Brockport, NY – The SUNY Brockport men and women's swim and dive teams will begin the 2021-22 season this weekend at the Ithaca College Tri Meet. Brockport will compete against Buffalo State and Ithaca starting Saturday afternoon at 1 pm.
 
Wahl Era Begins: SUNY Brockport announced the hiring of Zack Wahl as the new aquatic's director and head coach of the swimming and diving program in August of 2021. Coach Wahl has spent the last three seasons as the head coach at Clarkson University. At Clarkson he helped his athletes set eight new school records in just his first season and had an individual title at the Liberty League Championships in 2019-20, which was the first for the program since 2013-14. Wahl, a three-time All-American during his collegiate career, gave his thoughts when asked about his expectations going into his first year at Brockport. "The program is at a good launching point to hopefully take the next step forward as a team in the next few years…Both the team and I are very excited to get back to competing after a full year and a half hiatus from racing."
 
Schedule Summary: After opening up the year at the Ithaca Meet, Brockport hosts its first meet since February 1^st of 2020 when Oneonta comes to town. The team will then pack its bags to travel for the next six competitions in a row. The Golden Eagles will take on Monroe Community College, SUNY Potsdam, and Oswego State for three consecutive dual meets. They then go to RIT to participate at the Don Richards Invitational. Then the squad closes out the extended stay away from its home pool with matchups against Buffalo State and Alfred State. Finally getting back to local waters Brockport hosts St. Lawrence on January 28^th, 2022 for Senior Day. The regular season ends on January 29^th at Fredonia. February 17^th marks the first of four days of action for the SUNYAC Championships out in Buffalo, NY.  
 
2019-20 Recap: The Green and Gold had strong team success in the 2019-20 season, with the women finishing 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the SUNYAC while the men were 5-3 overall and 4-1 in the SUNYAC. The teams placed fifth and sixth at the SUNYAC Championships respectively, rewriting plenty of records across several events at the conference championship meet. Men's diver Mark Eaton was one of two that represented the Golden Eagles at the NCAA Diving Regionals and he is back again this year for another go around. Eaton along with Nicole Orcutt, Sawyer Parker, and Hailey Rossi all earned All-SUNYAC honors that year.
 
Key Returners: The Golden Eagles are returning several record holders to compete this year for both the men and women. Nicole Orcutt is back as she currently holds the team records in the 200-freestyle, 500-freestyle, and 200-butterfly events. Bri Owen, the team record holder in the 100-butterfly, is also back for another year. Keep an eye out for these two as the women look to build on a solid showing at their last SUNYAC Championships in 2019-20. The core of the men's team is headlined by Oliver Dragojevic and diver Mark Eaton. Dragojevic enters the year as the school record holder in both the 100 and 200-breaststroke events. Eaton returns as well after his NCAA Regional qualifying performance during the 2019-20 season.
 
New Additions: With almost two years between season, Brockport is welcoming in two recruiting classes that are making their debut for the team in 2021-22. A couple key newcomers to be on the lookout for are freshmen Elizabeth Sagan and Kyra Russ. Coach Wahl believes both are likely to have an impact for the women's team right away. The women also are welcoming Emma Butler, Caroline Rossi, Maya Upcraft, Ren Watson, Corinne Wilson, Emily Comer, Emily Meissner, Sarah Mullane, and Jade Rinaldo. The men have added depth with the new faces which include Michael Dormond, Taylan Getiren, Ryan Sampson, Gavin Stone, Nathan Hargrave, Colin Janis, and Logan Kime.
 
Last Ithaca Meet: At the 2019 Ithaca College Quad Meet Brockport competed in an unscored exhibition against Fredonia and Buffalo State, but participated in an official scored meet with Ithaca. The men lost 237-57 and the women fell 251-43 to the hosting Bombers. The men took first place in the 200-yard medley relay, while snagging several second and third place finishes across the other events. In the 200-yard freestyle relay the women earned their only first place finish of the meet, as they also earned plenty of second and third place performances at the meet.
 
Up Next: The Golden Eagles will host their first home meet of the season on Saturday, October 30^th at 1 pm. They welcome Oneonta for a SUNYAC dual meet in their home pool.