2021-22 CU Swimming & Diving Preview

Swimming/Diving | 10/20/2021 12:00:00 PM

After a shortened season that included some virtual meets and a handful of in-person events in March, the Clarkson University Swimming & Diving team returns for a full campaign under first-year head coach Marc Danin.

The Golden Knights competed in both the fall and spring last year, swimming virtually against other teams, but did not participate in any in-person dual meets until early March. The season closed in late March when the Knights swam at the Rochester Invitational, a two-day event.

The Green and Gold are slated for eight dual meets in 2021-22 as well as three invitationals before the annual conference meet, which will be held in mid-February at Ithaca College.

Most of the Golden Knights have, at most, two full seasons of collegiate competition, a situation that most programs across the country will be quite familiar. However, Clarkson's women have been carried by underclassmen for the last few seasons, and much of that group will be seniors in 2021-22, looking to possibly complete their collegiate careers on a high note. Comparatively, the Golden Knights' men will be a youthful group, with just one senior having more than a full season swimming for Clarkson.

Leading the way for the women is senior Paige Fronczak. One of the most decorated swimmers in program history, Fronczak has broken or set a record in the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle, or in various relays 19 times in her first two seasons with Clarkson. Although the season was all but lost a year ago, Fronczak will try to best her marks late in the year in hopes of advancing to the NCAA Championships. She became the first Clarkson swimmer in more than five years to win an event at the Liberty League Championships back in February 2020 when she won the 100 freestyle by more than a half second. Fronczak also posted top-10 finishes in the 50 freestyle and 200 freestyle that weekend.

Classmates Taylor Lee and Amelia Kanner each enjoyed three top-20 finishes at the conference meet in their sophomore seasons. Lee trimmed more than a second off her best times in the 100 breaststroke and 100 butterfly from her first year and was able to take three-quarters of a second off her top time in the 200 breaststroke. Similarly, Kanner took several seconds off her best times from 2019 to 2020, shaving more than six seconds off her 400 individual medley time at the Liberty League Championships and close to four seconds off the 200 individual medley time she posted from one year to the next at the conference meet.

Clarkson's men are in a different situation compared to the women. A strong senior class graduated in 2020, with numerous school records falling in February of that year. Many of the Golden Knights will be competing in their first full season with the Knights. Only Nicholas Miller has spent more than two full years swimming for the Green and Gold, with his sights set on setting a new mark in the 100 freestyle. Miller already has his named etched in the Clarkson record book on a pair of medley relays and his best time of 48.15 seconds in the 100 freestyle in February 2020 is a little over a second slower than the top time set by former teammate and assistant coach Gavin Lopata.

Juniors Collin Slupe and Jack Kelly showed well in their first season with the Knights in 2019-2020, with Slupe finishing in the top 10 in both the 200 and 500 freestyle races at the conference meet, while Kelly was ninth in the 100 breaststroke. Newcomers Guillermo Barrios and Collin Urmaza both had top-six finishes in the 400 individual medley at the Rochester Invite in March, and Barrios also had two other top-10 showings in the 200 butterfly and 200 individual medley at that same event.

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