In 1985, Ramapo College lost one of one its varsity sports. The men's swim team was cut for a number of issues. In 2007, one man had a vision to try and bring swimming back to Ramapo; he managed to create a program that was better than ever.
Garret Orr, head swim coach of Ramapo College's men's swim team, made his vision become a reality.
The Rebirth
"It was terrible news when I heard about the team getting cut," Orr stated. "I had put so much time and effort into that team, I was devastated."
Orr, a member of Ramapo's 1979-1983 team, still has records that stand today in the 1000 freestyle and the 400 individual medley.
Orr was not alone in the quest to bring back the once-dominant program. He had a lot of help from a number of different sources.
"Mike Ricciardi, athletic director at the time, had contacted me in 2005 when they were looking to reinstate the program," Orr stated. "He knew I had a background in swimming because he was a senior on the team when I was a freshman."
The Growth
Since then, Ramapo's swim team had progressed from a no-name team to being one of the top 25 programs in the country.
"You cant even imagine how fast the team has grown. I had to beg kids to come here when we started," Orr said. "I used to call our team kids with swimmies because swimmers on the team couldn't even finish a lap of butterfly. Now, I have major recruits walking in my office and calling me everyday."
Another person who helped turn the program into what it is today is assistant coach David Nehls. A member of the 2007-2011 team, Coach Nehls mainly works with the swimmers on nutrition and weight lifting.
"I was a swimmer for the first year we were an official NCAA program and let's just say it wasn't good," said Nehls. "We were pretty bad. We lost almost every meet."
Since he became a coach, he's seen the team go from one of the worst in the conference to being one of the top teams.
"We went from being the laughingstock of the NJAC [New Jersey Athletic Conference] to among the best," stated Nehls. "We now have perennial NCAA championship contenders. When I started, we had people that would barely crack the top 16 at our conference meet. Now we have almost two in every event."
The men's swim team at Ramapo has made tremendous strides since its rebirth back in 2007. Under the leadership of Orr and Nehls, Ramapo has successfully produced many all conference swimmers and top finishers in the conference. They turned the program into a powerhouse swim team which will only grow stronger in the years to come.
"We are just starting to scratch the surface. I want to get several people to Nationals this year and my goal is to get this team to a top 10 program in the nation," said Orr.
