BURNABY, B.C. – Canada's NCAA team will be welcoming top men's swimmers from around the country as nine recruits have signed National Letters of Intent to compete for the Simon Fraser Red Leafs beginning in the fall. 
 
"Our team is excited about the 16 incoming first-year students (nine men and seven women) for the 2023-24 season," said SFU head coach Demone Tissira. "Coming from six different provinces, from British Columbia to Newfoundland and Labrador, Simon Fraser University is now the destination for the best swimmers across the country to attend top academic programs and swim at the only NCAA institution in Canada. 
 
"Our vision is to recruit student-athletes who bring energy and a high work ethic to our program to achieve our goals in the classroom and the pool. Now that we have membership in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, having a full team roster will be essential to battle for top three finishes and conference titles."

Thomas Caruso
Hometown: Lindell Beach, B.C.
High school: Sardis Secondary
Events: Backstroke and individual medley
Height: 6-0
Club: Spartan Swim Club

Caruso is the junior national champion in the 200-meter backstroke after winning the long-course event in two minutes 4.07 seconds at the 2023 Bell Canadian Swimming Trials in Toronto in April. The swimmer from Lindell Beach, B.C., and the Spartan Swim Club placed seventh in the 100-m backstroke, recording a time of 58.22 seconds.

"I really enjoyed my recruitment trip to SFU," said Caruso. "The team atmosphere was positive and very welcoming; the campus was great and the swim program offered what I am looking for. I like that SFU is an NCAA school that is also close to home and it offers an undergraduate criminology program."

At last summer's Canada Games in Ontario, Caruso won gold for Team BC in both the 100- and 200-meter backstroke events, swimming times of 58.66 and 2:07.13, respectively. 
 
Gaspar Lazure
Hometown: Windsor, Ont.
High school: E.J. Lajeunesse Catholic Secondary
Events: Butterfly and freestyle sprint
Height: 5-11
Club: Windsor-Essex Swim Team

Lazure was fifth in the junior 50-m freestyle final (23.77) and sixth in the junior 100-m butterfly final (56.05) at the 2023 Canadian Trials. Both times were personal bests. He cited SFU's excellent team culture as the reason for choosing to be a Red Leafs swimmer. 
 
"Everyone was positive and ready to help one another to accomplish each other's goals," said Lazure, describing his future teammates and coaches. "I really see myself growing with this team and the potential this school has, with great supportive coaches and teammates who will push me and encourage me to reach my goals, as well as me doing the same thing for them. I also really liked the campus with all its new buildings like the dining hall and its location in B.C. Lastly, I am very excited to race against NCAA schools because of the competition level, and discover a new type of racing."

Lazure won three events – the 50-m freestyle (24.14), the 50-m butterfly (25.38), and the 100-m butterfly (56.47) – at the 2023 Eastern Canadian Championships, and was second in the 100-m freestyle. 
 
Mateja Mesic
Hometown: Belle River, Ont.
High school: Riverside Secondary
Events: Backstroke, individual medley, and breaststroke 
Height: 6-2
Club: Windsor Aquatic Club

Combining excellence in the pool and classroom, Mesic is one of three men's recruits from Ontario. The swimmer from Belle River, Ont., was ninth in the 50-m backstroke (a personal-best 28.46) at the 2023 Eastern Canadian Championships in March, which was hosted by his team, the Windsor Aquatic Club.

"SFU was able to offer a world leading mechatronics program and the opportunity to pursue a varsity swimming career through the NCAA," said Mesic, who recently won silver in the 50-m backstroke at the SCAR Pan Am Invitational and was a 100-m backstroke finalist at the 2023 Winter Ontario Swimming Championships.

Mesic competed in the senior 50-m backstroke at the 2022 Canadian Trials – placing 41st – and swam four individual events at the 2022 Eastern Canadian Championships.

Peter Morch
Hometown: Lantzville, B.C.
High School: Nanaimo District Secondary
Events: Freestyle
Height: 6-0
Club: Nanaimo Riptides Swim Team

Morch was 10th in the junior final of the 100-m freestyle at the 2023 Canadian Trials, and posted a personal-best time (52.58) in the preliminaries. In the 200-m backstroke, the Nanaimo Riptides swimmer was 16th in the junior B Final with a career-best time of 2:10.83. At the trials, Morch had PBs in the following events: 100-m freestyle, 50- and 100-m butterfly, and 200-m backstroke.

"I chose SFU because of its strong academics, the opportunity to be on its exciting swim team, and to experience swimming in the NCAA," said Morch. "Staying on the West Coast and pursuing my academic career at a well-regarded university were also top priorities."

Morch won a pair of bronze medals at the 2023 Winter Provincial Championships, taking third in the 100-m freestyle in 52.67, and the 100-m butterfly in 57.48.

