The TCU men’s swim team has cooled off from its hot start to the season, but some big events in the coming months could get the Frogs back on track.
TCU will take on the University of Texas in Austin today, in a high-profile match that could serve as a momentum-builder for the Frogs before the Big 12 Championships on Feb. 24.
The Frogs opened the year with wins against Texas-Permian Basin, Liberty, SMU, and Iowa State, and finished a strong 7th in Texas A&M’s Aggie Invitational in the fall.
In 2016, however, the Frogs opened the new year by dropping a close battle to West Virginia at home. The 154-144 defeat came down to the last race, the 400 meter freestyle relay, which the Mountaineers won by .02 seconds.
Even with the loss, veteran head coach Richard Sybesma, in his 36th season with TCU, has to be happy about his squad’s prospects for the future.
Led by sophomore Connor Dobbs, a 2014-15 All-Big 12 selection, the Frogs have a bevy of talented freshmen and sophomores that form the bedrock of a team built for the future. TCU has just two seniors on the roster.
It would be wrong to discount those two seniors, Ford Story and Cameron Rattray, however, especially when Story is attempting to qualify for the U.S. Men’s Olympic Team.
Story, part of the TCU record-holding 200 meter medley relay team and a first team All-Big 12 selection, was named the Big 12 Swimmer of the Week on Jan. 6. In his last semester, he’s rounding into the best form of his career, and the young Frogs will look to him for senior leadership.