Tri-captain Tim Berry and the Bears have high hopes for the upcoming season.
The Bears return a solid core of swimmers and divers from the 2008-09 campaign and should continue to be successful within the NEWMAC. The team will be lead by senior captains Timmy Berry, Ray Chaisson and Chris Hepp. Also returning to the squad is a group of six men who qualified for NCAA Division III championships in 2009. These athletes should provide a deep pool of talent for the team. A strong new recruiting class will beef up an already solid roster, with greater expectations of success on the returning athletes.
The 2009-2010 season will have few changes to the schedule from previous years, and should be highlighted by renewing traditional rivalries. The Bears will begin the season with an improved SUNY New Paltz squad in a continuation of competing against one of the longest standing Coast Guard opponents in school history. The meet should highlight some key matchups and serve as an early season litmus test. The following weekend is a home double dual meet against conference foe Wheaton and powerhouse New York University. This meet will feature some great races between the three schools, with Coast Guard hoping to earn their first win against NYU. The last weekend before the Thanksgiving break will bring a trip to Worcester and a meet against a rapidly improving conference opponent WPI. The meet will be held in Clark University’s pool while construction on the WPI aquatic facility begins. The final meet of first semester will pit the men against Connecticut College and be an excellent match up against a team that finished in the top 20 at NCAA Championships last season.
Some athletes will travel to Sarasota, Fla. for inter semester training again and train aggressively for a week long trip before returning for second semester and a slate of important meets. Meets against conference foes and Academy rival Merchant Marine highlight the month of January. In a period of three consecutive weekends the men will face MIT (the NEWMAC conference champion in 2009), Springfield, and the Merchant Marine Academy as well as Babson College. So the return to school for the second semester will be a taxing one. The season winds down with meets against Clark University and Wesleyan University before concluding with the NEWMAC championship meet. The Bears will look at the conference championship at Wheaton College as the best opportunity to perform and potentially return athletes to NCAA championship competition.
