MEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING

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UB Men's Swimming Announces Signees

Budd Termin

Eleven freshmen, a sophomore transfer and a junior college transfer will join the Bulls for next season. Freshman swimmers include Simon Hall (Hexham-Northumberland, England/Queen Elizabeth), Jordan Matthews (Ballston Spa, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake), Kevin Song (Ottawa, Ontario/Sir Robert Borden), Andrew Tamchyna (Newmarket, Ontario/Newmarket), Connor Vander Zalm (Kelowna, British Columbia/Kelowna Aqua Jets) and Scott Woster (North Pole, AK/North Pole). Incoming divers include Michael McDowell (Rush, NY/Rush Henrietta), Dominic LaForest (Philadelphia, NY/Indian River), Brian Lavery (Oswego, NY/Mexico), Justin Siragusa (Old Bethpage, NY/Plainview) and Robert Schwaner (Glydon, MD/Calvert Hall College). Sophomore Zach Ruske (Superior, CO/Monarch) joins the program after his freshman year at Division II Metro State while Sean Beecher (Cordova, AK/Cordova) transfers to UB after a two-year junior college career at Alfred State.

Among the group of newcomers are four swimmers from outside the United States. For international swimmers, all long course (lcm) and short course meter (scm) times were converted using the Swimming World magazine time converter.

Hall brings top-notch international credentials to Buffalo. He qualified for the trials of the World Championship, Commonwealth and Olympic Games in the 50-meter freestyle and had the top-ranked time in the event in 2005. His 100-meter freestyle time also ranked eighth in his age group. His best long course times include 24.56 (lcm), converted to 21.37, for the 50-meter freestyle and 54.06 (lcm), converted to 47.03, for the 100-meter freestyle. In short course events, Hall posted a 1:55.57 (scm), converted to 1:43.55, in the 200-meter freestyle and 4:08.54 (scm), converted to 4:44.08, for the 400-meter freestyle.

Matthews is a top breaststroker in New York State, setting high school and pool records in the 100-yard breaststroke. In March, he finished third at the state championships in Buffalo with a 59.64 showing in the 100-yard breaststroke and was the highest-finishing senior athlete in the race. He also achieved the high school All-American consideration time in the event and was named Most Outstanding Competitor for Section II in 2006. Academically, Matthews has received a UB Merit Scholarship.

Song is another breaststroker that the Bulls will rely upon. With his club team, the Nepean Kanata Barracudas, Song ranked eighth in Canada in the 200-meter breaststroke and 14th in the country in the 100-meter breaststroke among 17-year-olds. His top 100-meter breaststroke mark is 1:07.31 (scm), converted to 59.70 while his best 200-meter breaststroke time is 2:22.86 (scm), converted to 2:08.00.

Tamchyna is another top Canadian athlete and will see action in the backstroke events. A member of the Newmarket Stingrays Swim Club, Tamchyna ranked 17th in the 100-meter backstroke and 19th in the 200-meter backstroke in Canada among 17-year-olds. His top 100-meter backstroke time is 59.50 (scm), converted to 53.31 and his best 200-meter backstroke mark is 2:07.85 (scm), converted to 1:54.55.

Vander Zalm is a strong distance freestyler and was named the Most Dedicated Swimmer in 2005 by his club program, the Kelowna Aqua Jets. Among 17-year-olds in Canada, he had the sixth-best time in the 800-meter freestyle, seventh-best mark in the 1,500-meter freestyle and the 14th-best time in the 400-meter freestyle. Vander Zalm achieved lifetime best times at the Western Canadian Championships in Winnipeg where he finished fifth in the 800 and 1,500-meter freestyle races. Vander Zalm has top short course times of 4:06.32 (scm), converted to 4:41.54, in the 400-meter freestyle and 8:27.95 (scm), converted to 9:40.59, in the 800-meter freestyle.

Woster is an accomplished butterflier in Alaska. A member of the North Pole Aquatics Club, Woster has won the Alaska State Championship in both the 100 and 200-yard butterfly races. He holds team records in the 100 and 200-yard butterflies as well as the 200-yard individual medley. Woster has posted top times of 51.53 in the 100-yard butterfly, 1:56.70 in the 200-yard butterfly and 48.62 in the 100-yard freestyle.

Ruske spent a year at Metro State in Denver before moving on to Buffalo. He earned 2004 High School All-American status in the 200-yard freestyle and was an all-state honoree. A member of the North Jeffco Swim Club, Ruske was a junior national qualifier in the 200-yard freestyle and 50 and 100-yard backstrokes. Among his best times are 47.42 in the 100-yard freestyle, 1:42.71 in the 200-yard freestyle, 1:55.60 in the 200-yard individual medley and 52.96 in the 100-yard backstroke.

Beecher, spent two seasons at nearby Alfred State where he was team MVP and set school records in the 100 and 200-yard breaststrokes as well as the 200-yard freestyle and medley relays. A member of the Northern Lights Aquatics Club, Beecher was a three-time team MVP at Cordova High School setting a school record for the Wolverines in the 100-yard breaststroke. Among his best times are 1:00.98 in the 100-yard breaststroke and 2:14.00 in the 200-yard breaststroke.

UB competed with just one diver in the 2005-06 campaign and the five incoming divers should give the Bulls some much needed depth. McDowell heads the list of top freshmen after winning the 2006 Section V title on the one-meter board. He also finished second at the New York State Championships in Buffalo. A member of the Blue Fins Diving Club, McDowell placed second on the three-meter board (449.55 points) and third on the one-meter board (418.80) at the 2006 Region II Championships.

LaForest is the 2006 Section III, Class B champion in New York State and was a Frontier League All-Star. He also competed in the state championships in Buffalo, finishing in the top 10.

Siragusa earned a top six-dive score of 263.31 in 2006 and earned all-division honors. He, as well as Lavery and Schwaner, will help strengthen UB's diving prospects in the coming season.

Termin feels confident that the incoming class will help the Bulls improve on their 2006 performances. "Every one of these athletes coming in the door have times or performances that can score at the conference meet."

UB, a member of the NCAA Division I Mid-American Conference finished fifth at the league championships in March.