M-Swimming: Newcomers Ranked 15th By CollegeSwimming.com
Jul 21 | Men's Swimming & Diving
July 21, 2010
DALLAS (SMU) - SMU's incoming men's swimming and diving class is ranked 15th in the nation by CollegeSwimming.com.
SMU is coming off of a 2009-10 season which saw two swimmers, Tom Cole and Pontus Renholm, and one diver, Matt Culbertson, qualify for the NCAA Championships. The Mustangs are one of just 16 teams in the country to have every relay ranked in the top twenty. The addition of such a strong group of newcomers looks to bolster the program and ensure more Ponies return to the national stage.
"I'm very excited about the potential this class represents both athletically and academically," head coach Eddie Sinnot said. "We will be relying on this group to help maintain our tradition of being a top 15 swimming and diving program in the country. We look forward to helping these guys reach their goals in and out of the pool."
The class consists of Nicolai Graae (Esbjorg, Denmark), Matt Roney (Lewisville, Texas), Braeden Newton (Alberta, Canada), Giedrius Andriunaitis (Kaunas, Lithuania), Ryan Koops (San Antonio, Texas), Scott McRae (Spring, Texas), Nelson Turk (Bangkok, Thailand) and Zach Turner (Fort Collins, Colo.).
Graae (6'8") and Andriunaitis (6'6) will add size and speed to the freestyle relays. A Danish national champion, Graae comes to SMU as a transfer student from Denmark with great experience under his belt and has posted times that make him an immediate player at NCAA Championships. Roney is a senior national qualifier who competes for the Dallas Mustangs. He will contribute in freestyle events as well as butterfly events for SMU. Newton will likely be matched up with NCAA Qualifier Cole as part of the medley relays, and the Mustangs will look for him to lead the way in backstroke events during his time at SMU. Koops and McRae should play a key role in helping the Ponies continue their string of 14 straight conference titles. As seniors in high school, Koops and McRae posted times as that would have put them in the championship finals at the 2010 Conference USA Championships.
