NEWARK, Del. – The University of Delaware men’s and women’s swim teams named six captains for the 2008-09 campaign, head coach John Hayman announced today.

The men’s swimming and diving squad will be led into action by Matt Abbruzzese, Craig Offutt, and John Ohlhaver, while the women’s team will be guided by Sarah Begley, Maryann Walker, and Emily Watts.

On the women’s side, Begley (at right) headlines the group of captains after serving in the same role as a junior last season. During the 2008 CAA meet, she helped buoy the 400-medley relay team that finished fifth at the competition.

Over her career, she has posted three other top-five finishes at the conference meet, including a third-place showing in the 100 butterfly as a freshman in 2006. She currently sports the second-best time in program history in both the 50-freestyle and 100 butterfly.

Walker enters her final season already boasting the program record in the 200-backstroke and the second-best time in the 100-yard discipline and the 200 Individual Medley. During her sophomore season, she captured the CAA title in the 200-backstroke and has earned five other top-five finishes at the conference meet during her career.

An All-CAA selection in the 200-backstroke last season, she also garnered the conference Swimmer of the Week Award on Oct. 27 and the weekly Best of the Blue Hens honor on December 2.

Watts begins her senior year having won three letters as a standout in the backstroke. During her career, she has posted the third-finest time in the 200-backstroke and the fourth-best in the 100-yard event.

Prior to earning the team’s UD Team Sportsmanship Award as a junior last season, she was a two-time top-10 finisher at the conference meet. During her freshman year, she placed eighth in both the 100-backstroke and 200-freestyle relay.

On the men's side, Ohlhaver enters his senior season as one of the program’s most accomplished swimmers in the backstroke. Last season, he set the school record in the 100- and 200-backstroke during the Colonial Athletic Association meet.

During the championship competition, he also helped the 200- and 400-freestyle relays capture the conference crown. He also picked up three fourth-place finishes in the 200-medley relay, 800-freestyle relay, and 200-backstroke.

Abbruzzese has been the team’s leading diver over the last three seasons. As a sophomore, he picked up a fourth-place finish in the 3-meter dive during the CAA meet, while he has been a top-10 finisher during each of his three years in Newark.

A three-time CAA Diver of the Week, he also earned the team’s Thomas Baranello Award for his outstanding achievements last season.

Offutt joins the two seniors as the lone junior captain for the 2008-09 campaign. A two-time letterwinner, he has specialized in the freestyle and backstroke during his stint with the Blue Hens.

Last year, he earned his first top-10 finish at the conference meet after placing 10th in the 1,650-yard freestyle. Successful both in and out of the pool, he has been a perennial member of the CAA Academic Honor Roll as a computer engineering major.

The six swimmers will help the Blue Hens try to build upon their strong 2007-08 seasons. The men earned a program-best third-place finish at the CAA meet last year, while the women finished sixth after capturing 12 victories during the regular season.