The men’s swimming and diving team will look toward its deep freestyle talent, explosive stroke swims and an adept squad of divers to compete for the top spot in the Empire 8 conference.

The South Hill squad churns through thousands of yards at the Hill Center Pool at muscle-burning paces from October until March. With the season winding down and the Empire 8 championships in clear sight, the Bombers enter a taper season, during which they cut down their practice yardage by almost half in a month’s time. Sophomore Steve Croucher said Head Coach Kevin Markwardt’s tapering system is the key to success in a big meet like the championships.

“Your muscles have time to recover and you feel that much more rested,” Croucher said. “A meet as big as the Empire 8 championships hinges on a good taper.”

The Bombers have a two-week break from their weekly Saturday meets leading up to the rigorous, four-day championship event Feb. 25. It will be the longest meet up to that point in the season. Freshman freestyler Josh Leary said the tapering helps the team feel relaxed.

“We’ve done pretty rigorous training all year, and now’s the time to bring it down a notch and start feeling rested for the big meet ahead,” Leary said.

Because of the changes in practice, the Bombers have consistently improved in the second half of the season. Senior backstroker Mike Blizniak said the Blue and Gold hope to take that momentum into the championship meet.

The South Hill squad has won 12 meets and lost only five this season and has had its most impressive victories in the latter part of the season. The Bombers defeated five top-notch teams at the Henry Kumpf Invitational meet at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Jan. 17. They lost only to SUNY-Cortland in late January by a score of 108.5–134.5 and beat the University of Rochester on Jan. 24, 183–117 and Le Moyne College on Jan. 31, 160–138.

As shown by their successes, the Bombers have made significant strides in becoming a threat outside of their dominance in freestyle. Against Rochester, junior Matt Carolan and seniors Brant Gawrys and Ryan Wright clinched key victories in butterfly and breaststroke.

With times dropping and strokes improving, the Bombers will need to continue with their strong performances in freestyle and diving to challenge the Alfred University Saxons, who are undefeated in conference competition.

“In order to beat Alfred, everyone has to have the meet of their life,” Croucher said. “Last year, we had some guys really step up at the state meet. We’re going to need that from every guy this year. ... Every point is going to matter this year.”

In freestyle events, the Bombers are at their strongest. Sophomore Joe Gage has won 17 freestyle events this season. Freshman Antoine Connors has won six and consistently places in the top two in sprint events. Croucher and senior Mike Ariel have combined with Gage and Connors to win the 400-yard freestyle relay eight times this season.

“We’ve got a bunch of guys with just plain talent in freestyle,” Croucher said. “When you’ve got guys who are just as fast as you in free, it’s easy to push each other in practice.”

The strength of the Bombers’ diving squad may also help put the Bombers on top. Freshman Derek Rand and sophomore Mike Glicini consistently take the top spot in the 1-meter and 3-meter events. At the Rochester meet the Bombers swept the top three spots in both events.

Croucher said the Bombers are swimming and diving at their best at the right time in the season, and they are not lacking in enthusiasm or confidence heading into the meet.

“We’ve definitely got what it takes and we all get pretty stoked for this meet,” Croucher said. “It’s going to be a showdown.”