Profiles in Excellence

PROFILES IN EXCELLENCE: 2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Boston College team shirt

Morning practice at Fresno State Photo: Jeanne Fleck

Bente Heller looks in disbelief. She was shocked to see she became the first NCAA champ in school history. Photo: Scott Lemley

Chacour Koop from EIU. Photo; Sandy King, EIU Sport Information Dept.

Brandon Intrieri , Allegheny College Photo: Amelia Armstrong

Harvard Women’s Swimming team

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Welcome to the 2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors. This publication exists to showcase the great stories of the most recent collegiate swimming and diving season.

Given the effort required to be successful in our sport, it is important that this body of work accurately represent those exceptional efforts by the athletes as well as all involved. Like any previous season, there is much to cover as it was an eventful year in our sport.

This publication, now in its fourth year, will continue to get better with each successive attempt. One staple is to include writers from the aquatic profession to provide their own perspective on what happened in and around the water this season. And as Front Cover; Tom Shields, California. (Tim we go forward, a constant Binning/TheSwimPictures.com.) objective will be to further Above; Bubble rings created by Nova increase participation and Southeastern swimmer (submitted by Coach expand coverage to make Hollie Bonwit-Cron) this the most complete Center; :40.76 by Vlad Morozov, USC, (Tim Binning/TheSwimPictures.com.) documentation possible.

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Please consider this your invitation to contribute to the next publication in 2013-14.

We welcome your content and will be happy to include you in the process. In closing, feel very free to provide your comments, ideas, and suggestions.

Go Swimming & Diving!

Bill Roberts, editor

Table of Contents Introduction

2012-13 Honorees Voting Comparison more Author profiles Noteworthy

4-5 6-47 48-53 55-56 57

to learn more, visit www.collegeswimmingawards.com

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Introduction:A Medley of Ideas Taking nothing for granted: Some brief thoughts on the 2012-13 collegiate season.

A significant administrative change was implemented in 2013 with respect to how the NCAA championship field is determined.

For the women, the field of competitors went from 30 or 31 per individual event to 38 from 2012 to 2013. For the men, the number increased from 17 or 18 to 29.

Twelve female and thirty-four male scorers in 2013 would not have even made the meet in 2012. Matt Barber (Arizona) & David Szele (UNLV) both were the 29th and last entrant in the 200 freestyle and 100 breaststroke respectively. Both were able to make the most of the opportunity to earn a second swim at NCAAs. For the women, one program that achieved this trick on multiple occasions was UNC. Tar Heel swimmer Danielle Siverling worked her way into the top eight of the 400IM from the 44th position on the psych sheet.

Another significant change to the way of business is the ongoing conference realignment which made it’s way into swimming and diving.

Most prominent in 2012-13 was the addition up and comer Missouri and perennial national power Texas A&M to the already jam-packed SEC. West Virginia competed in their first BigXII championship with many more moves set to take place in 2014.

Keeping the focus on the student-athlete.

As already mentioned, the College Swimming and Diving

Honors is now in the fourth year of existence. One constant objective is to grow the document at pace that provides a quality annual publication that can be enjoyed by all. To do so this year, the plan is to continue to keep the focus on the writing and the imagery. In terms of writing, in addition to several coaches and professionals who contribute, we have increased the amount of content that provides an athlete’s perspective. This year, we are honored to include work by four current student athletes; Erin Fuss (Nevada), Rachel Flinn and Syd Lindblom (Kenyon) & Alyssa Swanson (Denison.) Rachel, Syd and Alyssa are members of two storied Division III programs who share their Denison-Kenyon dual meet experience. Alyssa Swanson, a senior captain provides a first-hand account of the day including the pivotal moments of the contest.

(Note: Alyssa was integral in the team’s win that day which included securing the first win of the day for her team.)

A category returns in 2013.

Though not a voting category, we included and want to recognize the most impressive nominated walk on athletes. In speaking with coaches, you soon learn that definition of the term walk-on will differ by person. In this case, we make an attempt to focus on the non-recruited walk on athlete. Returning writer Josh Huger (SwimUtopia & IUP Swimming) will introduce two determined studentathletes who made the most of their time in the water & on the boards as

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collegiate athletes. This type of story never gets old as we are happy to present JHU swimmer Dylan Coggin and Pepperdine diver Klaire Korver.

A thousand words many times over.

Actual imagery and photos always make for better story telling.

Once again, it is a pleasure and an honor to include the photography of Tim Binning. You may recognize his name as his work provides much of the photo content for SwimSwam. In addition, Tim Binning’s work is available for viewing on his website, TheSwimPictures.com. Though the act of taking a photo is made easier with technology in the 21st century, it still take a ton of skill and experience to capture a telling image which is evident in each Tim Binning photograph.

Imagine Excellence I cannot say enough good things about the work of Casey Barrett.

Through the school of swimming known as Imagine Swimming, Casey is integrally involved in teaching swimming in New York City. In addition, he covers important swimming and diving issues which can be viewed on his website, http:// capandgoggles.com/ His range of topics as well has his ability to effectively convert thoughts into words makes him one of the best in my opinion. In honor of Michigan’s tremendous season in 2012-13, we are including Casey’s piece on that program in the Impact section later within this publication.

Continued on next page.....

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Introduction continued....

Props go out to everyone whose name and/or program appear in this year’s publication. This year more than ever there are multiple athletes and teams who are deserving of even more credit. In doing the research this year, I became intrigued by the number of first-time NCAA qualifiers late in their athletic careers. As we know, this determination to pursue an always uncertain outcome (in this case of making the meet) is one of the most valuable lessons of the sport. Each athlete/team in the honorable mention pages have a very compelling story which I wish we had the time and resources to cover.

How can you not enjoy seeing someone going from not being at the meet in 2012 to winning an event in 2013 as Drew teDuits of Whitney HIte’s Wisconsin Badgers did in the 200 Backstroke back in March. (see Honorable Mention-Male Break Out Athletes.)

More athletes doing great things.

Reigel

HS

Fresh

Awesome job goes out to senior Daniel Kanoor (Indiana) in getting to his first NCAA meet this year (pictured below.) Similarly and on the women’s side, UCLA’s Andrea Reigel made her first and only NCAA meet last March. Neither took in enough votes to appear in the honorable mention page. However, each of their progressions are too impressive not

to mention. Others names with similar rates of improvement include Zach Holmes (Ohio State) & Carly Tanner (UNCW.) Job well done to say the very least!

Breaking Out One of the most difficult assignments is that of break out Soph

Junior

Senior

Imp

200 IM

2:04.54

2:05.15

2:02.29

1:59.05

1:57.31

:07.23

400IM

4:25.56

not listed

4:23.95

4:16.83

4:10.51

:15.05

200 Back

2:01.57

1:57.50

1:57.57

1:56.33

1:56.46

:05.11

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athlete. In the case for this year, there were numerous people who had a break out seasons. The two profiled in this publication and as voted for are two you cannot say enough about. Their performances will be talked about for years (or at least until until next year as we are fortunate enough) to get to witness more from each athlete.) Returning guest writer and Coach Damion Dennis (West Virginia) re-tells the story about the performances of Kevin Cordes and Liz Pelton.

Both lived up to high expectations and were nothing short of blazing fast back in March.

Masters of the other side of delegation.

Similar to the athletes, assistant coaches do a lot as we could dedicate an entire publication towards the many superb righthand men and women in our sport. Amy Finn (Lake Forest College) writes about two exceptional people who also serve as assistant coaches ....at least for the time being.

Three assistant coaches listed in 2012 publication coincidentally are now head coaches; Carol Capitani (Texas)Ted Knapp (Stanford), Greg Meehan (Stanford.)

Andrea Reigel, UCLA ’13 ....dropped a ton of time to make first NCAA meet in 2013 ....Just missed swimming at night in 400 IM...by .01

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Walk On Athletes

Katie Boland, JR Columbia University

Sarah Burris, SR Pepperdine

Zack Doherty, SR Dartmouth College

“And Your Top Qualifiers�

Also nominated and very worthy of national recognition, these programs made the top 8 for their overall outstanding achievements in 2012-13.

Katie Fago, FR Mary Washington

Jake Roberts, FR Eastern Illinois

Nikki Longland, JR University of Nevada

Vance Solseth, FR Mary Washington 6

Some notes about the recognized walk on athletes....

This section is dedicated for the athlete who was told during recruitment that they would have to try out for the team as a walk on swimmer or diver. Also included are the athletes who simply arrive on campus unknown to the coach who make the team as a walk on as well.

We have elected to not include the person who was recruited, was offered a spot on the team yet no financial assistance.

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Female Walk On Athlete

KlairE korver From starting her high school’s first diving team her senior year at Pinewood School to winning the 2013 College Swimming and Diving Honors award for Walk on Diver, Pepperdine University’s Klaire Korver has had a remarkable four years.

With such significant achievements on her resume before she even began her college career, it is no wonder Pepperdine’s Head Coach Nick Rodionoff immediately knew Korver was going to be a special student-athlete.

“The first day I met her we made an instant connection,” said Rodionoff. “She is very coachable. It started out great and just kept getting better.”

by Josh Huger

During her freshman season, Korver was a Pepperdine ScholarAthlete, placing 11th on the 3-meter and 14th on the 1-meter at the Pacific Collegiate Swimming & Diving Conference Championships. These were noteworthy finishes considering Korver was relatively new to the sport of diving. These successes motivated Korver to strive for more.

