Big West title chase awaits Lopes males in 1st season

Chasing Rainbows is extra mantra than fantasy for the Grand Canyon males’s swimming and diving workforce this season.

In its first Big West Conference season, the Lopes start competitors Friday in Tucson understanding two preseason outlooks: Hawai’i is the preseason convention favourite and GCU is usually a title menace to the Rainbow Warriors.

With one in all his most skilled groups, 18th-year head coach Steve Schaffer believes his Lopes will likely be within the combine with Hawai’i and defending Big West males’s champion UC Santa Barbara.

“We’ve got a lot of talent,” Schaffer stated. “If we stay healthy and do alright, then we could make a run at Hawai’i. It’ll be interesting. It’s something the guys believe they have a shot at.

“Really, the meat of our males’s workforce this yr is the returners, they usually’re actually good. These guys have been round and several other of them are having their final go-around, so that they’re fairly motivated.”

After being top-10 scorers at the WAC Championships last season, versatile senior Mario Perez of Spain and speedy senior Alex Volkov of Israel lead the returning group to goals of a Big West Championships title and NCAA Championships qualification.

A rule change qualifies conference individual event champions for NCAAs if the swimmer also posts a time that meets the NCAA Championship cut, which was reduced from “A” and “B” cuts to one cut for this season.

“It’s actually thrilling with this new qualification as a result of there are occasions we expect we will win and be underneath the minimize,” said Schaffer, who served the committee that brought about the change. “It’s only a matter of what number of of our guys can do this and in what occasions.”

Volkov could have qualified for the NCAA Championship last season if not for an in-season illness. He still was the WAC runner-up in the 100 backstroke with an NCAA “B” cut, but he returned this season with conditioning to do after conditions in Israel limiting his ability to train.

“He’s working himself into form, and he’ll be able to go by the top of the season,” Schaffer said. “We assume he could make an excellent run. The 100 backstroke could be the one he has the most effective shot in.”

GCU senior Mohamed Mohamady of Egypt also could be a 200 backstroke factor, while Perez might battle with junior teammate Jaso Ovaskainen of Finland at a conference level in the 100 butterfly.

Perez, junior Guillermo Carrey of Spain and senior Eli Cohen of Israel are freestyle sprinters who could help a GCU relay hit a NCAA Championships cut.

“In order to win a convention meet, you have received have depth right down to your final scorer,” Schaffer said.

Lopes senior Carter Dooling provides some of that as a breaststroke specialist who Schaffer believes can be a conference contender and a boost to the medley relay.

“He’s skilled actually onerous over the summer time, and he is actually motivated,” Schaffer said.

When GCU held a 10-event decathlon during four weeks of preseason training, Perez was the victor with his versatility. Junior Joe Stephenson of Houston also has proven versatile, and sophomore Batu Servi of Turkey is building off last season’s 5K runner-up performance at the Open Water Championships.

“Batu could possibly be an actual distinction maker by way of whether or not we will add the factors that we have to win the convention meet,” Schaffer said.

Diving could be another difference-maker, with sophomore Omar Elsayed coming off taking second at WAC Championships on the platform and fourth in 1- and 3-meter events.

“Hawai’i  has good divers, however Omar will be nearly as good as anyone within the convention,” Schaffer said. “He’s ok the place, if he can put all of it collectively for six dives within the finals, that he has a shot to make to NCAAs. He’s simply received a be constant over these dives. He’s received the expertise.”

The 27-man roster is deep and competitive, creating a push to make the 22-man traveling team for the Big West Championships in February at Houston’s CRWC Natatorium. The trek begins in Tucson on Friday, when GCU faces host Arizona and powerhouse Arizona State.

“The excellent news is lots of them are doing rather well,” Schaffer said. “The guys that had been right here final yr have improved loads. The guys which can be new this yr can contribute. They seem to be they are going to practice. We did not carry anyone that did not have a shot at making the roster. It’s going to be an iron-sharpens-iron factor, and we’ll be left with onerous choices on the finish of the yr. But that is an excellent downside to have.”