UrsusArctosCalifornicus;842708422 said:
[COLOR="#000066"][SIZE=5]Ranking the 2016 Men's NCAA Recruiting Classes: #1-4[/SIZE][/COLOR]
[SIZE=1]Matthew Josa recently announced he's joining a loaded class in Berkeley this fall[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][COLOR="#FFD700"]#1: California Golden Bears[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[U]Top-tier additions[/U]: Matthew Josa (transfer Queens), #2 Michael Jensen, #5 Jack Xie, #10 Andrea Vergani, #11 Ethan Young, #17 Albert Gwo, Andy Song An, Pawel Sendyk, 'Aukai Lileikis, Karl Arvidsson, Shane Forker
Holy moly, this group. Even before Matthew Josa announced he was transferring to Cal last week, the Bears far and away had the top class in the country. The class by the numbers:
[INDENT] 5 the number of swimmers who are 20.0/44.0 or faster in both the 50 and 100 freestyle (not including Pawel Sendyk, who's been 23.1/50.2 in long course meters)
[INDENT]◦ Matthew Josa 19.9/42.7
◦ Michael Jensen 19.8/42.7
◦ 'Aukai Lileikis 19.9/43.6
◦ Albert Gwo 19.9/44.0
◦ Andrea Vergani 20.0/43.9[/INDENT]
5 the number of swimmers who are under 48 seconds in the 100 back or 100 fly
[INDENT]◦ Josa 44.9/1:43.0 flyer
◦ Jensen 47.3 100 fly
◦ Jack Xie 46.7/1:45.8 flyer
◦ Ethan Young 21.6/46.7/1:43.0 backstroker
◦ Andy Song An 47.6/1:45.8 backstroker[/INDENT]
2 breaststrokers at 55.0/2:00.0 or better (Xie at 54.9/1:59.4, Karl Arvidsson at 55.0/1:59.9)
3 200 freestylers under 1:35 (Jensen at 1:33.9, Lileikis at 1:34.8, Josa at 1:34.2)[/INDENT]
There's at least another half-dozen other mind-blowing facts, but this gives you an idea. This class was great before adding Josa, and now, with two years of a guy who has already broken 45 seconds in the 100 fly and 1:42 in the 200 IM, it's all-time great. There's eleven names here, and even the "weaker" ones would be among the best in just about every other class; Arvidsson is a 55.0/1:59.9 breaststroker, and Shane Forker is a 4:24.5/9:11.2/15:21 freestyler.
Simply put, these guys really help even out the clear edge that the Texas Longhorns have had the past two seasons. It may not happen next year (Texas is returning nearly every critical piece), but the Bears are in line to bring the title back to Berkeley soon enough.
https://swimswam.com/ranking-2016-mens-ncaa-recruiting-classes-1-4/
UrsusArctosCalifornicus;842717352 said:
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Just noticed that freshman Andrea Vergani is apparently still in picturesque Moneglia (Genoa province, NW Italy), at least according to a post of his today...
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beaverbear;842717720 said:
For Prenot and Pebley that graduated last year, will they stay at Cal to train for the next Olympics? It looks like they still need to finish their degrees over the next year, but after that?
beaverbear;842717720 said:
Those of you that go to dual meets at Spieker, please report back for the benefit of us that live out of town --- thanks!
beaverbear;842717720 said:
I think the men's team will go all out to try to win the NCAA team title. It's Murphy's last year, and he's carried the team for the past three. With Josa on board, we now have another top sprint stroker who could co-star on four relays and A final in three individual events. Everyone else will need to step up and score in at least 1-2 events (especially distance, where you can go all out in a single swim, rather than try to guess on a prelim time that'll make it through.) If the depth comes through along with the expected star power, we can do it.
longseeker;842717740 said:
BTW, the new pool is looking pretty nice to me. Especially on the Bancroft side of the facility. I am terrible with cameras. I am sure others here can submit the latest pictures.