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“Knowing that it’s not going to be easy to reach your goals and learning how to relish in the process to attain them have been key points for me,” stated Korver. “It’s easier to be physically and mentally lazy whether it’s learning a new dive, lifting in the weight room, rehabbing injuries, studying for a test, or deciding what to get at the grocery store; however, continued on page 9.....

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Male Walk On Athlete DYlan COggin

by Josh Huger Sometimes an athlete can find his or herself with an opportunity that many people will never have in their lifetime. When the opportunity presents itself, the athlete can choose to either take it for granted or make the most of it. In the case of Johns Hopkins University’s Dylan Coggin, he chose the latter.

In the spring of 2009, Coggin, then a high school senior, came

making the conference team, Coggin steadily improved his times and decided he wanted to get more out of the sport. This desire caused him to make a radical change “I started hitting the weights hard (and smart) during my junior and senior year and felt that my increased strength/bodyweight ratio certainly correlated to time into JHU Head Coach George drops,” said Coggin. “Work ethicKennedy’s office with top times that wise, I always tried to be the first didn’t turn too many heads and told one in the weight room and I was him he wanted to swim. Instead of certainly the last one out. If I wasn’t turning him away, Coach Kennedy drenched head to toe and sore saw potential in the young everywhere from the neck down, I swimmer and gave him a chance. wasn’t satisfied” As a freshman, Coggin did not continued on next page..... make the Blue Jays’ scoring conference team. Despite not

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2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Walk On Athletes continued Klaire Korver continued......

the patience and discipline to strive for my highest potential are what have helped me the most.”

Korver’s patience and discipline allowed her to once again achieve Scholar-Athlete distinctions during her sophomore season. As a junior she continued to improve; earning Pepperdine Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, PCSC All-Academic team honors and PCSC All-Conference awards in the 3-meter.

Korver’s senior year proved to be the exclamation point to an already extremely successful collegiate career. During the 2013 Pacific Collegiate Swimming & Diving Conference Championships she was selected as the PCSC Division I Diver of the meet and ...continued from previous page

Coggin’s change and new attitude was immediately noticed

by Coach Kennedy.

“He became a student of the sport and he worked extensively on becoming a great swimmer by understanding that it was up to him to make the changes to improve,” stated Kennedy. “He took this attitude to our whole team and his leadership has been unparalleled.”

As a senior Coggin went 20.29 in the 50fr, 44.28 in the 100fr and split a 1:36.87 in the 200fr, which was the fastest time at DIII NCAAs. His impressive performances helped lead Hopkins to a fourth place finish at the 2013 NCAA

was named to the PCSC Allhonor and privilege, and I’ll never Conference team in the 1-Meter be able to thank them enough. Go and 3-meter springboard events. waves.”

While reflecting upon her time at Pepperdine, Korver attributes her success to her coaches and their constant encouragement.

“Nick and Carrie Rodionoff are not just coaches; they are family,” she said. “They taught me everything that I know about diving (I started the sport when I came to Pepperdine); however, they taught me many more things off the boards rather than on them. Their love for my team is contagious, and the combination of their neverending encouragement and high standards creates an atmosphere that compels both athletic and personal growth. Competing for Nick and Carrie has been a true Swimming and Diving Championships.

Looking back on his career, Coggin credits his team and coaching staff for his success.

“First and foremost I’d like to thank George Kennedy for seeing my potential and giving me the chance to walk on at Hopkins,” said Coggin. “He gave me the sets and support I needed to go 20.2 (19.5r)/44.2/1:38.2 (1:36.8r). He’s seen a lot of success and it’s no surprise that he was voted into our Athletic Hall of Fame earlier this year. He’s not only made us better swimmers, but better people- a sign of a great coach.”

“Our Coaching staff has given me everything I need to succeed,” added Coggin. “I don’t even know

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where to begin. I’d just like to thank them.”

Upon leaving John Hopkins University, Coggin will take with him three school records, numerous top-10 program times, and the honor of being named the 2013 College Swimming and Diving Honors Walk on Male Swimmer.

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Female Break Out Athlete

Big time drops in 2013, 800 Free Relay champs

Anastasia Bogdanovski, Johns Hopkins, SO

Amazing first season; SEC champ in 50 Free

Faith Johnson, FR Tennessee

D3 All American in multiple events

Amber Kerico, JR Mary Washington

“And Your Top Qualifiers�

Also nominated and very worthy of national recognition, these programs made the top 8 for their overall outstanding achievements in 2012-13.

Broke 22 barrier in 50 FR

set multiple Ivy records

Ivy Martin, SO Wisconsin

Katie Meili, SR Columbia University

D3 Champion: 100 Back

NCAA Champion:200 BR

Best times of season came at NCAAs

Celia Oberholzer, SO Kenyon

Laura Sogar, SR Texas 10 10

Kelsi Worrell, FR Louisville

Female Break Out Athlete Liz Pelton

by Damion Dennis

Tim Binning/Theswimpictures.com

The University of California women’s swimming team has long been an All-Star team of talent.

Coughlin, Cope, Jensen, Hardy, Vollmer and Leverenz are just a few of the greats to don the Golden Bears’ swim cap, making an impact on the college swimming landscape.

Freshman Liz Pelton may have had the best start to a collegiate career as any before her.

Liz has long been a household name in the swimming community.

This National Team member has dominated meets all over the world EXCEPT the NCAA Championships.

That is, until this year. The Cal freshman is multi-talented and competed in a wide range of events.

Throughout the season she raced in

11 different events, from the 50 free to the 400 IM. In some meets her workload was more reminiscent of a mid-week practice, swimming in multiple events with the extras being exhibition. From the outside it looked like Head Coach Teri McKeever was looking for the perfect alignment of her troops for an all-out assault on the collegiate landscape in March.

March was her month. Liz’s first Conference Championships was full of surprises. She won the 200 IM and 200 back, with her 200 back time of 1:48.39 breaking the American Record and being only .05 off of the NCAA record. Just as surprising as her time in the 200 back was her race in the 200 free. She finished 12th with a time that didn’t see a drop like her

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other events did, which left many people scratching their heads and wondering what happened. However, her domination in the IM and back, along with the new record, still earned her the title of PAC 12 Swimmer of the Meet.

In Indianapolis, Liz was quietly holding court and everyone else was a witness. The freshman had one of her best meets of the year. On Thursday Liz swam the 200 IM. Like a champion chess player, Teri knew the 200 IM was the right move. Liz raced to a 2nd place finish behind teammate Caitlin Leverenz for a 1-2 Cal finish.

Friday brought the 200 free, a starstudded event filled with NCAA Champions and Olympic Medalists. continued on page 14.....

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Male Break Out Athlete

D3 National record holder: 400 IM

Alex Anderson, SO Mary Washington

UMBC’s first ever NCAA qualifier

Mohamed Hussein, JR UMBC

Made 1st NCAA meet in 2013: 200 Fly

David Jakl, SO Columbia University

“And Your Top Qualifiers”

Made 1st NCAA meet in 2013: 200 Fly

Also nominated and very worthy of national recognition, these programs made the top 8 for their overall outstanding achievements in 2012-13.

Colin McGill, JR Eastern Illinois

2013 NCAA: made top eight in three events

Cody Miller, JR Indiana NCAA Champion: 200 BK

All American: 200 BR

Andrew teDuits, SO Wisconsin

Nejc Zupan, JR Dartmouth

Redefining Speed!

Vlad Morozov, JR Southern California

NCAA 12

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Male Break Out Athlete Kevin Cordes

by Damion Dennis

Tim Binning/Theswimpictures.com

There are several individual words that describe the year he has had in the pool. Some may say “Wow” or “Awesome” or even “Dominate.” Eric Hansen, Head Coach of the Arizona Wildcats, might choose “Breakthrough.”

This college sophomore had a year for the record books, a year that catapulted him to the best breaststroker in collegiate history.

A freshman year that saw Kevin grow as an athlete and end as National Champion in the 100 breast and 4-time All American was just the beginning of something great. It is only fitting that Kevin’s sophomore season was destined to have high NCAA 13

expectations and BIG goals.

Working very closely with Eric and the Who’s Who of breaststroke groups, Kevin experimented with his stroke, stroke counts, hypoxic training and the balance between being tired and well trained. After posting some exciting sub-54s and -2:03s during the early season meets, it was time for all of his efforts to pay off. And pay off they did! Posting AMAZING times and breaking the American record in the 200 Breast, Kevin went from being the NCAA favorite in the 100 breaststroke to opening up discussions about what he was capable of doing in both breaststrokes. continued on page 14.....

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Break Out Athletes continued Liz Pelton continued......

After an average PAC 12 time, it looked like it was going to be someone else’s party and Liz was simply invited. But Liz didn’t see it that way. She raced to a 2nd place finish, again narrowly missing a title.

Saturday would be the day the light really went on, though, and you could see everyone nodding in agreement, “Yes, she had a great meet.” It was 200 back day.

Racing to an NCAA record in prelims by nearly 2 seconds, it was just a sign of things to come. In finals, the pool deck was more crammed and packed for the 200 back final than any event during the meet. With a prelim time of 1:49.62, swimmers, coaches and fans alike were excited to see if she could repeat her Pac 12 success.

With a field filled with NCAA Champions and Olympians, Liz ...Kevin Cordes continued

March brought the Championship season, and Indy was the perfect setting. The House of Champions has a rich tradition of swimming history and is THE ideal place for swimmers to become legends.

During the sessions, the deck buzzed with whispers of fable-like times. When it was finally race time, everything became quiet and seemed to be in slow motion.

