The UCSD swim program will be missing a mess of players next season when it hits the pool. There are players of varying capacities and with varying impact within the UCSD swim program.
There are leaders, jokers, characters, nurturers and hard workers among them, but many are similar in that they’ve swam their last lap or took their last dive in the Triton blue and gold.
On the men’s side, there will be four spots to fill as Rusty Jones, Greg Scott, Bryan Villareal and Ryan Wong are on their way out.
Jones was a key component of the Triton swim team this year, notching numerous, impressive finishes and acting as the team captain. He holds a UCSD school record in the 200-meter medley relay, and had many other top scores over the season.
Coach Scott McGihon fondly recalls of his top performer: “”He was the hardest worker in the pool. He brought grit and determination to every workout and will be sorely missed by his teammates because he was a leader that led by example.””
Villareal did not have as positive an effect on the team, but did his part to lighten things up around the pool, according to McGihon.
“”Villareal brought a girth of communication to the team. He was always talking, which brought a certain sense of levity. But let’s just say that he was very outspoken around the pool.””
Scott made a bigger impact on the Triton swim program, compiling numerous top-10 rankings in both breast stroke categories and being named an All-American every year in both Division II and III.
“”Greg has been a great leader among all of the breast strokers, being the only senior breast stroker, and is just an all around good guy,”” McGihon said.
Wong is another swimmer who will be tough to replace. He holds a school record in the 400 IM and was extremely versatile. McGihon recalls, “”Wong was definitely the most versatile swimmer out of all of the seniors. He could swim in all of the events and could score in every one of them. He had a great amount of talent, especially in the middle distance and IMs.””
The women are also going to be without four of their athletes next season.
Chief among them will be Sharon Smith, who holds several school records. She also scored individually at nationals. Smith was also the team’s captain, and according to McGihon, “”one of the more dependable freestylers on the team.””
Christina Guintu impressed McGihon with her dedication.
“”She was always the first person in the pool for practice and really cares about the program a lot. She was a very hard worker, and swimming on the team really mean a lot to her,”” McGihon said.
Nicole Ostrin was an integral part to the diving squadron who will be missed.
Taylor Mitchell was something of a mother figure to her teammates, according to McGihon.
“”I know she’ll hate to hear this, but she was like the team mom.”” he said. “”She was a real mentor to the younger swimmers, and was just the nicest person on the team, almost to a fault. A little bit of killer instinct might have helped her out some, but she was just the nicest person and helped out everyone on the team.””
The coaches and teammates of these players would all agree that all of these athletes brought something unique to the pool and will be leaving behind some pretty darn big pairs of speedos to fill.
