Swimcloud

Making Gains - Most Improved Men

By Andy Ross

As the November Invitationals are over, teams all over the country are gearing up for the harsh conditions that is Winter Break training, if not already gritting through it. At collegeswimming.com, we have looked through all the data and have compiled the twenty-five teams that have improved themselves the most since this time last year.  We based it on current ranking (collegeswimming.com points), change in ranking from last year, and change in power point score from last year.

#1 Texas Longhorns

This team took everybody by surprise when they gave Cal a good run for the NCAA title in their home pool last season. The Longhorns will not have the home pool advantage come March in Iowa City, but they have one of the most impressive squads in the nation. With the freshmen trio of Joseph Schooling, John Roberts, and Brett Ringgold, these Longhorns are our most improved team. This team is incredibly deep with returning talent and new faces. 13 different guys are currently ranked top 16 in the nation in their events and 5 swims are ranked 1st including the 200 relays. Eddie Reese has been around for a long time and he knows what he is doing and the Longhorns will not be surprising anyone at the NCAAs come March.

#2 Georgia Bulldogs

Georgia men? It’s about time they are up in national prominence. The Georgia IM group could be comparable to the backstroke group for the Cal women. The Litherland triplets, Gunnar Bentz, Tynan Stewart, and oh yeah, Chase Kalisz are like the 92 Dream Team for Harvey Humphries and company. Kalisz, Bentz, and Jay Litherland are ranked 1-2-3 in the 400 IM right now while Kalisz and Stewart are 1-2 in the 200. Oh, and did you know that the Bulldogs are ranked #1 in the nation in the 400 free relay? Yes, for the men. I mean sure it was with Matias Koski (mid-distance swimmer, Nic Fink (breaststroker), Gunnar Bentz (IMer, breaststroker), and Michael Trice (an actual sprinter) but with this relay depth, the Bulldogs could really challenge for a top 4 spot at NCAAs, their highest ever since 1997 when they finished 3rd.

#3 Utah Utes

The Utes have been one of the fastest rising teams the past few years so this ranking should not come as a surprise. The Utes don’t have the depth to compete with the Stanford’s and the Cal’s for a Pac-12 title but they do have some talent at the top. Led by Nick Soedel, Bence Kiraly, Kristian Kron, Alexander Fernandes, and a good group of freshmen (#23 in our rankings from July), this team is continuing to make some noise in the Pac-12.

#4 Tennessee Volunteers

The biggest story from Knoxville this year has been the return of Evan Pinion from injury. Pinion ranks first in the 1650 in the SEC this season and 4th in the 500. The redshirt freshman seems to be back and better than before and will be looking to challenge for a national time in March as he is also first in the nation currently. His redshirt freshman teammate David Heron has also been big for the Vols in their distance resurgence. The IMers for the Vols have also been big in their improvement as senior Tristan Slater and freshman Sam McHugh are ranked top 16 in the SEC in the 400 IM. Junior Sean Lehane is also back and is in the mix to repeat as the 200 back champion at SECs.

#5 Penn Quakers

Christopher Swanson headlines this team as he is 2nd in the NCAA in the 1650 and also leads the Ivy League in the 500. The Quakers are also leading the Ivy League in the 800 free relay and are 2nd in 2 other relays. Other than Swanson, the underclassmen at Penn are really making noise in the Ivy League ranks. Sophomores Zach Fisher, Phillip Hu, Cole Hurwitz, Jordan Hurwitz, Jimmy Jameson, Grant Proctor, Wes Thomas, and Michael Wen are all ranked in the top 16 in at least one event in the Ivy League. While the freshmen CJ Schaffer, Alex Peterson, Andrew Drummond, Taylor Uselis, and Hunter Brakovec are ranked in the top 16. Junior Eric Schultz is also ranked 1st in the 100 and 200 free as well as 2nd in the 50 in the Ivy League. With the recent success of Penn grad Brendan McHugh, the Quakers are hoping to surprise a few more teams in the Ivy League this season.