[SIZE=3]Cal Men's Swimming & Diving: There's water in that pool! Big day at our new aquatics center. #GoBears[/SIZE]
BearDevil;842720371 said:
Phelps will be an asst coach at ASU, so kinda weird that he would proclaim his love for Michigan now. Better UM (sweet colors) than 'SC or ASU, but still...
BearDevil;842720385 said:
Just audited classes at UM. Did bust out his Speedo for the Curtain of Distraction at an ASU hoops game last season.
UrsusArctosCalifornicus;842720497 said:
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Initial batch of Froski postings from Berkeley - ah, brings back fond memories of the diversity and all :p
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Karl Arvidsson: History. #sathergate #thecampanile #gobears #thisplaceiscool #berkeleypov
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Ethan Young: Welcome to California
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NYCGOBEARS;842720499 said:
Quite the statement Ethan Young is making.
OBear073akaSMFan;842735523 said:
Maybe they are still updating the roster but don't see Albert Gwo..yet.
dgong;842735833 said:
A couple of other observations:
1) Janardin Burns has apparently decided not to swim his final his final year of eligibility. His parents told me last year that Janardin was focusing on academics. Good for him.
Janardin scored points at Pac 12s last year and competed at NCAAs in the distant free events.
2) David Puczkowski who scored in the 100 back and 200 back at Pac 12s is not listed on the roster. Perhaps this is just a roster error, but if not, with the graduation of Jacob Pebley and Jermie DeZwirek we lose backstroke depth if David has moved on.
3) Harrison Thai who was on the 2015-2016 roster as a junior but did not swim is not listed on the 2016-2017 roster.
beaverbear;842735502 said:
Some thoughts on new members of the team:
- Finally, we have a diver, Connor Callahan, from the well-known Duke Diving Club, who produced numerous OT finalists, such as Abby Johnston, Jordan Windle, and Toby Stanley. Looks like he's a good springboard diver (then again, Finn Scribbick was also more known as a springboard diver before his platform breakthrough at Cal.)
- One question about the diving is whether many of the incoming freshmen were recruited by Mulzet, and were surprised by the coaching change. It's hard to get out of an LOI once signed. I hope these freshmen love it at Cal and will stay with the program.
HBear;842740124 said:
The previews of the "top 10" teams on both the men's and women's sides are not their predictions for 2017 NCAA results but are based on teams' finishes at the 2016 meet.
beaverbear;842735533 said:
I think he's on campus (he's listed in the UC Berkeley Directory), but the Athletics database is probably incomplete. (Same situation with Maddie Murphy on the women's team.) Maybe that's why they hide the new roster page for a few days, to spot any errors and correct them before the page is promoted.
dgong;842735833 said:
1) Janardin Burns has apparently decided not to swim his final his final year of eligibility. His parents told me last year that Janardin was focusing on academics. Good for him.
Janardin scored points at Pac 12s last year and competed at NCAAs in the distant free events.
UrsusArctosCalifornicus;842740980 said:
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Hopefully someone planning to attend tomorrow's dual v. the Pacific Tigers can confirm Albert & Andrea's absences, maybe even ask someone from the men's team/coaching staff about this? (assuming they would be willing to divulge the details!)
Should be a great meet, get to check out all the exciting froskis, cheer on Murph & the seniors in their last season, etc.
Would love to stop by Spieker but unfortunately I'm no longer based in the Bay Area - dgong, longseeker, you guys going?
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dgong;842741081 said:
I just find it amusing that with the men's opening home dual meet less than 24 hours away, there is no news capsule on Calbears.com.
beaverbear;842741370 said:
OK, because it's now been posted publicly on Instagram:
Ryan Murphy and Jonathan Fiepke won't be swimming in today's meet against UOP. They are in Knoxville for Seth Stubblefield's wedding this weekend. Ryan is a groomsman, along with Adam Hinshaw. Congratulations again to Seth and Lauren.