Kevin swam with speed and grace, looking at ease. With each stroke, the anticipation rose. At each 50, all eyes stared at the scoreboard as they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. We all knew we were witnessing something special, very

showed that competitive confidence and swagger. She dominated the event, lowering her time to 1:47.84, setting the American, US Open and NCAA records. This was easily the race of the meet. While other swimmers and teams were the story of the session or even the day, Liz became the storyline of the meet, winning NCAA Swimmer of the Year.

As an athlete, there is just something about Liz. She has a swagger. She has an air of confidence. She looks like a competitor who means business. In the month of March she was all business, establishing herself among the Greats of Berkeley.

To summarize her freshman year: During the regular season, roughly 70% of the time you could count on her to win her events. In other instances she would have won the

special. In the end, Kevin set 2 NCAA Records, won 3 National Championships and was named NCAA Swimmer of the Year. Times of 50.74 and 1:48.68 and a 49.56 split shattered the previous marks.

Not too bad for a quiet kid with a great work ethic and positive attitude. Even more impressive is that he feels he hasn’t achieved anything yet. Kevin Cordes is the 2012-2013 Male Breakout Athlete.

event but was listed exhibition. She was undefeated in the 200 back and 400 IM. The 50 free and the 200 fly are the only events she didn’t win.

UCLA was the only dual meet where she didn’t record an individual win.

During the Championship season, .71 of a second kept her from being a 3-time National Champion.

She had 5 events (100 free, 200 free, 100 back, 200 back, 200 IM) that ranked in the Top 5 at NCAAs. Her time in the 100 free would have placed 4th, the 200 free was 2nd, the 100 back would have placed 2nd, she won the 200 back, and the 200 IM was 2nd. Her 400 IM would have placed at the NCAA Championships as well.

She was PAC 12 Swimmer of the Meet and NCAA Swimmer of the Year. It’s hard to argue that Liz Pelton should not be the Female Breakout Athlete of 2012-2013.

Kevin Cordes: records at 2013 NCAA Championships 100 Breaststroke Prelims

:50.93 AR 100 Breaststoke - Finals

:50.74* 200 Breaststroke-Prelims

1:49.79* 200 Breaststroke-Finals

1:48.68* *Indicates all records NCAA 14

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Female Career Improvement

NCAA Champion in both 500 & 1650 in 2013

Back to back 500 Free championships.

Haley Anderson, SR Southern California

Erin Black, SR Nova Southeastern

Big XII Champion & Record Holder in 500

Rachael Burnett, SR West Virginia

“And Your Top Qualifiers”

School’s First Ever Swimming All American

Also nominated and very worthy of national recognition, these programs made the top 8 for their overall outstanding achievements in 2012-13.

Devin Lessard, SR Susquehanna

Consecutive NCAA titles in 200 IM

Caitlin Leverenz, SR California

First Time NCAA qualifier in Senior year

100 Fly ACC Record Holder again in 2013

First Time NCAA qualifier in Senior year

Mallory Morrell, SR Buffalo

Jacqueline Rudolph, SR

North Carolina 15

Heather Savage, SR Virginia Tech

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Female Career Improvement Katie Meili

by Woody Woodard

Tim Binning/Theswimpictures.com

Sitting down over a cup of coffee at a Minneapolis Starbuck’s, Columbia coach Diana Caskey realized in a moment that she had a budding star across the table from her. Katie Meili was about to begin a journey, from DI prospect “with potential,” to Ivy League Champion and NCAA All-American.

A solid Junior National swimmer, Katie attracted some attention, but landing at Columbia

seemed predestined. Katie said during a visit in her junior year of high school, she knew she belonged there. Her clear-eyed determination is exactly what Coach Caskey needed. Caskey reflects, “she never had her mom wake her up for morning practices in high school, she woke her mom up…every day.”

Katie proved a determined young

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lady and consummate team player.

Her natural stroke technique made her development all the easier.

Motivation and talent were key, but it was her resiliency, according to assistant Coach Michael Sabala, that set her apart from other athletes. At Ivy League Championships during Katie’s sophomore year, she tasted her first major success with an individual title in the 200 IM. The very next day, in the 400 IM (an event in which she was seeded first overall), she failed to make the finals and just squeaked into consols in 16th place. Katie processed the disappointment of the performance and rose to the occasion as she rebounded that evening with a ninth place finish.....

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Katie Meili continued continued from previous page. ...and made finals in her remaining event. Sabala calls it Meili’s ability to hit the reset button. It was a turning point in her career. Katie swore to herself that situation would never happen again, and in the coming months she would add school record holder, Ivy League record holder and 2012 NCAA finalist to her resume.

Challenges and setbacks; building blocks for becoming a great athlete.

She seemed poised for a breakout season in her senior year, when three weeks out from Olympic Trials, she caught her pinky finger in another swimmer’s dragsuit at the Santa Clara Grand Prix. She had fractured her hand. She opted for immediate surgery with the hopes that she could compete at Trials. She did, and while her results were not spectacular, her resolve was stronger than ever. Katie tore through the Ivy League in her senior season, setting records again and receiving an invite to Indianapolis.

She returned to NCAA’s a seasoned veteran, if not still an underdog.

Tim Binning/Theswimpictures.com

A return trip to the NCAA meet in 2013.

As the 2013 Ivy League Championships Swimmer of the Meet, Katie was deserving of respect; however, that meant very little when the race began. Katie, a gracious and unassuming girl, raced against some of the titans of the NCAA. On day one, she scored for the first time in the 200 IM finals with a best time and a seventh place finish overall. Since becoming the first female Columbia swimmer since 2000 to score at NCAAs one year earlier, Katie Meili was making the case for her place in Columbia swimming and diving history.

Prepping for day two and her best event. The stage was set for the 100 Breaststroke the following day. Katie swam an incredible 59.14 with a strong back 50 at night holding onto a third place finish behind Texas A & M’s Olympian Breeja Larson and USC rising star Kasey Carlson. She didn’t stop there as she racked up a ninth place in the 200 Breast on Saturday and put her team in sole possession of 21st place. Katie emerged from the

pool that evening and was greeted by smiling coaches and teammates and said, “a sense of peace came over me as I had accomplished everything I had hoped for as a college athlete.”

Describing the meaning of her athletic participation.

In all, Katie dropped over 27 seconds in her three primary events during her college career; a remarkable accomplishment. But when asked about what was important, it’s not what Katie “dropped,” but rather what she “gained” that really mattered most. “I gained a family. Columbia and it’s people both welcomed me and challenged me. I’m really lucky to have had this experience.” The rest of us are lucky that Katie has decided to continue swimming—her best swims are likely still ahead of her.

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Male Career Improvement 4th at NCAAs in the 100 Free with a :42.40

From walk-on in ’09 to JHU’s top sprinter

Swept both boards at conference meet in 2013

Dylan Coggin, SR Johns Hopkins

Andrew Eckhoff, SR UMBC, Diving

“And Your Top Qualifiers”

200 Back: 1:50.94 to 1:42.34

Also nominated and very worthy of national recognition, these programs made the top 8 for their overall outstanding achievements in 2012-13.

Tom Shields, SR California

Did not make NCAAs as a freshman. A top NCAA scorer in 2013.

NCAA Champion in both 500 & 1650 in 2013

Zach McGinnis, SR VIrginia Tech

Ties American Record in final individual swim

Dax Hill, SR Texas

Miguel Ortiz, SR Michigan

Amazing time drops to become a D3 force.

Wyatt Ubellacker, SR MIT 18

Not at NCAA meet as FR & SO.

Michael Weiss, SR Wisconsin

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Male Career Improvement Zack Turk

by Woody Woodard

Tim Binning/Theswimpictures.com

Looking out a window at Georgetown Law School, the last five years must seem like a dream. Except that Zack Turk worked every day to make this dream a reality.

How many athletes have improved in every event, in every season? How many athletes have been members of the Argentinian National Team or served as an intern at a US foreign Embassy? How many athletes can lay

kept Zach right in the heart of Ohio, as he accepted an offer to swim for legendary Coach Jim Steen and the Kenyon Lords. “I wasn’t sure I would swim more than one year in college,” said Zack, “but Coach Steen was always so motivating, and innovative and supportive. I just couldn’t walk away.” continued on page 20.....

claim to being a champion at both the DIII and DI levels? All of those accomplishments and attributes, place Zack in some exclusive company.

It began at St. Edwards High School in Ohio, where the sprinter who had never broken the :21 second barrier had hopes of swimming DI. But a last minute change of heart,

19

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Zack Turk continued The further influence of Coach Jim Steen at Kenyon.

Zack racked up accomplishments left and right as he won several individual titles and two NCAA DIII Team Championships.. With Coach Steen’s support, Zack jumped at the opportunity to work and study abroad in Spain and Argentina during his junior year, an experience he said that brought balance to his life. He returned for his senior year and picked right up where he left off. After an accomplished swimming career and a bright future in public policy looming, Zack could have easily walked away from the sport and concentrated on the next stage in his life. He said that never occurred to him. He wanted another season. Coach Steen intervened again and called Coach Mike Bottom at Michigan.

Understanding new challenges.

Zack was seeking enrollment in Michigan’s prestigious Ford School of Public Policy, with an opportunity to swim one more year. Coach Bottom was happy to give Zack an opportunity at the next level.

Michigan assistant Coach Mike Hill

said that Zack made the transition from small DIII college to a large DI public university appear seamless.

“He accepted that he would be challenged more regularly by his teammates during workouts and he didn’t shy away from it.”

