THE WEEK AHEAD
The SMU men’s swimming and diving team begins the championship season when it heads to Houston for the American Athletic Conference Championship held at the CRWC Natatorium on the campus of the University of Houston. The event runs Wednesday–Saturday with event preliminaries starting at 10 a.m. CT each day and finals beginning at 6 p.m. CT. Day one action kicks off with diving at 12 p.m. and all diving prelims will be held between swimming sessions at 12:30 p.m. for the remaining days. Event information can be found on The American Championship Central page at TheAmerican.org/SD. Live results will also be available on the Meet Mobile app, while updates and other information can be found via Twitter (@SMUSwimmingM).
AGAINST THE FIELD
The Mustangs currently hold the top spot in 4 of the 5 relays, and are separated from the top two teams in the 200 free relay by less than a second. Of the 13 swimming events, SMU swimmers have turned in the fastest times in five, with 18 Mustangs in the top 3.
NCAA QUALIFIERS
Six Mustangs have posted NCAA qualifying marks so far this season, with Bartosz Krzyzaniak leading the way with three. Krzyzaniak has `B’ standards in both backstroke distances and most recently the 200 free, while Christian Scherubl (200 free) and Stefan Popov (100 breast) join him in the pool. Bryce Klein, Parker Meinecke and Daniel Pitts have all registered their qualifying scores for the Zone D Diving Championships held in College Station, Texas,March 7-9.
SCHOLAR ALL-AMERICA
The Mustang men posted a 3.34 GPA for the 12th highest mark in Division I to earn Scholar All-America honors from the College Swimming Coaches Association of America. The program’s senior class has now earned Scholar All-America status each semester since arriving on the Hilltop in the fall of 2012.
RECORD BREAKERS
Christian Scherubl and Bryce Klein have each set a pair of SMU standards in less than two years of competition. Scherubl holds the program’s fastest times in the 200- and 500-yard freestyles, posting both times as a freshman. The Austria native clocked a 1:34.56 in the 200, and 4:18.23 in the 500. Klein most recently registered a 407.25 to break the 1-meter record, and posted a 424.60 in 3-meter this season.
CONFERENCE FAVORITES
The Ponies have garnered 13 of the 22 conference awards during the 2015-16 season, the most of any of the league’s teams. The Mustangs also have six award sweeps, more than any of their opponents. Bryce Klein has been named the American Athletic Conference Diver of the Week a conference-leading six times this season (Feb. 9, Feb. 2, Jan. 12, Nov. 24, Nov. 10, Nov. 3). Fellow diver Daniel Pitts joins him with a pair of nods on Feb. 9 and Oct. 6. On the swimming side, four Mustangs have earned the honor, including Bartosz Krzyzaniak (Feb. 9, Nov. 24), Lucas Schenke (Feb. 2, Nov. 10), Christian Scherubl (Nov. 3) and Sam Straughan (Oct. 6).
CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
NCAA Zone diving qualification takes place March 7-9 in College Station, Texas, and the NCAA Championship takes place in Atlanta, March 24-26.
CHAMPIONSHIP SUCCESS
SMU has won 41 conference championships since the 1946-47 season, with 16 coming under current head coach Eddie Sinnott. In all, the program has produced 666 individual champions at the conference level, and 30 at the NCAA level. The Mustangs earned runner-up honors at the first two American Athletic Conference Championships.
ROAD TO RIO
Christian Scherubl (Austria) and Lucas Schenke (Germany) have post posted `B’ standard qualification times for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. Both have posted marks in the 200 free, while Scherubl has a 100 free time and Schenke has a 400 time.
USA DIVING NATIONALS
Bryce Klein wrapped up competition at USA Diving Winter Nationals placing 11th in the 3-meter event and 10th in the synchronized 3-meter dive. Klein posted a total score of 1162.90 between the three rounds of 3-meter action, which included a 379.10 in Saturday’s final and an average round score of 63.18. In preliminary action, Klein posted a 384.80, and tacked on 399.00 in semifinals to qualify eighth out of 14 divers for finals. Klein also competed in synchronized 3-meter with partner Bradley Christensen of Stanford, who is a fellow Southlake, Texas, native. The pair placed 10th in finals, posting a total score of 623.01 on the day including a 319.71 in finals.
2015 AAC CHAMPIONSHIP
SMU finished a close second at the 2015 American Athletic Conference Championship winning 11 of the 21 events. The Mustangs finished 34.5 points behind first-place East Carolina. Christian Scherubl was named The American’s Most Outstanding Swimmer, winning the 100-, 200- and 500-yard freestyle events. Devin Burnett earned Most Outstanding Diver honors for the second consecutive year after winning all three diving events (1m, 3m, platform) and diving coach Jim Stillson was named The American’s Men’s Diving Coach of the Year.
A11-CONFERENCE
11 Mustangs landed on the 2015 All-AAC team. Three divers, David Bunn, Devin Burnett and Hayden Hodges, and eight swimmers, Ziga Cerkovnik, Matthew Colket, Eastman Holloway, Bartosz Krzyzaniak, Tyler Rauth, Christian Scherubl, Sam Straughan, and Tucker Wells, received the honor.
MAKING HISTORY
Christian Scherubl and Bryce Klein have already etched their names in the SMU men’s swimming and diving record books with a pair of program standards each. Scherubl set school records in the 200 (1:34.56) and 500 (4:18.23) free during his freshman season, while Klein has set diving marks in the 1-(407.25) and 3-meter (424.60) this season. Overall, current Mustangs account for 11 times on the all-time top performances list.
Swimming news courtesy of SMU Swimming & Diving.
