Men’s Swimming Expecting Great Success in 2007-08

HOBOKEN, N.J. (October 10, 2007) – After recording four dual meet victories in 2006-07, the Stevens Institute of Technology men’s swimming team will look to enrich their overall mark in 2007-08. With a large and talented incoming freshman class, Head Coach Trevor Miele (New York, N.Y.) and his staff will try to guide the Ducks to a top finish at their first-ever Empire 8 Championships.

“We have a large and talented incoming freshman class that will layout the foundation of the program,” Miele said. “It should be a big year for us and we certainly expect great things such as a vastly improved dual meet record this season.”

Sophomore Kevin Kim (Ridgefield, N.J.) is the top returning swimmer for Stevens on the men’s side. He currently holds the school record for the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:03.27. Last season, Kim placed 22nd in the 50-yard freestyle and 14th in the 100-yard butterfly at the 2007 Metropolitan Conference Championships. He was also named to the All-Metropolitan squad. Senior Marc DeLese (Staten Island, N.Y.) comes back for his final year as a team captain. He currently owns the best mark for the 800-yard relay with a clocking of 7:27.69. In 2006-07, DeLese was part of a team that set a new school record in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Junior Anthony Barrilli (Doylestown, Pa.) returns to assist the team in his particular races. Presently, Barrilli possesses the school records in the 500-, 1,000- and 1,650-yard freestyle as well as the 200- and 400-yard individual medley.

Freshmen Nicholas Walulik (Hunterdon County, N.J.) and Thomas Takahashi (Katy, Texas) are projected to do well in the butterfly events. Walulik’s goal in his time at Stevens is to qualify for the NCAA Championships. Other newcomers such as Aaron Williams (Virginia Beach, Va.), Matt Preedy (Southampton, Pa.) and Evan Wilson (Oak Harbor, Wash.) are expected to do big things as well this season.

Miele has laid out a competitive dual meet schedule for his men. The Ducks will open up the season on Saturday, October 13 as they host Fairleigh Dickinson University at the De Baun Aquatic Center. They will also host Misericordia University (Nov. 3), Montclair State University (Jan. 12), William Paterson University (Jan. 26) and Adelphi University (Feb. 2). Their sole road meet will be at SUNY New Paltz on January 16.

Stevens will also compete in a couple of invitational tournaments as it participates in the New York University Fall Invitational (Nov. 19-20) in New York, N.Y. and the Golden Bear Invitational (Nov. 16-17) at Kutztown University in Kutztown, Pa. Moreover, the Ducks will try to qualify for NCAA’s at the ECAC Championships (Nov. 30 – Dec. 2) in East Meadow, N.Y. and the Empire 8 Championships (Feb. 28 – Mar. 1), which will be held in Syracuse, N.Y.