Preview: LSU Men

The LSU men return a talented core of athletes that includes a pair of All-Americans in Hannes Heyl and Sean LeNeave, one of the SEC’s most improved swimmers in James Meyers and two of the up-and-coming sophomores in the conference, Ben Decker and Matt Vieke. The Tiger roster also includes a host of quality athletes capable of scoring at the conference level, and like the LSU women, they’ll welcome a nationally-ranked incoming freshman class that should pay off immediately.

Frosh international prospects Craig Hamilton and Andrei Tuomola highlight the Tigers’ crop of newcomers as both were rated amongst the top recruits in the country and will be major factors in their respective events.  

Head coach Adam Schmitt has pegged LeNeave and Meyers as his team co-captains in 2009-10 and hopes to see both bring a healthy dose of leadership as well as mentor the young athletes.

LSU will face another gauntlet of tough foes in the dual-meet season with a schedule featuring six teams that finished in the top 25 at NCAA’s, but the tough road ahead should prepare them for post-season competition as the Tigers shoot for their highest NCAA finish since the late 1990s.

Freestyle
For the first time in years, Schmitt’s school record in the 100 free could be jeopardy, and Heyl’s quest to break his coach’s 21-year-old program mark is arguably the most captivating storyline heading into the season. The junior’s personal best of 43.47 is just a quarter of a second off Schmitt’s record time of 43.22 seconds, and he’ll be gunning for that record this season.

However, the German isn’t the only threat to go after that record. Tuomola is as talented as any freshman sprinter to ever enter the program, and the Fin’s top time of 50.90 in the 100-meter free is comparable to a sub 44-second mark in short-course yards.

Tuomola is also a fantastic 50-free sprinter who boasts a blistering lifetime best of 22.41 in the long-course event and should team with Heyl to give LSU one of the better 1-2 sprint combinations in the SEC.

In addition, look for LeNeave to be a major contributor in the sprint freestyle events. The senior co-captain took his skills to another level last season and registered the sixth-fastest 100-free split in school history at NCAA’s, 43.90.

The Tigers have a number of solid performers in the middle-distance races. Hallum, a junior from Mesquite, Texas, has flashed record-setting potential at times and can be a terrific middle-distance swimmer, while Andrew Reynolds has continued to improve each season in the 200 free and is primed for his best year as a senior.

Junior Luis Gonzalez is the Tigers’ best long-distance performer and gives the team stability in the 1000 and 1650 free, but the program is excited about the addition of Hamilton, a prized distance prospect from Edinburgh, Scotland.

Hamilton brings in an impressive top time of 15:37.07 in the 1500m free and figures to instantly produce in the 1650 free, but the Scot is also good enough to impact the 200 and 500 free.

Butterfly
Heyl will step in and pace the Tigers’ attack in the 100 butterfly with the departure of program record-holder Christoph Lubenau. Even though the junior rarely swam the 100 fly outside of post-season competition last year, he is a former All-American in the event and ranks second all-time in school history with his personal best of 46.79. He also showed just how good he could be in the event with his fourth-place finish in the 100m fly at the 2009 U.S. Open.
    
Meyers proved to be a pleasant surprise in the 100 fly last season, swimming an NCAA ‘B’ cut time and lifetime best of 47.47 and should make a push to reach the ‘A’ final at SEC’s. In addition, Reynolds is also a quality 100-fly performer and will be a solid third option in the race.
    
LeNeave is the Tigers’ best returning option in the 200 fly. The senior co-captain posted a career-best time of 1:48.83 at SEC’s last year and should be in the scoring mix at SEC’s.
    
Backstroke
No event offers a higher ceiling for LSU at the 2010 SEC Championships than the 100 backstroke as the Tigers return one of the top duos in the conference with Meyers and Heyl. Both swam in the ‘A’ final of that event last season and are safe bets to reach that level again.    
    
Meyers’ transformation into an elite conference backstroker was one of more intriguing storylines to emerge from last year’s SEC’s. The junior co-captain captured fifth overall in the 100 back, a 12-spot improvement from his first conference meet, and posted the second-fastest time in school history, 47.13. That time was nearly two seconds better than his previous best.
      
Heyl should also be a force once again in the 100 back. The German ranks third all-time at LSU in that event and dropped more than half a second off his season best as a freshman.
    
