The University of Massachusetts men’s swimming and diving team returns to action on Saturday afternoon when it travels to Bronx, N.Y. to take on the Fordham Rams. The Minutemen will be looking to erase the memory of their 162.5-135.5 defeat by Rutgers on Senior Day last Saturday and maintain their slim lead in the Atlantic 10.
If the Minutemen (9-4) want to pick up their tenth win of the season, they will need yet another inspired performance from senior Chris Arsenault. Arsenault, the reigning A-10 Performer of the Week, has won at least one individual event in every meet this season and holds the top time for UMass in five events. Last weekend Arsenault was the only Minuteman to win multiple events, taking both the 100-meter freestyle and the 100-meter butterfly.
Coach Russ Yarworth will also need another big performance from sophomore Tommy Keane if the Minutemen are to defeat the Rams. Keane took the 200-meter freestyle last weekend against Rutgers and was the A-10 Performer of the Week two weeks ago for his performance against George Washington and the University of Maryland Baltimore County.
Fordham (7-6) is trying to get back into the A-10 race and a win against UMass would do wonders to help that cause. However, if the Rams are to be victorious they will need strong performances from the triumvirate of Ben Chisolm, Lance Jochims and Keanan Faraq. These three have the top times for Fordham in 10 of 13 individual events.
The meet will probably come down to which team can perform better in the diving events. UMass freshman Logan Alomar has lead all Minutemen divers this season and will need another strong showing to beat Fordham star John Peter Spear. Like Alomar, Spear has the top score in both the one and three-meter events for the Rams. If Alomar can defeat Spear on Saturday then the Minutemen should be victorious.
It’s important for me to get a win but overall I think the team is strong and we can win even if I don’t,” Alomar said. ”I’m just looking to do the best I can and hopefully we’ll get the win.”
The other freshman who has come up big for the Minutemen this season is Peter Tawczynski. Three weeks ago Tawczynski was named A-10 Rookie of the Week and he hopes to have similar success this weekend and later on at the Atlantic 10 Championships.
”I just want to help my team win,” Tawczynski said. ”It was good to be named Rookie of the Week but I’d rather win it the weekend of A-10’s and help us capture the title.”
The key to success this season for the Minutemen has been its depth. Eleven different swimmers have picked up first place finishes this season for the Minutemen and this depth has also proved to be important in the relay events.
Three weeks ago at the Rhode Island Invitational the Minutemen won three of four relay events and as a result finished first out of four teams. Similar success on Saturday should clinch victory for UMass.
This is the last dual meet of the season for the Maroon and White before the A-10′ and it is not underestimating its importance.
”We’re going to use this to get ready for the A-10’s,” Tawczynski said. ”It is a conference meet for us but we just want to make sure that we’re ready for A-10’s. Winning [at the A-10’s in two weeks] is the number one goal.”
