At the end of the 2000-01 season, UB men's swim team graduated almost its entire roster. What was left was the job of heavy recruiting to bring in top athletes. Last season, eight freshmen were brought in from such diverse places as Israel and Turkey to complete the 14-man roster.
Buffalo finished 3-7 overall, 1-6 in the MAC, but their record was not an indication of the leaps and bounds the program made. Over the course of the season Head Coach Budd Termin's young team turned in 71 lifetime bests, including 36 in the final two meets.
That was phase one.
Welcome to phase two. The athletes brought in last year are beginning to mature and increase their levels of competitiveness. A new crop of eight freshmen has been brought in to give the team some much needed depth.
"Last season we brought in a great class, but we only had half a team," said Termin.
The Bulls are led by returning captain Tony Lizauckas. The senior backstroke specialist will be relied on to provide priceless experience to a group of first and second year swimmers.
"Tony has integrity and character, great leadership qualities and is also one of the most improved swimmers we have on this team," said Termin.
Lizauckas will be joined in the backstroke event by sophomores Jon Yarger and Evan McCormack, as well as freshmen Kurt Bessel (Mexico, N.Y.), and Dave Richards (Baldwinsville, N.Y.).
"We have great depth in backstroke . . . we've really filled in all the holes this season," said Termin.
Sophomore standout Aviv Oren, who was last year's team MVP and top newcomer, looks to make even greater progress. In March at the MAC championships, Oren set a new UB record in the 200-breaststroke, at 2:06.31, breaking a mark held for seven years, and finishing fourth in the MAC.
"For anybody to get into the finals their freshman year is very hard to do and Aviv has had a great year of improvement," said Termin.
Oren, who also participates in the freestyle, is a key ingredient to this team's success. Sophomores Erik Schwarz and Geoff Wells fill out the breaststroke event.
Distance freestyle specialist Alan Lowe is an athlete who exhibits dedication, unselfishness, and commitment towards helping the team progress. Lowe finished 17th in the 1650-freestyle at the MAC championships last year with a season best time of 1:44.29. The junior, or seasoned veteran on a team like this, leads the pack in the squad's top event, middle/distance freestyle. Along with junior Chris Vaughn and rising talent Dustin Hui, the Bulls bring freshmen Jason Cotter (Oswego, N.Y.) and Sean Reilley (Holland Patent, N.Y.) into the fold.
Buffalo will rely on Lowe, as well as Wells, freshmen Kevin Gatley (Burnt Hills, N.Y.), Jeff Hurst (Greece, N.Y.) and Mark Sy (Toronto, Ont., Canada), to provide the intensity at the butterfly event.
"We're solid, we need to improve our time, then it's just a matter of seasoning," said Termin.
Buffalo's diving squad, coached by Justin Monin and led by sophomore Jim Taravella, finished just out of scoring position in the MAC Championships. This year, freshman Patrick Lee (North Tonawanda, N.Y.) joins the core, a top athlete at the junior-national as a high school senior.
"Lee should be at the top of the conference as a freshman," said Termin.
The overall outlook for the 2002-2003 season is optimistic but realistic.
"It takes a year or two to restock the shelves . . . what we have now might be the best core group of athletes I've ever had," said Termin.
The men's swimming schedule starts this Saturday at Akron in a dual meet with Ohio. The team comes home the following Saturday to host Ball State along with Bowling Green. Over the course of the season, UB will visit Pittsburgh, Niagara, and Toledo. They will face Niagara, St. Bonaventure, Eastern Michigan, and Miami at Alumni Arena.
The highlight of Buffalo's 2002-03 campaign will be when the men's MAC Championships come to the University at Buffalo for the first time on March 6-8. The women's MAC Championship took place at Alumni Arena two years ago.
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
