Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Binghamton University men’s and women’s swimming and diving.

It will be a year of changes for the swimming and diving teams this season, starting at the top. Sean Clark takes over the coaching duties of both teams after spending the past two seasons as Patrice Back’s top assistant. Clark’s closeness to the team and his intricate knowledge of their abilities should aid him in his first season at the helm. The UMass alum hopes to guide the powerhouse men’s team to a conference championship after finishing as the conference runner up the past two seasons.

The men’s team returns senior co-captains Trevor Stone and Brian Koizim, who hope to join with fellow seniors Pat Hart and David Holmes and lead the Bearcats to that elusive America East title.

“The seniors are far and above my ammunition,” Clark said.

Yet the men’s team is not returning the perhaps most prolific swimmer in team history: two-time America East Swimmer of the Year Kaan Tayla, who transferred to Virginia Tech during the off-season, leaving a large void in the Bearcat front. Nevertheless, Coach Clark believes that the entire team will step up to fill Tayla’s place, placing special emphasis on his seven freshmen.

Clark can depend on British phenom Holmes to step in for Tayla. Holmes performed superbly at last year’s championships and will look to further improve this year, trying to help distance the Bearcats from Stony Brook and finally defeat perennial powerhouse UMBC.

The women’s team hopes to improve after a rebuilding year last season, and Coach Clark will look for production both from afar, as well as the local area. The Bearcats return sophomore sprinter Aleksandra Grubic from Croatia, while importing freshman sprinter Lindsay Wright from Johnson City. Conference foes also must worry about freshman Allyce Brand and co-captains Monica Friedl and Bridget Dormer.

Coach Clark believes that the women’s team will be “taking a step forward” this season with such a young roster. The team boasts 14 freshmen and 10 sophomores, all of whom should contribute points to the team.

Both squads face tough matches ahead of them. The women face off against conference foe Boston University and local competitor Cornell. Yet the matchup Clark is looking forward to is the match between Binghamton and Vermont. This meet will feature the two teams that finished lowest in the conference last season. This early matchup may potentially decide which team rises in the America East ranks and which team remains in the cellar.

For the men, the conference meet against UMBC is sure to be a competitive one. Coach Clark is also looking forward to the match against Stony Brook as the biggest one, as the Seawolves finished one place behind the Bearcats in each of the last five years.

Another match Coach Clark has marked is between Binghamton, Colgate and UMass. This match places Clark against his alma mater and his former coach, while Colgate’s head coach also happens to be Clark’s former teammate and co-captain.

The men’s swimming team has the potential to be one of the University’s most successful this year. The women’s team is on its way up and has a young core and very exciting sprinters. Clark was adamant when he said the teams need to “represent the University.”