards. Both divers finished in the top eight on each board and scored 24 points apiece at the conference championships. Freshman Paul Navo is expected to enter as a solid contributor during his first collegiate season.

"I'm very excited about this year because we have lots of opportunities for our guys to step up," said Motekaitis. "We've got a great schedule and so far we're working hard and making progress towards stroke efficiency and fitness."

The Aggies schedule will feature a total of four home meets at Schaal Aquatics Center. The first meet will be a double dual with Big West foes Pacific and Cal Poly on Jan. 19 at 12:30 p.m. The Aggies host UC San Diego the following day at 1 p.m.

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