The Penn State Altoona men's swimming team enters this season looking to build off of a highly successful 2022-23 campaign. Last winter, the Lions established a new team record by scoring a program-high 461.5 points during the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Championships and placed third in the standings. The squad also recorded five dual meet wins throughout the regular season.

The 2023-24 edition of the Lions includes six returners entering their second seasons with the program: junior Jack Zisa (Yardley, PA/Pennsbury) and sophomores Adam Dotts (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin), Adam Marawan (Dubai, UAE/GEMS Dubai American Academy), Adam McGlynn (Ebensburg, PA/Central Cambria), Brian Nguyen (Lancaster, PA/Manheim Township), and Allan Samoilovich (Leonia, NJ/Paramus Catholic).

Head coach Brad Brooks, who is entering his sixth year at the helm of the Penn State Altoona swim program, is looking forward to what his returners can bring to the team with a year of conference experience under their belts.

"Adam Dotts, Adam McGlynn, and Adam Marawan will look to anchor our sprint relays and provide experience through the year in the sprint freestyles and breaststroke events. Brian Nguyen is coming off of a really strong summer of competing at the club level and has taken a huge step forward in training. We are looking forward to his impact as a potential three event A-finalist at conferences," Brooks explained. "Allan Samoilovich is always open to a rigorous event schedule throughout the year and helps us out during our dual meet schedule, in which we will rely on his versatility to help us get much needed scoring. Much like Brian, Jack Zisa has made a huge leap from a training perspective, and we are expecting big drops this year in the mid-distance free and back events."

Penn State Altoona also welcomes nine newcomers to the team this season: sophomore Caden Traggiai (Sarver, PA/Knoch) and freshmen Joseph Fazio (Conshohocken, PA/Plymouth Whitemarsh), Eugene Heyman (Boiling Springs, PA/Boiling Springs), Lincoln Johnson (Huntingtown, MD/Huntingtown), Nicolas Louis (Queens, NY/Rabun Gap Naccochee), Hunter McMullen (Colver, PA/Central Cambria), Andrew Miller (Easton, PA/Easton), Luke Schnoor (Middletown, PA/Lower Dauphin), and Rocco Solimeo (Harrisburg, PA/Bishop McDevitt).

"Our huge incoming men's class this year is both talented and versatile. Our sprinters are led by Rocco Solimeo, Joe Fazio, Lincoln Johnson, and Nicolas Louis. All four come in with major scoring potential and have adapted well to the training program so far. We will look to them to have an immediate impact from a relay perspective at the conference meet," said Brooks. "EJ Heyman, Andrew Miller, Hunter McMullen, and Luke Schnoor all provide depth and major scoring value to our stroke and IM events, and we are spending the early part of the season exploring their potential in a variety of events that we have historically struggled with from a depth perspective. It will be exciting to see them develop and find their most impactful spot on the team. Caden Traggiai joins us as a transfer for his sophomore year and has elevated his training coming off of a great freshman year and summer of competing. We will look to him to make a splash as a top-three performer in multiple distance events at conferences."

The Penn State Altoona men's swimming team opens its 2023-24 schedule at home on Friday, October 13, hosting non-conference opponent Washington & Jefferson College for a dual meet starting at 6 p.m. in the Adler Natatorium. Throughout the course of the regular season, the Lions will compete in a total of nine dual meets and one multi-day, multi-team invitational. After that, the team will prepare for the AMCC Championships, which will run from February 14-17 and will be held at Webster Aquatic Center in Webster, N.Y.

Brooks is optimistic that his team will continue to improve throughout the season and put themselves in position to build off of last year's performance at the conference championships by the season's end.

"Our men will look to take a major step forward with the strong returning group and fantastic group of freshmen," Brooks stated. "We have the depth and versatility to match the top teams in the conference and should be very successful throughout our dual meet season and at the conference level. We will look to take down a number of our team records and build on the success of past years. It should be a fun and exciting year ahead for our team!"