2007-08 Raider Men?s Swimming Preview

Mount Union's men's swim team begins a new era under first-year Head Coach Eric Mojock in 2007-08, while returning several key contributors from last year's squad that placed fourth overall at the 2007 Ohio Athletic Conference Championships.

'I am looking forward to being part of the Mount Union College community and working closely with our swimmers in hopes of building one of the premier programs at this level,' stated Mojock.

According to Mojock, the immediate primary goal is moving up the OAC standings.

'Obviously first and foremost, we want to get our system in place and improve our conference finish,' he said. 'Our training approach emphasizes more active dry land and weight training work early on. Eventually, once we get the rust off, we will work on specializing more when we enter phase two of the program. It's a process every team goes through. We are excited about where we are headed.'

Part of that excitement involves as many as 23 swimmers currently in the men's program coupled with some key returnees who provide a solid base to build from.

'We like our numbers and intense competition for spots in our line-up,' added Mojock. 'Simply put ' you need numbers to be competitive in all the events that take place. Otherwise, you are at a real disadvantage going in. The attitude and effort from our guys in practice has been great.'

Junior Dan Hampu (Alliance/Hawken), who won the 200 yard backstroke (2:00.09) and took third in the 100 yard backstroke (55.83) at OACs in 2007, is expected back in 2007-08.

'Dan (Hampu) is a two-sport athlete who is also playing golf this fall, but has been able to juggle his schedule so he could attend some of our morning workouts,' said the coach. 'That speaks volumes about his dedication. He is one of our team captains and a real vocal leader within our program. Obviously, we are also expecting him to be one of our leaders in the pool this winter.'

Junior Jeff Budzowski (Independence), who placed second in both the 100 breaststroke (1:01.03) and 200 yard breaststroke (2:15.99) at the conference championships a year ago, also returns.

'Jeff (Budzowski) is coming off a good 2006-07 season,' added the coach. 'He is one of our hardest workers. He's working on refining his stroke a bit in hopes of making him even better this coming winter. We are excited about his potential.'

According to Mojock, the 2007-08 Raiders should be relatively strong in the distance events.

'It's not a secret that we have some good distance swimmers in our program ' both in terms of returnees and newcomers.' he noted. 'We have some good depth there. Overall, we need to improve in sprints if we expect to move up the standings in conference. That doesn't happen overnight, but we are putting in the necessary work to eventually get that done.'

Mount Union's 2007-08 schedule looks a great deal like it did a year ago, with home conference events versus Baldwin-Wallace (Oct. 27), Ohio Northern (Jan. 12) and Wilmington (Jan. 26) and a road meet at John Carroll (Nov. 2). The Purple Raiders also have several non-conference road duals scheduled, among other events, including the team's traditional trip to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida over the Christmas Break.

'Our schedule this season is very competitive,' said Mojock. 'Strong conference and non-conference opponents will allow us to test ourselves throughout the season, while reigniting old rivalries. As for our trip to Florida, it is a great opportunity to work at the International Swimming Hall of Fame Pool, where we can work more on long course training in a 50 meter environment. It gives us more lane space for our swimmers and allows them to work on their specialized events more.'

The new coach is excited about the future of the men's program.

'I come from a small, private school environment (Westminster College, PA), so I have an understanding of what the Division III philosophy is all about. That has helped me in my transition to Mount Union. This is a terrific academic and athletic institution and I look forward to the challenges ahead.'

Traditionally, the Raider men's swim program has been one of the most competitive in the OAC, producing three conference titles ('96, '97, '99), eight OAC Swimmers of the Year, four OAC Divers of the Year, 89 individual conference & relay team champions, 50 All-American honorees and three individual National Champions.