First dual meet as a Wolverine.

Zack remembers it being a bit more difficult. In his first meet as part of the team he faced-off against Texas and recalls the butterflies in his stomach as he competed against guys that he had only read about. A deep breath and a quick he remembered that his opponents were just like any other swimmers that he had squared-off against.

New Division. Similar result.

That attitude and confidence has served him well, as Zack was instrumental in helping Michigan bring back its’ first NCAA Men’s title in decades. Zack served notice in his first race with an :18.45 split to anchor the 200 Medley Relay and grab Michigan’s first title of the meet. He continued to roll with a 2nd place in the 400 Free Relay (:42.16), 3rd place

in the 200 Free Relay, and 11th and 14th place finishes in the 50 and 100 Free events, respectively.

“The journey is what I’ll remember, not so much the wins.”

Bottom has been quoted as saying that Zack’s ability to use lessons learned inside the athletic arena to improve his life outside make him a “great living lesson among the guys.” Zack admittedly replies that his favorite moment in swimming is not any individual accomplishment, but rather the whole thing. “The journey is what I’ll remember, not so much the wins. I’m appreciative to all my coaches and teammates for helping me along the way.”

It would seem that whatever life holds in store for Zack, any person, community or business would be lucky to have Zack on their team. He just wins.

“He worries about doing well, but he doesn’t worry about whether his stroke is working or not. Zack’s assets fit well for a coach and team that is not necessarily expecting perfection ... but simply in the business of having a good time!”

Coaching legend Jim Steen

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Diving Career Improvement Kelly Hendricks

by Erin Fuss

Walt MIddleton Photography

Four years ago, long before her time competing at the World Championship Trials, or even the NCAA National Championships, Kelly Hendricks made her debut on the pool deck at Eastern Michigan University (EMU). Little did she know what great things would come of it.

Diving at EMU was the first time Hendricks focused solely on the sport. Besides diving, Hendricks also competed in track and field and gymnastics. When she came to EMU, she spent her freshman year behind many of her peers “Coming to college, I really had no idea of the basics,” Hendricks said. “I didn’t know the same basic skills everyone else did. I struggled

with even simple moves off the 3meter and 1-meter.”

Despite this learning curve, Hendricks progressed quickly through the ranks. She was described as a natural, and gives credit to her maturity, competitiveness and her coach, Loren “Buck” Smith to her success.

Smith saw the potential in Hendricks,

21

and through the years the duo worked to best maximize this.

“When she first walked on deck, I remember her being really athletic,” Smith said. “But she didn’t know the basics, she didn’t even know how to hold her hands right. Despite that she was one of the quickest learners I ever had. She was quite the natural.”

As Hendricks developed more as an athlete, she quickly shot through the ranks of elite divers. Through her competitive drive and extreme focus on honing her skills, she became one to watch. At her first national meet, it became clear to her coach that Hendricks had a talent that exceeded many others. continued on next page....

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Kelly Hendricks continued continued from previous page...

“I took her to her first senior national meet in 2010 or maybe it was 2011, what I noticed, is this girl didn’t get nervous or intimidated by anyone, ever,” Smith said. “She was not rattled by the high level of competition. That is when I knew she had something special.”

In her junior and senior year, Hendricks continued to shock many, including herself. Qualifying for the NCAA national championships was a huge step in her career. Placing third at the NCAA National Championships the following year, an even bigger one. Competing at the World Championship Trials in May was a capstone for her career, a sort of reward for four years of hard work and dedication.

“Going to worlds after NCAA this year was a really exciting experience,” Hendricks said. “The meet is really relaxed, and most of the girls you’ve already seen. Its

Hendricks

more of a friend experience so it was a good finish to my career.”

Hendricks rise to becoming an elite diver was a road that wouldn’t be possible without her teammates and coach, Loren “Buck” Smith.

Her favorite experiences in her collegiate career have all been with them by her side, most notably during her senior year training trip in Hawaii. She encourages others to find what they love in life, and to follow it with the same enthusiasm she had done with diving.

“Figure out what you want, and don’t waste anytime with anything that may take away from that,” Hendricks said. “That’s what really made me successful. I knew I wanted to be a great diver, so I put the work in.”

practicing her Spanish speaking abilities. Later on in her future, she would like to pursue a career in Marine Biology, working for a nonprofit promoting a healthier marine environment. Her coach has no doubt she will achieve anything she wants to.

“Kelly is a remarkable individual,” Smith said. “She’s a reserved individual. . .but you can tell when she’s working on something. She focuses with such precision you know good things are going to happen.”

Erin Fuss just completed her freshman year at the University of Nevada. Erin, a journalism major, is a member of the varsity swim team under Coach Abby Steketee.

Having finished her four years of eligibility, Hendricks plans on pursuing interests outside of the pool. Currently, she is preparing for her trip to Spain this summer by

HS

Fresh

Soph

Junior

Senior

1m Dive

260.60 AAU Champs

218.20 32nd Zone C

272.65 11th Zone C

281.20 22nd-NCAA

315.50 11th-NCAA

3m Dive

n/a

233.95 33rd Zone C

280.60 12th Zone C

280.35 28th-NCAA

360.30, 3rd-NCAA

Platform

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

Kelly Hendricks, Eastern Michigan, DIVING. Zone qualifier in 2010 & 2011.

Coach Loren “Buck” Smith. High scores at championship meet listed. http://www.emueagles.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=4392&path=wswim 22

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Female Break Out Team

From 8th to 3rd in the MAC in one year.

A historic dual meet win & 21st at NCAA meet

Bowling Green Coach Petra Martin

Columbia University Coach Diana Caskey

Jaguars conitue their climb to the Summit

IUPUI Coach Matt Bos

“And Your Top Qualifiers�

11 JHU records, 800 Relay title & 5th as team

Also nominated and very worthy of national recognition, these programs made the top 8 for their overall outstanding achievements in 2012-13.

Johns Hopkins

Moving up at NCAA meet in 2013

Mary Washington Coach Abby Brethauer

Coach George Kennedy

Solid move into top 10 at 2013 NCAA meet

Strong showing to place 3rd at CAA meet

Highest NCAA point total in school history

Wheaton College (IL)

William & Mary Coach Matt Crispino

Wingate University Coach Kirk Sanocki

Coach Jon Lederhouse

23

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Female Break Out Team Tennessee

Tim Binning/Theswimpictures.com

One year ago, Tennessee was selected as the break out team.

Reasons included; competing against the number one and two teams in the land on consecutive weekends. (The Lady Vols would notch a historic win for the program against then #2 Florida.) Next, the Lady Vols climbed from fourth to second at the 2012 SEC meet while earning several major meet awards. And at the 2012 NCAA meet, this team established themselves as a bonafide top ten program in finishing seventh overall.

For a follow up, it appears that Tennessee viewed 2011-12 as one step in the journey. In dual meet action, they were 8-1 including a convincing win over #1 Georgia. They did drop back to fourth at the SEC

meet. Though it is worth noting that this year’s roster was arguably less experienced (13 out of 22 were either FR of SO.) Youth coupled with the graduation of the class of 2012 including powerhouse swimmer Jenny Connelly plus conference expansion all have an effect. That said, there is still plenty of evidence that a fourth place showing in the conference was not a step backwards.

24

One of the most interesting occurrences in swimming & diving and all sports for that matter is when a team finishes higher at the NCAA level versus the conference level.

This is what Tennessee was able to accomplish in 2013 in placing third at the NCAA meet. Their presence at Indianapolis was immediate as a huge first day of competition placed them in second and within striking distance of first place. They won both the 200 Free and 400 Medley Relays; a feat they were not able to accomplish at the SEC meet.

With momentum, the Lady Vols made it three straight relays with a strong win in the 200 medley relay on day two of competition. continued on next page......

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Tennessee continued The one difference is that they did win this relay at the SEC meet. This is a relay will be one to watch as three of the four will be back in 2013-14. The other event that was significant was diving. For the second night in a row, two Lady Vol divers would place in the top eight. Junior Tori Lamp would go onto place second in platform diving on Saturday night as well. Tennessee diving would contribute 72 points to the team’s third place finish. For their incredible effort and performances, Coach Dave Parrington was named National Diving Coach of the Year while Lamp took Diver of the Year. (note: See Coach Parrington interview beginning on page 37.)

What sets this program apart?

Tennessee is one of those programs that you just expect to be a presence on the national level.

Whether it be from conference affiliation, history of the program, coaches, athletes, etc, Tennessee is a consistent participant at the end of each collegiate season.

Though many programs share a similar presence on the national level, not all share their ability execute and

perform so consistently well come the second semester of any collegiate season. So what is it that makes the Tennessee program special?

Assistant coach Ashley Jahn feels that there are many parts to this equation of success though is quick to point out that, “our head coach, Matt Kredich, has created an incredible learning environment at Tennessee.

Our athletes are constantly challenged to be engaged in their development as athletes and as people. No two athletes are the same. They learn differently. They view success, failure, swimming and life in different ways.

This environment encourages them to use their strengths and to keep improving their weaknesses. It’s not just about swimming.”

As we know, at the epicenter of the equation for athletic success involves both coach and studentathlete. “The next part is our athletes.

They make it special. Each one has goals unique to them, guided by their experience and their dreams. They share a love for swimming, for Tennessee and for the team. As a team, they believe in the process of

continual improvement. If that’s part of your foundation, you can always find a way to be better and to continue to move forward. It’s hard to do that every day and so it’s essential that your teammates be actively involved in the process. They encourage you during times of strength and help carry you when you’re struggling,” says Coach Jahn.