Owen Nicholson
Hometown: Halifax, N.S.
High school: Citadel High
Events: Distance freestyle and individual medley
Height: 6-0
Club: Halifax Trojans Aquatic Club

Nicholson is a versatile and highly-regarded swimmer from Halifax. He won bronze for Canada in the Elite Male 1.5-kilometer race at the 2023 Best Fest Open Water Festival in Mallorca, Spain with a time of 17:06. Last year, he was second overall in the Elite Junior Male High Point Award competition in Mallorca after winning the Elite Junior Men's 1.5-km event and finishing third in Elite Junior 7-km Race.

"Simon Fraser is the right place for me as it pairs an amazing swim team with excellent academics," said Nicholson on his decision to head west.

At the Canadian Trials in March, Nicholson of the Halifax Trojans Aquatic Club was 19th in the senior B Final of the 400-m individual medley (4:44.72) and 30th in the senior 1,500-m freestyle (16:39.68).

He swam nine events for Nova Scotia at the 2022 Canada Summer Games, with a half dozen top eight placings. Nicholson was fourth in the 3,000-m open water swim in 35:38.

Jordan Raume
Hometown: Comox, B.C.
High school: Mark R. Isfeld Secondary
Events: Freestyle and breaststroke
Height: 6-3
Club: Comox Valley Aquatic Club

Raume was sixth in the 50-m breaststroke and seventh in the 200-m individual medley at the 2023 BC Winter Provincial Championships competing for the Comox Valley Aquatic Club, where he holds nine individual records at various age levels. 
 
"I enjoy the people and it has good programs for my interests," he said on why he chose SFU. 
 
At last month's Vancouver Island Regional Long-Course Championships in Victoria, Raume won the 200-m breaststroke, placed second in the 50-m freestyle, and finished third in 50-m and 100-m breaststroke and the 200-m IM. 
 
Lochlan Rogers
Hometown: Victoria, B.C.
High school: Claremont Secondary
Events: Freestyle sprint
Height: 6-2
Club: Island Swimming Club

A freestyle sprint specialist from Victoria, B.C., Rogers placed fourth in the junior final of the 100-m event at the 2023 Canadian Trials in Toronto, recording a time of 51.75. 
 
He won two titles at the 2019 Canadian Junior Swimming Championships in Calgary, claiming first place in the 50- and 100-m freestyle races. 
 
"In my younger years, I always wanted to compete in the United States for swimming," remarked Rogers. "SFU is a great school and I would have a good support system with the number of friends I have there."

Rogers is a member of Victoria's Island Swimming Club, where he is teammates with current Red Leafs Kaysha Bakadi, Bryce Baker, Dylan Kormendy and Marcus Mak.

He was fifth in the 50-m freestyle (24.21) at the 2023 Swim BC Winter Provincial Championships in March.

Luka Tomic
Hometown: Kitchener, Ont.
High school: Resurrection Catholic Secondary
Events: Butterfly 
Height: 6-1
Club: Wilmot Aces Aquatic Club

Tomic is a rapidly improving swimmer from the Wilmot Aces Aquatic Club in Ontario. He has recorded personal-best times in 10 different individual events so far in 2023.

Three of them came at the Age Group International long-course meet last month in Etobicoke, Ont., including two in his main stroke, the butterfly. Tomic was fifth in the 200-m distance in 2:14.39 and 12th in the 100 meters with a time of 58.17. 
 
"I really enjoyed the environment and team spirit when I came for the recruitment visit," said Tomic on why SFU is the right place to start his career. "I am also very excited to compete in the NCAA."

Tomic has been named the Ace of the Year at his club twice (2019 and 2022). He was the lone male swimmer from his club to qualify for the 2022 Eastern Canadian Championships, placing 20th in the 50-m butterfly, 16th in the 100 meters, and 12th in the 200 meters. 
 
Hayden Visscher
Hometown: St. Albert, Alta.
High School: Paul Kane High
Events: Breaststroke
Height: 6-2
Club: Edmonton Olympian Swim Club

Visscher is a top breaststroke prospect who will be moving west from Alberta. He represented Canada last summer at the 2022 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Honolulu, Hawaii. The athlete from St. Albert, Alta., placed 13th in the 100-meter breaststroke B Final with a time of 1:05.17. He was 15th at the 200-m distance, reaching the finish in 2:22.54.

"I chose Simon Fraser University for the excellent coaches and the great team environment," said Visscher, a member of the Edmonton Olympian Swim Club. 
 
He holds a pair of provincial records in the short-course 50-m breaststroke. Visscher posted a time of 28.62 seconds in December 2022 to set the Alberta record for 17-year-old swimmers. His time of 28.42 from December 2021 is the top time in the province's history for 16-year-olds. 
 
Visscher was fourth in the junior 100-m breaststroke final (1:04.41) at the 2023 Canadian Swimming Trials, and sixth in the 200-m final (2:22.03). 
 
The nine men's additions and the seven women's recruits introduced previously will strengthen an SFU program that will enter its first year of competition as an associate member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The team's 2023-24 NCAA swimming schedule will be released later this year.
 
For the latest information on SFU Athletics, visit athletics.sfu.ca. You can also find us on social media at @SFU_Athletics.

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