Louisville men’s swimming & diving has 4 athletes who will take advantage of the NCAA waiver that awards all athletes who competed in the 2020-2021 collegiate season an extra year of eligibility because of the complications of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As we’ve previously reported, Nicolas Albiero, who was the 5th-highest individual scorer at men’s NCAAs last year, will be returning to the Cardinals for a 5th season this fall. Louisville has now released their 2021-2022 roster, and based off that, we can see that Evgenii Somov, Nikolaos Sofianidis, and Daniel Pinto are also returning for a 5th year as Cardinals.
Evgenii Somov is coming off a phenomenal 2020-2021 season, in which he finished 4th in the 100 breast at NCAAs. He also posted a critical 22.87 breast split on the Louisville 200 medley relay, which won NCAAs, becoming Louisville’s first men’s NCAA relay title. Somov holds the Louisville team records in the men’s 100 breast and 200 breast.
Here are Somov’s lifetime best times (SCY):
- 100 breast – 51.03
- 200 breast – 1:51.26
- 200 IM – 1:43.24
- 100 fly – 47.55
Nikolaos Sofianidis is primarily a backstroker, who will be providing excellent depth to the team this season. Sofianidis was an NCAA qualifier last year, 23rd in the 100 back, and 33rd in the 200 back at 2021 NCAAs. He’s also provided significant individual points to the Cardinals at ACCs. Last season, he finished 6th in the 100 and 200 back at ACCs, and made the B final of the 100 fly.
Here are Sofianidis’ lifetime best times (SCY):
- 100 back – 46.00
- 200 back – 1:41.57
- 100 fly – 46.52
Daniel Pinto is a diver, who has been a leader for the Louisville diving squad the last several season. Last season, he finished 9th on 3-meter and 10th on 1-meter at ACCs, which was actually a slightly down year for him. As a junior, he placed 5th on 1-meter, 13th on 3-meter, and 14th on platform at ACCs. As a sophomore, he was 6th on 3-meter and 10th on 1-meter.
In addition to the 5th years, Louisville will also be seeing the return of NCAA-qualifying IMer Daniel Sos. Sos, a Hungary native, opted not to compete during the 2020-2021 season. Therefore, although he ‘s now in graduate school at Louisville, the 2021-2022 season will be just his 4th season with the team.
In October 2020, the NCAA granted all winter sport athletes the option to use an extra year of eligibility following complications from the COVID-19 pandemic. Under normal circumstances, Division I student-athletes have a 5-year window during which they can use up their four seasons of eligibility. However, given the current situation with COVID-19, student-athletes of all class years have been offered an additional season of eligibility, regardless of where they are in their 5-year window. For a detailed breakdown on what the stakes are surrounding a 5th-year decision in 2021, click here.
Acc is gonna be a real dogfight this year