WEST CHESTER, Pa. - The 21st-ranked Bloomsburg University men's swimming team opens the 2017-18 regular season on Friday, October 20 with a tri-meet against #12 West Chester University and Division I Lehigh University at West Chester's Graham Natatorium. Start time is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

West Chester comes into the meet with a 2-0 record after defeating both Shippensburg University and Southern Connecticut State in a tri-meet last weekend. Meanwhile, Lehigh is 0-1 to start the year after dropping a season-opening dual against Boston University.

The Huskies ended their 2016-17 campaign with a perfect 7-0 dual meet record, marking the first time in program history that a men's team finished undefeated in dual meet competition. It included a season-opening win over West Chester - the first time that Bloomsburg had knocked off the Golden Rams since 1989. The Huskies went on to repeat as runner-up at the PSAC Championships in February for the second year in a row. It was also the fourth time in the past five years that the team finished in second place.  The Huskies won seven events at the championships, set six PSAC meet records, and five all-time conference records.  Over the course of the season, the team had 12 conference record-breaking performances, 17 team record-breaking performances, totaled 36 PSAC All-Conference Awards, 21 NCAA "B" cut times, and added 63 new times to the program's all-time top ten list.
  
Seven swimmers went on to compete in the NCAA Championships in Birmingham, Alabama - Eric Usbeck (Lake Ariel, Pa./Wallenpaupack), A.J. Brady (Wilmington, Del./Delaware Military Academy), Ryan Paisley (Hazleton, Pa./Hazleton Area), Sam Feiser (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts), Josh Grzech (Mountain Top, Pa./Crestwood), Kyle Dix (Schwenksville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley), and Jordan Wyant (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity). They finished 15th in the country with 116 points and qualified three relays for the championship finals.  The 200-yard freestyle relay finished second as the national runner-up, the 200-yard medley relay finished third, and the 400-yard freestyle relay was eighth. Usbeck won the consolation final in the 100 breaststroke, while the 400-yard medley relay finished 10th. Feiser finished 12th in the 50-yard freestyle. All seven members of the team returned to Bloomsburg as NCAA Division II All Americans.

While the team has to find a way to replace Usbeck, Brady, Paisley, along with fellow departed seniors Michael Anderson (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh), Bobby Lenahan (Hatboro, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham), Chris McPeak (Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle College), and Pat Stasio (Horsham, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham), plenty of firepower returns to this year's roster. Expected to lead the way are Feiser and Grzech, who, along with Dix, are serving as the team's tri-captains this season.

Feiser enters his senior year as arguably the top all-around performer in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). The seven-time All-American and nine-time PSAC champion was named the 2016-17 Bloomsburg University Men's Swimmer of the Year after an outstanding season that saw him set eight team records and six conference records.  As a result, Feiser was also named the 2017 Danny Litwhiler Outstanding Underclass Male Athlete of the Year at Bloomsburg for the second consecutive year.

"Sam is a dedicated and focused athlete who leads by example," said Bloomsburg University head coach Stu Marvin. "That type of leadership is invaluable to us. His level of commitment is infectious and everyone is gravitating to his level." 
 
Grzech will enter his final year with the Huskies as the team's top backstroker and a huge contributor in every relay. The 2016-17 season was his best at Bloomsburg as it saw him win four PSAC titles, set five team records, set three conference records, and earn four All-PSAC awards. Grzech is a four-time NCAA All American, owns the team record in the 100-yard backstroke, and is ranked in the school's all-time top-ten list in eleven different events.

"Josh has been a huge factor in the team's success," said Marvin. "He is a veteran of two NCAA championships and brings a ton of talent to the table."
 
Dix also had his best season as a Husky in 2016-17. He won the 50-yard freestyle at the Akron Invitational against competition from Division I schools such as Cornell, Oakland University, and the University of Buffalo. Dix is a five-time PSAC champion, a seven-time NCAA All American, and holds six team records. Unfortunately, shoulder surgery to repair partially torn labrums in both shoulders will more than likely keep him out of action in 2017-18. 

"Kyle will be sorely missed this season, but it was the right decision to have the surgery," said Marvin. "He will be fully involved with every aspect of the team as he recovers. Just having Kyle on the pool deck is a bonus that any team would want. He an ultimate team guy."

Marvin also added five newcomers to fill out the roster for this season. Joining the team this year will be Noah Cancro (Limerick, Pa./Spring-Ford), Collin Hummel (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg), Lucas Haywood (Camp Hill, Pa./Camp Hill), Tyler Reed (Hereford, Pa./Upper Perkiomen), and Jordan Rivera (Coplay, Pa./Whitehall) - all of whom bring excellent accolades with them to Bloomsburg University.

"We are excited about the five new additions to our roster this fall," said Marvin. "We lost some very talented swimmers to graduation last year who accounted for 20 swims in the conference finals. This class will cover some of those swims and we will look to our upperclassmen to step up and fill the gaps."

UP NEXT
The Huskies will return to the pool on Friday, November 3 when they host Edinboro University in the first home meet of the season at the Nelson Field House Pool. Start time is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.