East Lyme

Coach: Rob Bouchey (2nd year).

Key returnees: Sr. Eain Goolsbey, Sr. Ben Prouty, Sr. Nathan am Ende.Jr. Jack Zhang, So. Jack Mucciarone, So. Bobby Hahn.

Top newcomers: Fr. Aden Lu, Fr. Anthony Wang, Fr. Ryan Goolsbey.

Outlook: Bouchey led the Vikings to a perfect regular season (11-0) and an ECC championship during his first season a year ago. East Lyme must replace Jack Wheeler, the ECC champion in the 200-yard individual medley, but returns three reigning ECC champions and members of The Day's All-Area team: Eain Goolsbey (500 freestyle), Prouty (diving) and Zhang (100 butterfly). Bouchey expects the Vikings to compete for another conference title and he is particularly excited about a large incoming freshman class that "should set the tone for the next several years after learning the ropes from seasoned upperclassmen."

Fitch/Ledyard/Norwich Tech/Stonington

Coach: Ken Berg (39th year).

Key returnees: Sr. Patrick Nowak, Jr. John Marcolina, Jr. Max Cartier, So. Joe Vignato, Jr. Sam Heilig, Jr. Dave Magowan, Jr. Keegan Reck, So. Ian Sanock, Jr. Nathanael Padgett.

Top newcomers: Fr. Simon Chidley, So. Chase Simao, Fr. A.J. Murko, Fr. Aaron Reck, So. Gabe Watrous, Jr. Micah McKenzie.

Outlook: The Falcons, who previously teamed with Stonington as a cooperative program, adds athletes from Norwich Tech and Ledyard. They went 8-2 last season, their only losses to ECC champion East Lyme, and expect to make another run at the Vikings this season with the return of an elite cast led by Nowak, The Day's reigning All-Area Swimmer of the Year, and All-Area picks Marcolina — the 2017 ECC champ in the 50 and 100 freestyle — Cartier and Keegan Reck.

New London

Coach: Brandon Biondi (4th year).

Key returnees: So. Oliver Guijarro-Sines, Sr. Nichole Roman, Sr. Santiago Marquez, Jr. Jazmine Silva, So. Joseph Lastraglio, So. SaraBeth Bouchard.

Outlook: Biondi is excited heading into his fourth season because he returns some experienced swimmers and has added 14 newcomers, including four freshmen and three sophomores. "This is the largest the New London swim team has been in many years," Biondi said. "We're looking forward to an exciting season."

NFA

Coach: Cory Tubbs (3rd year).

Key returnees: Sr. Rithik Kalra, Sr. Anthony Defederico, Jr. Wyatt Gordan, Jr. Nate Crary, So. Jeffrey Ng, Jr. Mike McCormack.

Outlook: The Wildcats went 5-5 a year ago and with strong numbers (NFA has 10 returning swimmers and 10 newcomers), so a winning season is certainly within reach. Ng, who placed third in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke at the ECC Championship meet, is one of the top returning swimmers in the league.

Waterford

Coach: Brett Arnold (18th season).

Key returnees: Sr. Clancy Susi, Sr. Logan Bowdish, Sr. Matt Driscoll, Sr. Thomas Emery, Sr. Griffin LaMarche, So. Jason Blain, So. Bryce Dorunda, So. Sebastian Zegarra, So. Kody Dow, So. Connor Elci.

Top newcomers: Fr. Dan Estrin, Fr. T.J. Ward.

Outlook: The Lancers have a wonderful mix of experience and youth and Arnold said he will use the month of December to prepare for ECC competition which begins in January. "Although our team is relatively a group of new swimmers and divers," Arnold said, "the chemistry of this group is what you would want with your team." Waterford also has swimmers from Montville (LaMarche, Vicky Chen) and St. Bernard (Ward) training it.