November 21, 2009
Contact:
Steve Marovich, Sports Information Director (262) 551-5740
E-Mail: stevich@concentric.net or carthagesid@carthage.edu
Carthage 24-Hour Sports Hotline (262) 551-5388
Men’s Swimming Third Midway Thru Nov. 20-21 Wabash Invitational;
This Week: The Carthage College men’s swimming team (2-2 dual-meet record) is in third place midway through the Friday-Saturday, Nov. 20-21 Wabash College “Patrick Woehnker Invitational” at the Class of 1950 Natatorium in Crawfordsville, Ind. Wabash leads the six-team event with 153 points, followed by DePauw University second at 119, Carthage third at 113, the University of Indianapolis fourth at 109, the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology fifth at 82 and Wheaton College (Ill.) sixth with three points.
Next Week: Carthage lost to NCAA Division I Purdue University, 125-80, on Friday, Nov. 13 at Purdue’s Boilermaker Aquatic Center in West Lafayette, Ind. On Saturday, Nov. 14, the Red Men defeated Illinois Wesleyan University, 134-103, in a dual-meet at Carthage’s Koenitzer Aquatic Center in Kenosha, Wis.
Next Action: Carthage is idle over Thanksgiving weekend and returns to action on Friday-Saturday, Dec. 4-5 by playing host to the TYR/CollegeSwimming.com Classic at the Koenitzer Aquatic Center in Kenosha, Wis. (9 a.m./5 p.m.).
2009 NCAA Championship: The Carthage College men’s swimming team tied for 40th place at the Wednesday-Saturday, March 18-22 NCAA Division III Men’s Swimming Championship at the University of Minnesota’s Dorothy L. Sheppard Pool in the University Aquatic Center in Minneapolis, Minn. Stephen Schranck (graduated-senior, Alton, Ill./Marquette Catholic) was the Red Men’s lone qualifier, and he finished seventh in the 200 breaststroke (2:01.67) to earn College Swimming Coaches of America All-America honors. Schranck also swam in the 400 individual medley on Thursday, March 19 and in the 100 breaststroke on Friday, March 20 but did not qualify for the final in either event.
2009 CCIW Championship: The Carthage College men’s swimming team (3-3 dual-meet record), ranked 20th in the Jan. 13 “CollegeSwimming.com” NCAA Division III poll, won the Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 19-21 CCIW Swimming Championship at the Wheaton College (Ill.) Chrouser Fitness Center in Wheaton, Ill. The Red Men won their third conference championship in four years and second in a row with 1,035 points, a whopping 301 points ahead of second-place Wheaton (Ill.) at 734. The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology was third at 482, followed by Illinois Wesleyan University fourth at 460, Millikin University fifth at 274, Augustana College (Ill.) sixth at 178 and North Central College seventh with 157 points.
2009 Wisconsin Private College Championship: Carthage won the Wisconsin Private College Swimming Championship on Saturday, Jan. 31 at the Koenitzer Aquatic Center in Kenosha, Wis. Carthage won the five-team event with 378 points. followed by Lawrence University second at 123, Ripon third at 73 and both Beloit College and Carroll University tied for fourth place with 42 points each. For the Red Men, the state title was their seventh in a row and ninth overall since 1998.
The Coach: Greg Earhart is in his ninth year as head coach in 2009-10 (63-20 dual-meet record, 9 years). He was named CCIW “Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year" in 2002 and 2006 and “Men’s Swimming Co-Coach of the Year” in 2004. Earhart guided the Red Men to conference championships in 2006, 2008 and 2009. Heather Croix serves as a part-time assistant coach, Guy Gniotczynski as a graduate assistant coach and Andy Bax as a student assistant coach.
The Conference: The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, in its 64th year in 2009-10, has sponsored men’s swimming as a championship sport since 1947, and North Central College won 18 of the league’s first 22 titles. Wheaton College (Ill.) has won 25 titles, all since 1972. The Thunder’s record includes 17-of-21 championships since 1983, six in a row from 1990 to 1995 and nine straight from 1997 to 2005. Carthage College snapped Wheaton’s nine-year streak by claiming the 2006 title, and the Red Men also won the 2008 and 2009 championships. The CCIW added the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, located in Terre Haute, Ind., as an associate conference member for men’s and women’s swimming, beginning with the 2007-08 academic year. Rose-Hulman, a member of the Heartland Conference in all other sports, is the CCIW’s first associate member.
CCIW Swimmer of the Week: Illinois Wesleyan University’s Michael Kozak (Sr., Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) was named CollegeSwimming.com NCAA Division III “Men’s Swimmer of the Week” on Nov. 17 for the second time this year. Kozak, who also earned “swimmer of the week” honors on Oct. 27, had first-place finishes in the both the 100 butterfly and the 200 butterfly in a dual meet with Carthage College on Nov. 14. He finished with a time of 51.84 in the 100 butterfly, which was an un-tapered best by 0.6 seconds. His 200 butterfly time of 1:55.60 was 1.5 seconds faster than his previous un-tapered best. Kozak also finished second in the 100 freestyle with an un-tapered best time of 49.32.
Nov. 13 Purdue University Notes: In Carthage’s 125-80 loss at Purdue University on Nov. 13, Kyle Drake (Jr., Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) won the 100 backstroke (53.78) and finished second in the 200 freestyle (1:45.13). The Red Men picked up second-place finishes from Alex Van Huis (Sr., Winneconne, Wis.) in the 1,000 freestyle (10:07.71), Doug Schranck (So., Alton, Ill./Marquette Catholic) in the 100 butterfly (53.29) and Isaac Rothenbaum (Jr., Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest) in the 100 freestyle (49.41).
Nov. 14 Illinois Wesleyan Notes: Carthage’s Kyle Drake (Jr., Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) won three events against Illinois Wesleyan University on Nov. 14, taking first place in the 100 backstroke (53.48), the 200 backstroke (1:53.09) and the 400 individual medley (4:14.00). Blake Bendix (Jr., St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) won both the 50 freestyle (22.16) and the 200 freestyle (1:49.74). The Red Men also picked up wins from Steve Mathe (Fr., Wauconda, Ill.,/Mundelein-Carmel Catholic) in the 1,000 freestyle (10:38.34), Adam Van Huis (S0., Winneconne, Wis.) in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.44), Bob Pellican (Jr., Arlington Heights, Ill./Hersey) in the 100 freestyle (48.94). Alex Van Huis (Sr., Winneconne, Wis.) the 200 breaststroke (2:17.73) and Adam Glover (So., Eureka, Mo.) in the 500 freestyle (5:02.11).