Last year marked one of the most successful seasons in the history of the men's swimming and diving program. In their 2005-06 campaign, the Jumbos earned a second-place finish at the NESCAC Championships and sent seven swimmers to the NCAA Championships, where they earned a program-best 10th place finish, earned All-American honors in nine events, and broke four school records.
But with that success 10 months removed, the Jumbos are looking only at the task ahead of them.
"We are looking to improve and one-up ourselves from what we did last year; no one said it was going to be easy," senior Mike Kinsella said. "We just need to take it one day at a time, one practice at a time, and train harder than the other guy. We are always hungry."
The Jumbos' record-setting performance at Nationals last year also saw the end of the stellar swimming careers of seniors Brett Baker and Jon Godsey. Last year, Baker and Godsey both earned All-American honors with their performances at the NCAA Championships, Godsey in the 200 and 100 backstroke and Baker in the 200 freestyle. Both were members of the 800 freestyle relay team that took fourth at NCAAs and set a new school record with a time of 6:48.11.
"Losing Brett and Jon was a pretty big loss," senior co-captain Ray Radovich said. "But we have a really deep team, and we should be able to make up for their loss with our talented freshmen class."
That class includes 18 new faces across all five swimming strokes (breast, free, back, fly and individual medley), as well as one diver, freshman Rob Matera. Reigning in this young talent will be a pair of senior co-captains, Greg Bettencourt and Ray Radovich.
"All the seniors are showing the underclassmen that we've had success because of how hard we've worked," Radovich said. "We are trying to show the freshmen how to show intensity every day, and that it will help them at the end of the season during the important meets. People are going to have to step it up and improve their times if we want to qualify for Nationals this year."
As a junior, Bettencourt set new Tufts records in the 200 and 500 freestyle, the 400 and 800 freestyle relay, and the 400 medley relay, and he earned All-NESCAC and All-American honors at Nationals. Radovich is new to the spotlight, but he's no stranger to hard work and good leadership.
"We have a strong senior class with great leadership and a large group of underclassmen with a lot of potential," coach Adam Hoyt said. "If we can stay healthy and focused, we will be successful."
"Ray and Greg are going to be great captains," junior Drew Curhan said. "Ray is a great leader, and Greg is the kind of guy that will show you how to get it done in the water."
The Jumbos know that tough practices will translate into high finishes at the premiere meets, and the mentality and training of the upperclassmen has resonated down the roster.
"We don't just want to go through our sets," said Curhan. "We want to beat the sets, not let the sets beat us."
Saturday afternoon brings the team's season opener, as the Jumbos take on NESCAC foe Conn. College at home at 1 p.m. Four of the team's first-semester meets will take place at home, and despite some of the technical and ventilation problems with Hamilton Pool, the team is happy for the chance to compete in front of a friendly crowd.
"We fill up Hamilton in the stands and around the glass," said Radovich. "It's always great to see people there, taking an interest in your sport."
Under Hoyt's training and direction, the team has developed a strong work ethic and selfless philosophy that has turned the program around.
"Hoyt does a great job preparing us both in and out of the water," Kinsella said. "He is getting us ready both mentally and physically. We want to win so we train hard; it's easier said than done, but we've got a great coach with great assistants."
In just two seasons as head coach, Hoyt has raised the regional and national profile of Tufts swimming, and he says his team is ready for another successful season.
"The guys are focused on a strong set of team goals, they care about their individual goals, and they care about each other," Hoyt said. "As long as we keep those three things in mind I think the swimming will take care of itself."
