Since the Big Ten Championships and NCAA Championships are held in away pools, Dorenkott is looking to give his swimmers some valuable pool time outside of McCoy Natatorium.
Some of those looking to gain experience on the road are Josh Graham, Sean Swanepoel and Sean Biedermann, three members of a talented group of freshmen that has Dorenkott looking forward to the next couple of years. Swanepoel, a native of South Africa, was an Olympic Trial finalist in the 50-meter freestyle this past summer for his country.
Biedermann is a two-time Colorado state champion in the 200 IM and the 500 freestyle. Graham broke the Virginia state record and became a U.S. National Qualifier in the 200 freestyle this past year as well.
"I believe with this freshman class we're on the right track. I would like to see us year in year out be a top 15 NCAA team and a top three team in the Big Ten. I truly believe that's going to happen here within the next two years," Dorenkott said.
The Lions are also comprised of a strong group of senior leaders in Dustin Thompson, Daryl Northrop and Mark Zucca.
"We've got a pretty good group of leaders," Dorenkott said. "They're a group of guys who have done some things really well, they've have stubbed their toe a couple of times. As a result they have experience, and that's a pretty important commodity."
Despite finishing seventh at the Big Ten Championships last year, the current combination of youth and experience has Dorenkott feeling that this team is better than the Lions squad that finished in the top three of the Big Ten four years ago.
"From the outside looking in people probably don't realize what we have going on here. From the inside looking out I can tell you this; we're a better team then we were four years ago," he said.
"We have better academics, we've got higher character individuals, and athletically, I think we've got some guys who are going to do pretty darn good."
