End of the Auburn reign?

Mr Goodsmith: I believe Auburn won't dominate like they have in the last 3 years. They were challenged last year but swam well enough to win. Texas is a young team and there hopes of placing in the top 3 hinge on how well there freshmen do. If Michael Klueh, Ryan Verlatti, and Sean Patton can get into the finals/consols and contribute in the relays, then yes they could get there. Garrett Weber-Gale and Matt McGinnis need to make the finals in the 3 events they swim and at the least make consols. If they don't score then in one or more events then I don't see Texas in the top 3. Texas doesn't have the depth it had 4 years ago and the diving power it had with those Dumais brothers. Four years ago, Ian Crocker had won the 100 Fly and contibuted with some great swims in the relays but did not swim up to his potential in the Free's. If I remember correctly, he got 18th in the 100 Free and 24th in the 50 Free and didn't score in those events. If Texas has a great swimmer like that, he must score or they won't be able to compete with the big teams. Over at Swimming World TV or Swimming Arizona TV as some people have referred, they have a split vote as to who got the best college mens recruited class between Auburn and Texas. Phil Whitten picks Texas and Ducan Scott takes Auburn. Texas gets a big boost because of the recruitment of Ricky Berens, who as an age grouper broke some of Michael Phelps records. He has gone :47 in the 100 Fly and 1:47 in the 200 Fly. They also recruited Hill Taylor and Dave Walters. Auburn top recruits are Tyler Mcgill, Matt Barlett, and Brooke Stoval. Judging from this, I think in the future you will see more competitive team races with closer scoring than in 2003/2004 when Auburn really dominated. But sometimes its not the top recruits that suprise people. I know you remember that Shaun Jordon was not a top recruit and not heavily recruited and he surprised everyone when he swam and Texas benefited from that.

Mr Goodsmith: I believe Auburn won't dominate like they have in the last 3 years. They were challenged last year but swam well enough to win. Texas is a young team and there hopes of placing in the top 3 hinge on how well there freshmen do. If Michael Klueh, Ryan Verlatti, and Sean Patton can get into the finals/consols and contribute in the relays, then yes they could get there. Garrett Weber-Gale and Matt McGinnis need to make the finals in the 3 events they swim and at the least make consols. If they don't score then in one or more events then I don't see Texas in the top 3. Texas doesn't have the depth it had 4 years ago and the diving power it had with those Dumais brothers. Four years ago, Ian Crocker had won the 100 Fly and contibuted with some great swims in the relays but did not swim up to his potential in the Free's. If I remember correctly, he got 18th in the 100 Free and 24th in the 50 Free and didn't score in those events. If Texas has a great swimmer like that, he must score or they won't be able to compete with the big teams. Over at Swimming World TV or Swimming Arizona TV as some people have referred, they have a split vote as to who got the best college mens recruited class between Auburn and Texas. Phil Whitten picks Texas and Ducan Scott takes Auburn. Texas gets a big boost because of the recruitment of Ricky Berens, who as an age grouper broke some of Michael Phelps records. He has gone :47 in the 100 Fly and 1:47 in the 200 Fly. They also recruited Hill Taylor and Dave Walters. Auburn top recruits are Tyler Mcgill, Matt Barlett, and Brooke Stoval. Judging from this, I think in the future you will see more competitive team races with closer scoring than in 2003/2004 when Auburn really dominated. But sometimes its not the top recruits that suprise people. I know you remember that Shaun Jordon was not a top recruit and not heavily recruited and he surprised everyone when he swam and Texas benefited from that.