POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The Marist women’s and men’s swimming and diving teams began preparing for the 2016-17 regular season by holding their first official practice Sept. 2 in McCann Natatorium.
The program’s 52 student-athletes arrived on campus and started classes Aug. 29. Earlier in the week they had physicals and attended an NCAA meeting before reporting to practice today. Check out our Facebook gallery for some photos from the session.
Head Coach Larry VanWagner and Melanie Bolstad will lead the Marist swimming and diving program together for a 28th season. After winning Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Women’s Coach of the Year last season for the sixth time in his career, VanWagner begins his 41st season at Marist. Bolstad has been selected MAAC Diving Coach of the Year Award the past two seasons and four times overall.
Preseason will conclude with the Red Foxes’ annual intrasquad scrimmage, the Red & White Challenge, which will consist of swimming events only and begin at 11 a.m. Oct. 8in McCann Natatorium. The Red Foxes will open the regular season at home six days later when they battle MAAC foe Canisius at 10 a.m.
Marist begins this season with the largest combined men’s and women’s swimming and diving roster in program history. The women feature 21 swimmers and four divers while the men have and a pair of divers and 25 swimmers. Six different states are represented among the newcomers, which include six additions for the women and eight freshmen on the men’s side.
The Marist swimming and diving program has won 29 MAAC Championships while the men’s team also owns a pair of Metropolitan Conference titles. The women’s team has captured seven straight MAAC titles and is heading into the 2016-17 campaign with a streak of 35 consecutive regular season conference dual meet victories. With four conference victories this season, the men’s program will reach 100 MAAC dual meet wins all time.
Marist has had three USA National Swimming Championship Qualifiers the past seven years. In February then junior Manuel Garcia became just the second Marist swimmer, and first men’s swimmer, to qualify for an Olympic Trial. He completed the 100-meter butterfly in 56.13 seconds at the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Long Course Invitational to earn a spot at the Mexican Olympic Trials.
This is courtesy of Marist Swimming and Diving.
Hopefully they will be prepared to get smashed by Rider again like last year.
Sounds like somebody is a little bit jelly because SwimSwam is posting things about Marist and not Rider! LOL!