BEREA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University men's swimming and diving team is ready to make a splash in the Ohio Athletic Conference in the 2017-18 season.
Seventh-year head coach Laura Wolff-Demaline returns seven letterwinners, two All-OAC performers, one OAC champion and NCAA Division III national qualifier from last year's squad that finished fourth at the 2017 OAC Championships.
For the men, All-American Tyler Thompson (Broadview Heights/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) will return as the lone senior for his final season in the pool. Thompson won OAC Championships in the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke events a season ago and returned to the NCAA National Championships for the second consecutive season. He also holds school records in the 200-yard medley relay, 200-yard individual medley, 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard breaststroke.
Leadership will also turn to juniors Tyler Allison (Napoleon), John Beyer (Columbus/Centennial) and Academic All-OAC freestyler Kevin Hartenstein (Hermitage, Pa./Hickory) to bring experience to a young roster.
Sophomore Greg Shaw (Colorado Springs, Colo./Manitou Springs) returns after his All-OAC freshman campaign where he placed second in the 100-yard butterfly and broke the school record. Sophomores Austin Lockhart (Olmsted Falls) and diver Evan Rinaldi (Cleveland/Cleveland Heights) also return to improve on their first collegiate seasons.
Freshmen Nicholas Borghi (Dayton, N.J./South Brunswick), Matthew Butt (Westfield Center/Cloverleaf), Kyle Cordrey (Mansfield/Ontario), Conner Hartup (Westlake) and Michael Morsch (Phoenix, Ariz./Notre Dame Preparatory) are ready to make an impact on the team.
BW will open up the 2017-18 season at home when the Yellow Jackets host non-conference foe Ohio Wesleyan University on Friday, Oct. 20, at 6 p.m. inside the BW Natatorium in the Lou Higgins Center. OAC action will open up a day later when Wilmington College travels up to Berea for a 1 p.m. meet on Saturday, Oct. 21 inside the BW Natatorium.