Frank Zilch cannot be found in Knoxville.

Another insight into the inquiry is “creativity, fun and support are yet another important part of Tennessee’s success,” concludes Jahn. The bottom line on the Tennessee program is that they know how to get the job done late in the season when the stakes are highest. This does not mean the opposite is true...at all. It is just that we have seen a Coach Kredich-led program do this on multiple occasions. Many years ago, legendary Coach James Counsilman spoke of the “X factor” in coaching at a ASCA clinic. Whatever you want to call it over forty years later, that Xfactor is alive and present in Knoxville, Tennessee.

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Male Break Out Team Program’s 2nd highest ever NCAA finish in ’13

Back on top; 1st title in the new era.

Kenyon College Coach Jess Book

A top 20 NCAA finish.

University of Louisville Coach Arthur Albiero

Mary Washington Coach Abby Brethauer

“And Your Top Qualifiers”

Best NCAA finish ever for the Engineers.

Also nominated and very worthy of national recognition, these programs made the top 8 for their overall outstanding achievements in 2012-13.

Awesome all year long

MIT Sam Pitter/ Dawn Dill

University of Michigan Coach Mike Bottom

Highest NCAA finish in Coach Salo era.

Strong performances lead to 2nd place in CAA

Southern California Coach Dave Salo

William & Mary Coach Matt Crispino 26

A top 15 NCAA finish

University of Wisconsin

Coach Whitney Hite

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Male Break Out Team

by Mike Litzinger

Tim Binning/Theswimpictures.com

The old saying goes, “What a difference a year makes!” In the case of the NC State Wolfpack it should be, “What a huge difference two make!”

Head Coach Braden Holloway’s sophomore campaign at his alma mater took the ‘Pack to another level in 2013.

A top 15 finish at this year’s NCAA Championships, bolstered by strong relays and solid individual performances helped the 2013 Pack serve notice that they are back, and planning on sticking around for a long time.

Holloway’s explanation for such a huge turnaround lies in the attitude of his team, and the enthusiasm of his coaching staff.

27

“In 2012 the group was ready for something different, we put a lot of emotion into that season, and ACC’s.” recalls Holloway. While the Wolfpack got over the hump in 2012, beating rivals North Carolina and Florida State in dual meets, and registering a solid ACC performance. There still was a little something left.

2013 found NC State holding themselves to a higher standard.

Travelling to Austin, Tx to battle the Longhorns, and taking a trip to Southern California was the turning point. Holloway recognized that “During those trips, our Men decided that they really wanted more, that we can take the next step, and compete at another level.” continued on next page.....

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

North Carolina State It was after that series of meets that the Wolfpack truly started to; “Let the hunt begin.”(one of their season themes) It was then the Wolfpack began truly ramping up their belief in the program, themselves, and eager not only to be a factor at the conference level, but at the NCAA’s as well.

Another key component Coach Holloway points to is the dynamics of their coaching staff. “Our staff is high energy, we play off of each other well, and are committed to the programs goals.” This young staff of, Todd Desorbo, Gary Taylor, Mallory Houchin, and Diving Coach Josh Karshen have quite a reputation of being animated, passionate, and knowledgeable.

turned into a reason to succeed.

“When the relay arrived a dinner later that evening,” said Holloway “The rest of our Men stood in applause. It was that moment that defined our team and future performance at the meet.”

Coach Holloway was right, the Wolfpack rebounded to capture several individual titles, and a gold in the 400 Free Relay. While a 5th place finish may be the middle of the ACC, the effort and attitude the team put in was worthy of a first.

“It was that moment that defined our team and future performance at the meet.”

ACC Championships 2013 The combination of a hungry team, and a united coaching staff resulted in one of NC State’s best performances at the ACC Championships in decades. However, that result did not come by the easiest of efforts. On the first night of competition, NC State stunned the rest of the ACC by capturing gold in the 800 Free Relay, but were later DQ’d for a swimmer entering the water before the rest of the competitors were finished. What could have been a disaster, was quickly

Heading into the NCAA’s the momentum continued: a 12th place finish in the 200 Free Relay, a 10th in the 400 Medley, Miesfield finishing 7th in the 100 Fly, 9th in the 800 Free Relay, an 11th place by Boffa in the 100 Free, and a 10th in the 400 Free Relay added up to 75 points good for 15th in the nation.

Why Men’s Breakout Team 2013?

One year ago, they took one swimmer and scored zero points at the NCAA meet. Twelve months later, they scored 74 points to place in the top 15. This would be their best finish at NCAA’s since 1975, holding themselves to a higher standard, enthusiastic coaching…….

Let the hunt continue!

28

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Most Exciting Meet Women

by Alyssa Swanson November 3, 2012, Granville, OH Our dual meet with Kenyon was a pivotal moment in our season; I like to think it was one of the moments that defined the attitude and mentality of this 2012-2013 Denison Women’s Team. Every year we are faced with this head to head challenge with our long time rival and competitor. The past three years this weekend has

Photo: Gemma Rosenburg

turned into our largest mental challenge going from swimming against Ohio State Friday night and turning around to face Kenyon in the morning. For the senior class, we had never lost a dual meet to Kenyon during our time at Denison and we knew that we had to pull the team together in order to keep the streak alive. Gregg made it very clear to both Men’s and Women’s team that this was going to be a fight where every single race and person could make the difference in ultimately a win or a loss.

That early November Saturday morning, the team was ready to go, everyone knew what was at stake and that we had to bring our best swims.

To walk out on deck and see our

29

parents, friends, and professors in stands really got the atmosphere going from the start. Going into my 200 Free, I knew what I had to do. I have my race strategy engrained into my mind, easy speed for the first 125, kick it in hard for that last 75. It took me a couple of years to figure it out, but since my sophomore year at Denison that has been my trusty plan! continued on next page.....

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Most Exciting Meet Women The 200 Free was early on during the meet, by the time I stepped up behind the blocks spirits were high and I knew I had to swim my 200 well because everyone was counting on me to get the momentum going! During the first 100 of the 200, I am pretty comfortable with being slightly behind and I just tell myself to keep steady and strong, I can run these girls down by the end. Following my swim is when Kenyon started to really pour on and take a big lead, winning event after event, the meet was looking like it wasn’t going to go in our favor. We were swimming well, everyone stepped up and had solid swims, we just happened to not be quite as fast as the Kenyon frontrunners. Mentally the team knew to keep fighting, get your hand to the wall and out touch anyone that you possibly can, every swim was going to count in order for us to make this happen!

The second half of the meet is when things started to turn around in our favor, we had stronger swims and stronger events during the second half. The team was definitely tense, but everyone was sure to not watch the scoreboard and just stay invested in the races. I took the same approach to my 500 as I did for my 200, I stayed true to my strategy, soaked up the excitement from the stands and my teammates, and never let the fear of the situation cross my mind. There is nothing better than hearing your teammates calling out your name as you get ready to set up on the blocks.

I learned to back-half my 500 this year, after recovering from a back

injury last year, I started to gravitate more towards distance rather than swimming the 100 free like I did the past three years. During my 500 I kept telling myself to stay calm, keep my strokes long and strong, at the beginning just keep the other lanes in striking distance. I kick it in for a full sprint the last 75 of my 500, something that I recently developed.

During the second round of diving, each swimmer watched tentatively, knowing this was going to be a close one. I remember talking with the rest of the captains all having the opinion that we shouldn’t be counted out yet, we can still pull this together for a win.

The last couple of events is when everyone started to count the points, look at the scoreboard, and calculate what we needed to do to pull it off.

Going into the last relay, we knew we had to win it in order to win the meet.

I remember Gregg coming over and telling us who was on the final relay. When he listed off Morgan, Ashley, Molly, and I, I knew we were going to pull it off. All four of us were relay swimmers at heart, live and die for relays and always seem to manage to pull off some great splits. I was so excited, this was one of those few moments in swimming that make or break people under pressure. To step on a relay knowing you got to win it, this was very reminiscent to the men’s team final 400 free relay at NCAA’s in 2011. Walking over to the blocks, I remember almost everyone of our teammates came over to the relay swimmers telling us some final words of encouragement and faith. To hear

30

the chanting of “Big Red Relays” coming from the stands, the women’s team, and the men’s team right before stepping up on the blocks was unforgettable. The only way I can explain the race was pure excitement, these are the moments in swimming that embrace competition, rivalry, and the spirit of the sport. Winning that relay, winning the meet, watching the men’s team win the meet after the next relay, the whole natatorium was elated, I’ve never experienced quite a dual meet like this.

I think this dual meet at the beginning of the year set us up for the rest of the season.

Our team stepped up to the challenge and kept fighting throughout the meet even though it did not quite seem like the odds were in our favor.

As Gregg said to us this year, we were a great championship team and this definitely showed during the dual meet, on to a tight conference competition with Kenyon again, and to set us up a great national meet. The Kenyon meet was the building block for the team and our attitude for the rest of the season!

Alyssa Swanson (Aurora, CO), was a senior Tricaptain for the Denison Big Red in 2012-13.

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Kenyon Ladies vs. Denison Big Red

by Syd Lindblom & Rachel Flinn Walking into a new pool can be exciting and intimidating. Those emotions are only amplified when: 1) it is your rival's brand-new facility, 2) aforementioned rivals have t-shirts made proclaiming the event the "Rumble in Trumbull", and 3) they are awaiting your arrival - stretching with their customary wooden dowels. Even so the Ladies were ready and excited to compete at Denison’s new aquatic center in Fall 2012. They had had a great and challenging month of training and were feeling light and loose as they stepped on deck to Taylor Swift blasting on the loudspeaker.