#6 Alabama Crimson Tide

One of the most improved teams a year ago are back at it and maintaining their position as a national hot bed. Defending co-NCAA champ in the 50, Kristian Gkolomeev is back for his sophomore season and currently leads the SEC in that event. With him, Brett Walsh, Alex Gray, and freshman Luke Kaliszak, that team could challenge for an SEC crown in the 200 free relay, along with potentially an NCAA crown. The good news is for the Tide that they only have 2 seniors this season so we could see them higher on the improvement list at this time next season. Dennis Pursley has been coaching for a long time, but I don’t think he has had a team as impressive as this one at Alabama.

#7 NC State Wolfpack

The Wolfpack had our #6 best recruiting class in July and their freshman class is making a huge impact so far this season. Ben Cono, Colin Ellington, Ryan Held, Anton Ipsen, and Hennessey Stuart are ranked among the top 16 in their events in the crazy-improving ACC. Last season, the Wolfpack made their mark in the NCAA with their sprint relays. This year, it is their distance program that is turning heads. Ipsen and Austin Snyder are 1-2 in the 1650 in the ACC as Ipsen is also atop the conference in the 500. Simonas Bilis leads the ACC in the 50 and 2nd in the 100 as he is the defending champion in the 100. The Wolfpack also won 4 of the 5 relays at the ACC meet and right now Louisville is their kryptonite in defending those 4. Their 200 and 400 free relays have a legitimate chance for an ACC crown with Bilis, Held, David Williams, and Andreas Schiellerup. Soren Dahl and Christian McCurdy are also having decent seasons as they look to get NC State it’s first ACC championship since 1992.

#8 Purdue Boilermakers

The Boilermakers have seen tremendous improvement from their strokers that have propelled them up in the rankings. The biggest headline for Dan Ross’s bunch is the breaststroke tandem of Senior Lyam Dias and Freshman Marat Amaltdinov. Dias ranks 3rd in both breaststrokes in the Big Ten and Amaltdinov is 9th in the 100 and 1st in the 200. IMers Guillermo Blanco, Danny Conway, and Jan Petric are also playing key roles for the Boilers this season as they rank in the top 16 in at least one of the IMs. Purdue has been struggling in the relays this season but the good news is that Adam Johnston and Austin Flager will be swimming at Big Tens after being ineligible in the fall which will boost their sprint free relays. We did not account diving in these rankings, but Freshman Steele Johnson is helping the already tremendous Boilermaker diving program. With this newly improved team, the Boilermakers will be a dark horse come Big Ten time in February.

#9 Georgia Tech Yellowjackets

The Ramblin’ Wreck are lead by former Olympian Courtney Shealy Hart and are one of our most improved teams. Headlining the Jackets is senior sprinter Andrew Kosic who is leading the ACC in the 100 free. He has helped the relays from Tech to the top half of the ACC and that is why they are one of our most improved. Freshmen Alex Kimpel and Brad Oberg are the best of the rookies for Georgia Tech this season and have been an instrumental part in their improvement as a team. The scary news for the rest of the ACC is that the Jackets will be swimming the conference meet in their home pool. With this improved team and the home-pool advantage, the rest of the conference better watch their back.

#10 Colgate Raiders

Wait who? Head coach Andy Waeger and co. actually had the highest score improvement percentage of any of the teams on here. Waeger is in his first season and seems to be moving the Raiders in the right direction in the Patriot League. A conference dominated by the likes of Navy and Army, could see a new face at the top in the next few years if the Raiders keep moving at this pace.

The Rest

11. La Salle
12. Lafayette
13. Florida Atlantic
14. IUPUI
15. Seattle
16. UCSB
17. Seton Hall
18. Loyola
19. BYU
20. Arizona State
21. Xavier
22. Cal Poly
23. Wyoming
24. Towson
25. UMass

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