Home 
return home 
Coaches 
meet the coaches 
Freshmen 
read about our frosh 
Leading Lions 
our leaders 
Season's Outlook 
coachs' opinions 
Varsity Records 
our best times 

After a comeback season in 1997-98, the Lions are looking to continue their rise towards a league title. Their aim will be to improve upon their sixth place finish and to qualify individuals for NCAA competition.

"This will be an interesting year for us," said Head Coach Jim Bolster. "We have a terrific chance to be much better than a year ago if we can stay healthy and keep the kind of focus we have had in the past."

"Our freshman class is large and talented and I think they are going to be eager to show what they can do," Bolster continued. "If we can get solid leadership from the seniors then I believe we have the makings for an exciting season." Bolster also said that since the Lions graduated a big senior class, it will be important for the freshmen to step in and produce right away.

The Light Blue will rely heavily on its freestylers and the points they will add in the relays. The addition of seven freshman junior national qualifiers will certainly help but the initial load will be on the backs of senior co-captains Chris Ferris and Sharif Khaleel. Ferris, a distance swimmer and three year Eastern scorer will team up with fellow senior Steve McGrath and juniors P.J. Freuler and Brian Mendell to provide the Lions with a solid foursome of talent. The middle distance and sprint free events should be particularly strong for the Lions. A new group of contenders will try and set anew varsity record in the 200 free this year. This group includes seniors Todd Berget and Neal Karnovsky and sophomores Dane Wirtz and Ian Fischer. Wirtz could be a pleasant surprise for the Lions after working hard with the Multinomah Aquatic Club over the summer. There will be no surprise in the Light Blue's sprint corp. Khaleel, junior Gered Doherty and sophomore Joe Zdrilic all return to terrorize opponents. All three have big time Eastern experiece, Doherty finished second in the 50 (20.48) and fourth in the 100 (44.91) last year and has a chance at winning them both this year. Khaleel and Zdrilic also scored individually at last year's championships but more importantly they were mainstays on four of the Lions five relay teams. This year will be no different and with the addition of Perkins who took time off to study at the Biosphere II the Lions will be a serious threat in the sprint relays.

Freshman sensation Matt Schultz, returning for his sophomore year, was a third place finisher in the 100 back and set a new varsity record while leading off the 400 medley relay (50.23). His head off leg of the 200 medley relay helped propel the Lions to a second place finish, their highest relay finish in six years. Finding help for Schultz will be the Lions biggest concern, especially in regards to the 200 yard race. P.J. Freuler will be the Light Blue's main threat in the longer event and unless Schultz and some of the freshman can develop quickly Freuler will be the Lions only point producer.

With the return of junior Joe Rudler, the Lions have plenty of front line strength in the breaststroke. Rudler, an Eastern scorer in both the 100 and 200 breast has a chance to repeat for a third straight season along with establishing a school record in the 200 breast. He is currently less than half a second away from that record. Depth could be the Lions weakness here. Junior Omar El Dessouky and sophomore Clement Tong will have the opportunity to make a major contribution but both will need to come on quickly if they are going to help.

The Lions have a tremendous one-two punch in the fly events. Junior standout Gered Doherty, an Eastern finalist last year (5th/49.97) should continue to improve and could quite possibly challenge for the league title while fellow sprinters Khaleel and Perkins will provide plenty of backup support. Peter Leong, a native of Singapore, is a tenacious dual meet performer and will be called upon again to lead the 200 flyers. Having lost only three times in two years, Leong will get added depth from Berget and Freuler.

The graduation of medley specialist Matt Gilman left a huge hole in the Lions line-up. A host of swimmers including Freuler, Leong, Zdrilic and El Dessouky will vie for control, but this event could prove to be the Lions weakest area. Freuler, a consolation finalist last year in the 400 I.M. will be the Lions top threat but the Light Blue may have to look to the freshman class for the kind of help they will need.

With two top eight divers returning and the addition of a freshman Junior Olympic diver the prospects are high for the Lions. Junior Daniel Brown and sophomore Mark Fichera form perhaps the most talented tandem in Columbia history. Both divers scored high at last years Easterns on both boards. Brown was a finalist in the one-meter while Fichera took third in the three-meter missing first place by less than three points.

Princeton and Harvard continue to dominate the upper echelons of the Ivy League but after that the field is wide open. In fact, no programs other than Yale and Columbia have won league titles since 1973. This year should be no different. Princeton and Harvard will continue to battle for the top spot while Army, Brown, Navy, Cornell, Yale and Columbia will battle for third through eighth. On paper Brown, Cornell and Yale look to have the best shott at taking third. Navy had a short run of two years at finishing third but Brown unseated them in 1997-98 season. The midshipmen may not have the talent to regain their hold. Army on the other hand landed a few good swimmers and should get back into the fray. Penn and Dartmouth are two teams that have struggled as of late but both had good recruiting years and should be more competitive.

"As always teams in the league get fired up to swim against the Lions," Bolster said. "This year should be no different. With our tremendous improvement from a year ago we have raised the stakes. It will be interesting