The meet started off very efficiently for the Ladies. Freshmen Katie Kaestner and Haley Townsend helped carry the 200 Medley relay to a first place finish and showed that our freshmen were a forced to be reckoned with. Mariah Williamson, another freshman, continued that momentum by winning the 1000 with an impressive10:25.39. The 100 backstroke, one of the Ladies' strongest events, came next. Unfortunately the race began with an awkward false start that confused the field and forced the coaches to re-schedule the event for later in the competition. After a short break, Celia Oberholzer pulled through to win the event, followed by Rachel Flinn in 3rd and Kate Haller in 5th.

Katie Kaestner continued to prove herself as a crucial component of the team by winning the 100 breaststroke.

During the first diving competition (which lasted well over 45 minutes), the Ladies got to see their brand new diving team in action for the first time. To say that they were impressed by freshman Maria Zarka's winning performance on the 1 mtr is an understatement. And in their first ever dual meet, Megan Remillard and Emily Bulik-Sullivan also displayed how well their hard work was paying off by coming in 4th and 5th respectively. The 100 freestyle continued Kenyon's momentum as Hillary Yarosh finished in 1st with a 52.55, and Haley Townsend had an exciting race against her competition that resulted in a tie for second.

Even with Kenyon's fast start the meet was close the entire way. As a team, they began to fall behind after the 500 free, where training partners Syd Lindblom and Kiersten Bell were only able to pull in a 3rd and 4th place with their almost identical times of 5:14. However, there is no better way to get back in the game than watching Hannah Saiz do what she does best and win the 100 butterfly with a 56.91, one of the Ladies first B-cuts of the season.

After another diving competition that saw Maria Zarka come in 2nd place, the Ladies' 400 IM crew was behind the blocks and ready to go.

The meet was stretching past the 3 hour mark (an eternity for a 2-team dual meet), and many of the Ladies were ready for their final races.

However, a technical issue turned all of the lights out moments before the

31

race was supposed to begin, delaying the meet further. Rather than waiting any longer for the lights to fully turn back on, the coaches decided to swim the event in half light as the lights reset. Despite this set-back, the Ladies raced well and posted times comparable to their practices the week prior.

Everyone knew that the final relay--200 free relay--was going to be close. The Ladies and Big Red did not disappoint in finishing the meet in a race worthy of teams considered to be rivals. Although Hillary Yarosh anchored the relay with an exciting 23.93, it was not enough to catch Big Red, who out-touched them by less than a second.

The Ladies did not enter the meet expecting to win--they arrived ready to swim against their best competitors and make the meet as close as they could. And close it was; after four long hours, the meet ended up being a two point meet, 149.5 Denison to 147.5 Kenyon. Despite the loss, the Ladies were content with their performances; plus, a song and laughter filled drive to and from Denison proved how close the Ladies had become during the previous month of training. writer bios listed on page 33

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Most Exciting Meet Men

by Peter Brown February 2-3, 2013 Princeton, NJ

In case you haven't noticed, the perennially strong Ivy League swimming and diving conference has become even more nationally competitive in recent years. Strong evidence of this fact was the 2-day, 19 event February dual meet between long time Ivy rivals Harvard and Princeton. The final result, Harvard 200 - Princeton 153, could have gone either way as race after race, and dive after dive, came down to the wire. It was the kind of meet that typifies the excitement and intrigue of college swimming and diving ... an intense competition that propelled both squads into well deserved top 25 national rankings.

As Harvard assistant Kevin Tyrell

32

states, " We know we will be pushed to our limits at this meet. Our swimmers and divers love the challenge. It's a great stepping stone within our season."

Adds Princeton assistant Mitch Dalton, “The annual Harvard-YalePrinceton dual meet is a fun competition for us which invokes the tradition of a terrific rivalry " continued on next page.....

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Most Exciting Meet continued HYP continued...... .. The showdown began on Saturday evening at Princeton's Denunzio pool with a crowd pleasing 200 Free Relay. Harvard shot out to a half second advantage via Griffin Schmacher's 20.18 leadoff followed

by Oliver Lee's blazing 19.00 ... and the Crimson never looked back, touching first in an impressive 1:18.71 to the Tiger's also quick 1:19.37. The very next event (200 Free) was all that and more, with the final four finishers posting sub 138's. The winner, Princeton's Sandy Bole, held on for a .

02 victory over Harvard’s Chris Satterthwaite, 1:36.79 to 1:36.81. The stage was now set. Over the next two days, fourteen more first-place finishes would follow for the Crimson and 5 for the Tigers, each event providing captivating action.

continued from page 31....

Rachel Flinn (left) Syd Lindblom (right) & are current Kenyon athletes and swim for Coach Jess Book. Syd is a rising senior from Charlotte, NC. Rachel, a rising senior as well, is from Nashua, NH.

The Harvard-Princeton competition was a precursor of things to come. A few weeks later, at Brown University's shining new state-of-the-art facility, one of the fastest championships in Ivy League history was recorded.

Princeton, by the way, came out on top. Congratulations to all three programs for making this a special meet each season!

Coach Peter Brown is the head swimming coach at Brown University in Providence, RI. He just completed his 12th season with the Bears.

Prior to Brown, Peter was the long time men’s coach at Penn State.

other meet highlights: 200 Breaststroke - 4 competitors sub 2:00 Winner: Chuck Katis (H) 1:57.87 200 Backstroke - 4 competitors sub 1:48 Winner: Connor Maher (P) 1:44.68 200 IM - 4 competitors sub 1:49 - Chuck Katis (H) 1:47.71 over Sandy Bole - 1:48.17 1-Meter Diving - Stephen Vines (P) 332.75 over Michael Mosca (H) 330.40 400 Medley Relay - Winner: Harvard 3:14.12 over Princeton 3:14.37 100 Breaststroke - 4 competitors sub 56.

Chuck Katis (H) 54.08 over Byron Sanborn (P) 54.24 100 Butterfly- Princeton 1-2-3 finish, all sub 49. Winner : Brooks Powell 48.71 500 Free - Harvard 1-2-3 finish, all sub 4:30. Winner Steven Kekacs 4:26.23 100 Free - 43.29 (Oliver Lee), 44.10 (H), 44.20 (P), 44.25 (P), 44.27 (H), 44.39 (P)

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Most Exciting Upset Women

Tennessee Media Relations

January 26, 2013, Knoxville, TN You can expect nothing less than great intensity and grit when you put two power-players in the SEC together in late January. In this case, perennial national contender Georgia found a ready and able challenger in the the Lady Vols on what was their Senior Day. The meet played out very similar

to how the men’s meet went; a convincing win for the hosts in the relay followed by an equally convincing showing in the 1650. In both meets, it would be the 200 Free that was a pivot point of the afternoon. Lindsay Gendron’s wire-towire win in that event set off a seven event streak the put UT up 98-71.

Tennessee would further command

34

the day in winning the next three events prior to the second diving break. For the contender, Georgia, you can only imagine that this meet made the women better come March as they won a fifth national title under Coach Bauerle. For the challenger, Tennessee, it marked another signature moment in their continual march towards national supremacy. A late season win over the eventual national champion only fueled the Volunteers as they went on to be great at the SEC and NCAA championships.

If you string together this meet along with their championship performances in 2013, it is clear that Tennessee, very comfortable in their role as challenger, have their sites set on being the contender in D1 Swimming & Diving .

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Most Exciting Upset Men

Tennessee Media Relations

January 26, 2013, Knoxville, TN In the very first event, the Volunteers provided an early sense of how the meet would play out with a blistering 1:27.12 and four second margin of victory in the 200 Medley Relay. Georgia would answer with their first win of the day with a equally impressive showing in the mile to take a 21-15 lead heading into the 200 free.

With three athletes deadlocked at the 150, it was Sam Rairden, (pictured right) who broke away to lead a onetwo finish for the Vols. For the Tennessee Junior, it was part of a perfect day as he was part of both victorious relays as well as another individual win in the 100 Free.

Perhaps his win in the 100 was a solid sign that the rebuilding of the

Tennessee men’s program the was well under way. The men were simply dominant on this day in taking both relays, the 50,100 & 200. Rairden led the quartet that swept the 100 with a near personal best time of 43.97.

(Less than a month later, he would swim a :42.64 at the SEC Championships.)

One other key race of the day was the 100 backstroke which possessed enough close races to make the difference early in the meet. Volunteer Sean Lehane broke away from a dead-even tie at the 50 prevent UGA from a possible lead.

Going into the day, Tennessee was unranked. This meet brought these two programs much closer as they would finish just one spot

35

apart at the SEC championships. The meet put them in the CSCAA rankings at 11th with Georgia remaining at 12th both before and after the dual meet.

In late March at the 2013 NCAAs, Georgia would finish 10th and ahead of Tennessee who finished at 16th. As both coaches were complimentary of each other in their post meet comments, Coach Kredich said of his own team, “Today, the coaches didn't have to do too much guiding. The team really took over.”

2011-12 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Championship Performance Female

American Record: 400 Free Relay

University of Arizona 2013 NCAA Division I

11 School records & 800 Free relay title at NCAAs

Highest team point total in program history

Columbia University 2013 Ivy League

“And Your Top Qualifiers�

Also nominated and very worthy of national recognition, these programs made the top 8 for their overall outstanding achievements in 2012-13.

