PROVO, Utah – The BYU swim and dive teams are ready to kick off the season with their brand-new pool. The Cougars will host their annual alumni meet at the newly renovated Richards Building Pool on Friday, Sept. 7, at 3 p.m. MDT.
“There is a lot of excitement for our new pool," says head coach John Brooks. "We are approaching it was a rebirth for our program. We are going to tweak and add some things to the way we train because there is a lot of versatility to the new facility—it is the most versatile pool in the state.
"We have a great group of freshman that came in, both men and women," Brooks added. "We also have great returning missionaries on both sides, so it’s one of the strongest teams we’ve had in a while. We are looking forward to having a very positive and great season.”
Returning missionaries include Connor Stirling, Connor Anderson, Brayden Murphy, Ryan Sorensen, Brenna Dickson and Kaela Call.
BYU’s teams will also have many returning athletes from last season. Some include swimmers Payton Sorenson, Haley Bertoldo Harden, Sherif Aboumandour, Kunmi Ogunfeibo and Levi Jensen and divers Elizabeth Holmes Warren and Morgan Cooper.
This year's women’s swim captains are Kelly Hatanaka and Ellie Thornbrue Brinton. The men’s swim captains are Nathan Rogers and Jarren Brinton. The diving captains are Nathan Gonzales for the men and Morgan Mellow for the women.
In addition to the alumni meet this weekend, the Cougars will also hold a Blue and White meet next week on Sept. 15 that will include events and activities throughout the week. BYU will compete in relays against Utah in Provo on Sept. 21 before the team's official season opener on Oct. 5-6 in Colorado at the Intermountain Shootout Invitational.