Coro: Standards rise in new season

10/4/2019 7:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving, Paul Coro

GCU men aim to keep NCAA level; women look for WAC jump

By: <a href="http://gculopes.com/index.aspx?path=coro">Paul Coro</a>

Grand Canyon is a name in the collegiate swimming and diving world, thanks largely to the illustrious All-American career of Mark Nikolaev.

Nikolaev's backstroke led GCU to top-35 national finishes the past two years but the Lopes program starts its season this week in a place that can carry on that stature without him.

As a portion of the program competes in Miami this weekend for the TYR Classic, the men's team has built its best depth yet while the women's team expanded its roster for an expected rise this season.

"We have two groups who all believe they can be good and want to compete to be as good as they can," GCU 12th-year head coach Steve Schaffer said. "We've got men and women in the system that want to go to NCAAs. Now, it's just a matter of getting the work done."

Men seek new way to NCAA

Nikolaev's influence remains in the pool with GCU as he trains alongside them for an Olympic spot. His void in trying to repeat as WAC champions is as tremendous as his impact. He made the Lopes one of 17 men's programs in the nation with a top-three finisher last season when he recorded the fifth-fastest 100-yard backstroke time in NCAA history.

His efforts helped GCU take relay teams to the past two NCAA Championships and finished 32nd as a team last season. The largest GCU men's recruiting class has replenished the program but returning sophomores Florent Janin's and Mazen Shoukri's freestyle swims give the Lopes the best chance of a NCAA meet qualifier.

Janin, who is from New Caledonia, made massive late-season improvement and is a threat in the 100 and 200 freestyle races.

"He rests better than anybody I saw," Schaffer said. "He's a real muscular kid. The more muscle mass you have, sometimes you have to rest him longer. With three weeks before NCAA, he got faster. We'll see what we can do to set him up for the Purdue Invitational (on Nov. 21-23) and see how close he can get to times that will get him invited (to NCAAs)."

Choukri is being pushed in his own pool by the arrival of a fellow Egyptian sprinter Omar Elsayd.

Another freshman, Amir Haviv of Israel, is an older newcomer after military service but his breaststroke has NCAA potential this season.

"We're interested to see how fast he can really get," Schaffer said. "He hasn't been able to train a whole lot and compete while he was in the military the past couple years so it's kind of like rebuilding him right now. He's pretty fast."

Sophomore Samuel McKenzie and junior Asahi Nagahata are factors to be part of a NCAA relay contingent.

Seniors Pietro Hufnagel Toscani and Nick Benson return to lead the diving contingent. Toscani was a NCAA Zone E qualifier two seasons ago and started last season with a meet at the TYR Classic. Those results show his talent and his buy-in to the training could bring the consistency needed to get back in the zone-qualifying mix.

"He's on the edge," diving coach Hunter Shafer said. "He is much better now than he was at the beginning of last year."

GCU expects to be in the same WAC upper echelon and could defend its conference title because its success has drawn a higher level of walk-on swimmers.

"We'll have walk-ons who will be scorers at WAC," Schaffer said. "We've got some walk-on guys who will be real impact swimmers for us. We may not have the event winners but now we've got serious depth."

Benson, Elsayd, Haviv, Janin, Shoukri, Toscani will compete at the TYR Classic, along with teammates Alonso Carazo Barbero, Kainan Coerin, Griffin McKean, Dylan Nasser and Mikhail Lyubavskiy.

Women work their way up

The women's roster has been bolstered to 23 swimmers and divers, giving the team hopes of progressing from last season's disappointing seventh-place WAC finish into the top three at the conference meet this season.

Schaffer credits associate head coach Chris O'Linger for a group of experienced distance swimmers, divers and others who transformed the team.

"If we could crack the top three this year, then we'll be in a position where we start making a run for the championship," Schaffer said. "I'm very excited for the women's team this year. It has way better energy."

The Lopes' early star is freshman Kelsey Andrusak, who has qualified for Canadian national trials out of Victoria, British Columbia.

"We knew she was good but she is training better than anybody else on the women's side in the pool," Schaffer said. "She is very versatile. She can swim distance free, mid-distance free. She can go IM. She's got good strokes. All are good."

Junior Alyssa Chistianson returns after a redshirt season for shoulder surgery and placing third in the 200 breaststroke at the WAC Championships two seasons ago.

"It's like getting a new swimmer," Schaffer said. "She'll be probably our top breaststroker this year. Her best is a 200 breaststroke and she has a strong 100 breaststroke. She's been swimming herself back into shape. She's one that, if we can really get her going, we'll make a run at NCAAs, if not this year, next year."

The distance events were bolstered by transfers such as sophomore Kristina Miletic (Utah), a potential future NCAA qualifier, and senior Talita Te Flan (Wyoming), who likely will be an Olympic swimmer for Ivory Coast.

Junior Marina McInelly returns with a stronger 100 breaststroke and freshmen butterflier Cecelia Mayer of Minnesota and sprinter Briana Rittenbach of North Dakota are making quick turns into collegiate swimming. Freshmen Ava Telarico of Alabama and Sarah Lameiro Castellanos of Spain could help give diving a WAC final impact.

"Depth with swimmers will raise us up and the strength of diving will raise us up," Schaffer said. "We just have better quality."

Andrusak, Castellanos, Christianson, Mayer, Miletic, Rittenbach and Telarico will be compete at the TYR Classic, along with teammates Robyn Edwards, Kyra Forrest, Emily Muteti and Salma Zaitoun.

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.