Johns Hopkins University 2013 NCAA Division III

16th place is highest in program history

Notre Dame University 2013 NCAA Division I

The champions in 2013

University of Georgia 2013 NCAA Division I

13th consecutive title

Mary Washington

2013 CAC Championships

Tradition was the motto as Tigers win at home

Princeton University 2013 Ivy League 36

Hokies move into top two for first time ever

Virginia Tech University 2013 ACC Championships

2011-12 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Championship Performance Female

Tennessee

Women - Team Rankings Through Event 21 1.

Georgia 477 2.

California 393 3.

Tennessee 325.5 4.

Texas A&M 323.5 5.

Arizona 311 6.

Florida 305 7.

Southern Cal291 8.

Stanford 246 Tim Binning/Theswimpictures.com

Indianapolis, IN March 23, 2013 This program has been on a mission for some time with calendar year 2013 being no exception which includes a historic dual meet win along with a program best conference finish. And after two days of incredible performances at the 2013 NCAA meet, the Lady Vols were in third place. You could argue the the next

day, Saturday March 23rd, was their best day as a team.

The Saturday morning prelims left Tennessee in an interesting position.

They certainly remained in position to hold onto third place, something that had never been done before.

However, with a couple of notable names not making it back in their events that day, there would be no guarantees that the Lady Vols would remain in third at the end of the night.

During the course of the evening, Tennessee had to watch three events; the 1650 free, 200 Back & 200 Fly. And despite scoring points in the 100 Free & 200 Breaststroke, the Lady Vols was bunched up with Florida and Arizona for the fourth, fifth and sixth

position. They were also 23 points out of third with two events to go.

Diving Coach Dave Parrington and the duo of Tori Lamp and Jodie McGroarty had been stellar the entire meet. With two events remaining, platform diving and the 400 free relay, there would be added incentive to do well with the final team standings being uncertain.

With Lamp placing second on platform and a fourth place finish in the relay, Tennessee would successfully the points necessary to finish the meet in third place; the best finish ever in program history.

NOTE: Coach Parrington was willing to answer some questions about the NCAA meet and the 2012 13 season. continued on next page....

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2011-12 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Coach Dave Parrington, Tennessee Diving Tennessee Lady Vols-continued Your divers earned 72 points at the NCAA level. Â What are some of the key things you focused on in your training this season to set this up? Â As is my philosophy each year, everything we do throughout the season is absolutely geared towards producing our finest performances during the Championship season (SEC's, NCAA zones and NCAA's).

The more experienced divers in the program become better each year in how they handle this, as well as being well versed in pacing their season so to speak, which was especially so for Jodie and Tori because of their experience. During the course of the year we certainly practiced pressure scenarios as best we could under training circumstances, by doing scored lists while visualizing various situations, and on a few occasions we had training sessions in the evening to simulate evening events such as the finals at Championship meets. Very early in the season our swimmers and divers, as a team, set very specific individual goals, as they relate to the team championship goals, which in some cases are modified as we move forward. I feel doing this as a whole team was an integral part of our success, since both the divers and swimmers have a very real understanding as to what is going on at each of the pool, and the support for each other is magnified as a result.

What did you do differently in training this season?

Something different this past year, which I hadn't done in a few years, during our pre-Christmas holiday training, in addition to all of their

normal training (weights, dry land), on a few occasions I brought them in for a third diving workout of the day, which was in the evening, after fairly testy morning and afternoon sessions.

With the idea it would be similar to the long days experienced during Championship meets, when the divers who qualify for evening finals do have to come in for a morning warm-up, return for another brief warm-up before prelims, leave and return for finals. The divers were very much aware this was for that purpose. I will also mention I feel our strength program was much more specific to our diver's needs than in some previous years and the divers did an exceptional job of maintaining it throughout the brutal stretch leading into SEC's, through zones and into NCAA's.

What are some of the key traits that Jodie and Tori possess that make them successful at this level of competition?

Both Jodie and Tori are similar in that they love to compete, and had the experience of having dived and scored at the previous year's meet, but came away realizing they could do a whole lot better, by being more consistent in preliminaries. In Tori's case at the 2012

NCAA's on springboard she missed one dive badly on both boards and wasn't too far out of making finals, so that experience of knowing consistency was the key stood her in good stead. In Jodie's case she too came away from 2012 knowing it would take too much more to do very well, and she never panicked even when it seemed she was in some tight spots this year during the prelims and simply trusted her ability and experience, while some others may have tightened up some. I guess the similar traits are competitiveness, experience and belief.

How does a meet and season like you had in 2013 impact your approach or strategy as your move forward?

Like every year I look at what I felt helped us during the season and what we might have been able to do better, and there is no question even though we had a fantastic season I felt we could have been better in some areas, so I'll build on what we did and tweak some things here and there in an effort to keep moving in the direction of winning individual titles which will help the whole Swimming and Diving Team effort as we continue to strive for team Championships!

Tennessee Media Relations

2011-12 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Championship Performance Male

For the first time in 31 years, a new champion

California Berkeley 2013 Pacific 12

A huge day three returns the Lords to the top spot

EMU takes league meet by six points

Eastern Michigan 2013 MAC Championships

“And Your Top Qualifiers” Also nominated and very worthy of national recognition, these programs made the top 8 for their overall outstanding achievements in 2012-13.

Kenyon College 2013 NCAA Division III

Two event titles en route to 4th place finish

Johns Hopkins 2013 NCAA Division III

A 1000 plus point plus performance for the Eagles

Mary Washington

2013 CAC Championships Several notable swims as Tribe places second in ’13

National swimmer of the year leads team to third

MIT 2013 NCAA Division III

Several awesome swims as Trojans finish fourth

Southern California 2013 NCAA Division I 39

William & Mary 2013 CAA Championships

2011-12 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Championship Performance Men

Michigan

Tim Binning/Theswimpictures.com

March 30, 2013, Indianapolis, IN Following a commanding road performance in Austin versus Texas and Indiana in late October, Coach Bottom’s team took over the top spot where they would remain for most of the dual meet season. However, for a program that had not won a team title since the mid 90s, nothing would be taken for granted as Michigan headed into the most important test of their season.

Michigan would take the lead for good after event number two, the 500 free. They would continue to look forward as they worked to maintain roughly a thirty point lead over the first two days of competition. Though each and every point matters at a

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NCAA meet, they seemed to send a symbolic message to all competitors at the start of each session. On day one, it was the 500 freestyle where five athletes earned 36 points. To begin day two, and after qualifying second in the morning, Michigan made one change to create a historic 200 medley relay that night. Senior Miguel Ortiz led off the backstroke leg with a jaw-dropping :20.83 set up the remaining three legs. (His time would rank inside the top 25 percent of all 50 free times in Division I in 2012-13.)

The relay (pictured above) went to work to take the event, earn valuable points and set a new meet, NCAA & US Open record in 1:22.27. On the next night, the quartet of Connor Jaeger, Sean Ryan, Ryan Feeley &

2011-12 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Championship Performance continued Michigan Wolverines continued, ...best showing in any event. In adding 57 points to the team total, the team once again was very effective at making a statement towards their ultimate goal of a national championship. The mile also gave Michigan a 91.5 lead over the defending champion California Golden Bears.

The eventual victors would not win another event in this meet. They would continue to have athletes race and compete and score points. For the remainder of the night, Michigan would be part of one of the most electric sessions to ever take place.

Ironically, they would not be directly involved in the aquatic firework display taking place in the natatorium. As mentioned, they were simply the team that was executing their mission which

Conner Jaeger, rising SR 500 Free Champion: 4:10.84 1650 Free Champion: 14:27.18 2013 Big Ten Swimmer of the Year 2012 Olympian, USA

was to earn the program’s twelfth NCAA title.

Following the mile, sophomore Andrew teDuits from Wisconsin led beginning to end to take the 200 backstroke. Of note is the fact that teDuits was competing in his first NCAA Championship.

Things would continue to heat up over the next three events. In the 100 freestyle, USC’s Vlad Morozov proved to be the fastest man in the pool in completing his dominating sweep of the 50 and 100 freestyle events.

When you add in a few of his relay swims, he not only was the fastest person in the pool at this meet, but the fastest swimmer ever. His :17.86 and :40.28 in the 200 and 400 Free Relays respectively will be talked about for years.

Morozov would turn over lane four to Arizona Wildcat swimmer Kevin

Cordes in the 200 breaststroke. A sophomore as well, Cordes gave everyone their money’s worth and more with second sweep of all records in one day while becoming the first person ever to go 1:48 in that event.

Finally and who better to ask to keep it going then California’s Tom Shields. In his final collegiate individual race, Shields was golden as he took the field by a second to tie Michael Phelps’s American record in a 1:39.65.

In his interview with Rowdy Gaines during the celebration, Coach Mike Bottom offered a secret to achieving a goal and in this case winning a NCAA championship, “The truth is when you get a bunch of guys together with a purpose, you can change the world. This is a demonstration of that.”

Congratulations Michigan!

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Female Assistant Coach

6th place at D3 Nationals

Karin Brown Amherst College

Four swimmers make NCAAs in 2013

Another PSAC title in 38th season with school

Dr. Ron Jenkins

Volunteer AssistantDiving, West Chester

Rachel Komisarz Louisville

“And Your Top Qualifiers�

Also nominated and very worthy of national recognition, these programs made the top 8 for their overall outstanding achievements in 2012-13.