Diefenthal, a native of Zuelpich, Germany, is the Tigers’ best performer in the 200 back. The sophomore quietly ended the season on an excellent note, shaving more than four seconds off his best time in high school as an exhibition swimmer at SEC’s. That effort proved Diefenthal was good enough to hang with the better backstrokers in the conference, and a top-16 finish this season is a possibility.
    
Breaststroke
Perhaps the squad’s deepest discipline in terms of depth is the breaststroke where the Tigers could have multiple scorers in both races at SEC’s and potentially one of the elite performers in the conference in Decker.

Only one freshman swimmer in the SEC was faster than Decker in the 100 breast last season, and the sophomore already holds program top-five times in both events. This year, he’s a threat to reach both ‘A’ finals at the conference level, and an NCAA bid is well within reach.

Senior Nate Telep is another rock solid performer who the Tigers can count on down the stretch. The Chandler, Ariz., native has tallied points for the Tigers in the 200 breast at the last two conference meets. The Tigers also saw the emergence of Hallum in the 200 breast last season as the junior swam to a top-16 conference finish in that event with a personal best of 2:00.89.

Furthermore, the Tigers will welcome a pair of outstanding breaststroke prospects – Sean Roddy and Zack Wepasnick. Roddy, a product of Baltimore, Md., who trained at the elite North Baltimore Aquatic Club, is one of the fastest 100-breast swimmers in the country at the prep level with a sizzling personal best of 55.22. Wepasnick, who is also from Maryland, possesses an outstanding prep time of 2:03.11 in the 200 breast.  
    
Individual Medley
Without Julius Gloeckner, the program record-holder in both the 200 and 400 individual medley events, the I.M. will have a different feel this season, but the Tigers remain in pretty good shape. In fact, four of the program’s top-seven performances all-time in the 400 I.M. have been recorded by swimmers on the current roster.
    
Hallum has the most potential of the bunch to standout in that event this season. The junior showed great progress with his non-freestyle strokes, particularly the breaststroke, and qualified for a second swim at SEC’s last year with a ‘B’ cut mark of 3:52.05. LeNeave should continue to shave time in that race as well and give the Tigers a steady option in the 200 I.M.
    
Moreover, Gonzalez and Telep, who are also ranked in LSU’s all-time top-seven in the 400 I.M., will be a big part of that race, while Decker and sophomore Steffen Voelkel will contribute in the 200 I.M. The Tigers should also receive a boost from the incoming Maryland tandem of Roddy and Wepasnick. Each has tremendous upside in the medley races.

Diving
Vieke enters his sophomore season at LSU with the chance to become one of the better divers in the conference. As a freshman, the Indianapolis, Ind., product qualified for the finals of all three diving events at the NCAA Zone ‘B’ Diving Regional and also scored in all three events at SEC’s.
    
Diving coach Doug Shaffer believes his talented sophomore is very mature physically and mentally for such a young collegiate athlete and will continue to grow and develop in 2009-10. Expect Vieke to increase his level of difficulty on his dive sets and challenge for a spot in the finals of both springboard events at SEC’s. In addition, if he can perform to the best of his abilities at the Zone Regional, he may earn an invitation to NCAA’s.
    
Shaffer also sees fellow sophomore Brian Gemberling making some headway in his second year and emerging as a solid performer during the post-season. The Levittown, Pa., product showed flashes last year of what he’s capable of down the road such as his 351.75 score in the three-meter against Delta State, which is seventh in program annals.
    
Freshman Jesse Lyman will be the Tigers’ lone newcomer in the diving ranks. A former high school wrestler from Cherry Hill, N.J., Lyman brings lots of raw talent and ability, and Shaffer will look to refine his skills in his first season.

Relays
The LSU men raced four relay squads at NCAA’s last season, coming away with three All-America finishes, and the Tigers are in position to equal or surpass those totals in 2009-10.

It all starts with Heyl, who possesses the versatility to swim the backstroke, butterfly or freestyle legs on the medley relays and the speed to anchor or lead off the 200 and 400 freestyle relays. Expect Tuomola and LeNeave to make a significant impact, particularly on freestyle relays, while Meyers and Decker should be prime candidates to swim the backstroke and breaststroke legs on the medley relays, respectively.

Reynolds and Hallum, two of the team’s better 200-free performers, will play key roles on the 800 freestyle relay, and Hamilton may step in and contribute as well.