12th place is best NCAA finish since 2002

Jake Lewing Mary Washington

Mike Litzinger North Carolina

PAC12: runner up

Michael Sabala Columbia University

Third consecutive Big East championship

Catherine Vogt Southern California 42

Ivy League Champions

Suzanne Yee Princeton University

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Female Assistant Coach Nikki Kett

by Amy Finn Nikki Kett just completed her first season with John Hopkins University.

She joined the Blue Jays after graduating from Kenyon College in 2012. An All-American, Kett had a very successful and stand-out swimming career at Kenyon. She came to John Hopkins after working with the YMCA swim club in Cheshire, CT and Total Performance Swim Camps.

The Johns Hopkins Women had a very successful season finishing 5th at the NCAA Championships, which matches the program’s best and is the team’s highest finish since 2002. In all, the Blue Jays won one NCAA relay title, collected eight medals, and broke 12 school records.

“From day 1 the swimmers set the bar high and decided they wanted to

be great at the NCAA Championships.

I don’t remember a single day where the team walked onto the pool deck dragging their heels—instead they showed up ready to improve and to make the most of each practice,” says Kett when asked about the season.

“Even more importantly, while we were committed to consistent excellence, we also were able to have fun. As a staff and women’s team, we were able to laugh it off when things didn’t go exactly according to plan.

Because of this, negativity was subdued and the team was able to continue to work towards our goals in a positive manner.”

John Hopkins’ success was in no way a surprise for Kett. She and head coach George Kennedy worked to

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plan out the season and practices; together, they focused on the smaller details such as stroke technique.

“I think the athletes benefitted greatly from this; it put more emphasis on the process than on the outcome.

Every detail we focused on had a specific purpose and because of it the women walked into championships with the confidence they needed to achieve their goals. They performed exceptionally at the end of the year but they had set themselves up to do so all year long. I am proud of what they were able to accomplish this year.”

Kett is excited for the next season. She can’t wait to get back to the grind and set the bar even higher next year.

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Male Assistant Coach

Five straight Ivy titles

Mitch Dalton Princeton University

Top 4 at D3 Nationals

Top 15 finish in 2013

Todd DeSorbo North Carolina State

“And Your Top Qualifiers�

Also nominated and very worthy of national recognition, these programs made the top 8 for their overall outstanding achievements in 2012-13.

Nikki Kett Johns Hopkins

Program historic win over Princeton

Gustavo Leal Columbia University

A top ten finish at NCAA

Benjamin Hewitt Nova Southeastern

Top 4 at D1 Nationals

Jeremy Kipp Southern California

D3: Top 20 in 2013

Jake Lewing Mary Washington 44

Banner season in 2013

Samantha Pitter acting head coach/MIT

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Male Assistant Coach

by Amy Finn

U-M Photo Services

Associate Head Coach, Dr. Josh White is in his fifth season with the University of Michigan’s Men’s Swimming team. His strength lies in his ability to coach distance; several of his swimmers have gone on to represent the University at the National level, including the 2012 Olympic Games.

Dr. White was a former Kenyan swimmer and has a doctorate in human performance. “Michigan is such a wonderful place to be and has an atmosphere that breeds success.

The culture here is something that I could feel from the outside before I came here and something that I admired,” says White. When Coach Mike Bottom brought him on, he

embraced and improved the already dominant distance group.

“As Coach Bottom preaches, [the men] want to “change the world.”

Camaraderie is also a very important aspect of Michigan following the ideal of “the team, the team, the team," as stated by legendary football coach Bo Schembechler. As coaches we try to live up to the same ideals as the team. We try to constantly improve by being open to new ideas and individualizing our training while maintaining a great group structure. Moving forward together is a powerful force.”

Powerful force is definitely not an understatement. This past season Michigan won their 12th NCAA

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Championship and their 37th Big 10 Championship. Dr. White was a vital part of the continued success of the program’s storied and legendary culture.

When asked about their success, White says, “I think the biggest thing that set this team apart was a desire to always be at their best. Swimming fast became ingrained in practice and dual meets without the need for external motivation. By the time B1G's and NCAA's came great performances had become a habit not an exception.”

White’s coaching prowess surpasses the realm of NCAA as well.

Many of his swimmers have achieved great international success as well as success in open water events.

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Making an Impact

COach Mike Bottom

Tim Binning/Theswimpictures.com

Michigan is one of those programs that you expect to win a NCAA championship. Coach Bottom and staff in a short time has dispelled any doubts how Michigan would win their championship. They were methodical in how they accumulated points at the 2013

meet. (They failed to score in just survey. In ready Casey Barrett’s four individual events. Yet in the article online, it seemed to be a events they did score in, Michigan perfect fit. continued on next page never scored less than a dozen points.) In other words, they were consistently good over three days of competition.

As mentioned in the introduction of this publication, we are pumped to include the work of athlete, teacher and writer Casey Barrett. His article published back early April just happened to fit perfectly into this section as Coach Mike Bottom was nominated and received the most votes. Though it is tricky to say the least to narrow the Impact honor down to a single person for the entire sport, he generated the most interest on the

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2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

The Bottom Line by Casey Barrett Mike Bottom and the psychology of special…

He gets you to believe. In yourself, in your talent, in your training, and importantly, in him. That’s no small task, and it doesn’t have much to do with what goes on in the water everyday.

18 to 22 year old boys can be a delicate lot. They won’t admit to this, but it’s true. Their egos are fragile and their freakishly fit bodies are hyper sensitive to the slightest turbulence in their training. Often times what they need is not a coach but a psychologist. Enter Mike Bottom, the ultimate mind coach.

Two days ago, Bottom guided Michigan back to the top, as the men raced to their first title in 18 years. Bottom’s incredible accomplishments with a who’s who of champion sprinters long ago established him as one of the world’s great coaches, but this title does something else. It validates his Hall of Fame bona fides and transcends that old Sprint Coach label that he wore for so long. This Michigan team won it the Michigan way and the Bottom way.

Which is to say they won it by dominating the distance events and swimming blazingly fast on the sprint relays. That’s a dangerous combo.

They also won it with virtually no stars. With all due respect to Connor Jaeger, who posted a pair of terrific winning times in the 500 and 1650, this Michigan team was a group that won with depth and consistency, not with a few eye-popping recordshattering swims. They did post one

NCAA record – a stunning 1:22.27 in the 200 medley relay that no one saw coming. But aside from Jaeger’s wins and that one relay, you didn’t see Michigan standing on top of the podium in any other events.

Consider the races that will be remembered at this meet.

There were quite a few. USC’s Vlad Morozov’s staggering sprints.

17.8 on that relay, 40.7 flat start in his 100. Cal’s Tom Shields, who ended his collegiate career in high style, tying Phelps’s small pool record in the 200 fly with that 1:39.6. And of course, Arizona’s monster sophomore, Kevin Cordes, who can now officially be proclaimed America’s Next Great Breaststroker. A few days ago, I posted a claim that his 49.5 100 breast split on Arizona’s medley relay may have been the best college swim ever. Turns out we spoke too soon.

His 1:48.6 in the 200 breast is the best college swim ever. Tell me another that compares.

All of the above guys are Pac-12 swimmers. That’s where the best swimmers are. It’s hard to argue with the evidence. However, Michigan had the best team. By a lot. For all the drama at the meet this year, the team race was never really close. As the pre-meet projections established, Michigan was on another level, pointswise. They won by a comfortable 73.5 points ahead of Cal. (Talk about poetic justice. Beating your old team, after losing the top job there and watching them instantly ascend to the top in your absence…) The fact is, Michigan left plenty of points on the table. That

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first morning, they really should have had three or four guys in the final of the 500. Instead, they put four in the B-final, with each one missing the top 8 by less than half a second. There are plenty of other examples where they could have racked up plenty more points, but no matter. They did what they had to do.

They did it because Bottom made them believers.

The man grasps the science of fast swimming as much as anyone, but it’s always been about more than that with Bottom’s swimmers. He simply convinces his swimmers that they’re the special ones. Simply – talk about the wrong adverb… There is nothing simple about it. This is high stakes coaching. Because all you need is one swimmer to call bullshit, and start spreading seeds of doubt among his teammates, and all those inspiring whispers cease to matter. It’s easier for coaches to place all their faith in a system. That gives everyone deniability. You present a program that’s worked before – with the right amount of yardage and speed work, the right arc to a season, the right carefully plotted taper, and you let the end take care of itself. That makes sense, and it does work, but Bottom has always played for higher stakes.

He’s the coach who creates unshakeable confidence in his swimmers, convincing them of their specialness, of their destiny. It doesn’t always turn out that way. But when that promised specialness all works out in the end, that’s when legends are made. Both in the water and on deck.

48 2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

FEMALE Break Out Athlete of the 2012-13 Season:

HONOREE: Liz Pelton, California-Berkeley (left) TOP VOTE GETTER: Anastasia Bogdanovski, Johns Hopkins (right) TOP WRITE-IN ATHLETE: Elizabeth Bourgeois, IUPUI

MALE Break Out Athlete 2012-13 Season:

HONOREE & TOP VOTE GETTER: Kevin Cordes University of Arizona TOP WRITE-IN ATHLETE: Dylan Coggin Johns Hopkins University

49 2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

FEMALE Career Improvement Class of 2013:

HONOREE & TOP VOTE GETTER: Katie Meili Columbia University TOP WRITE-IN ATHLETE: Lindsay Vrooman Indiana University

MALE Career Improvement Class of 2013:

HONOREE: Zack Turk Kenyon College / Michigan TOP VOTE GETTER: Dylan Coggin Johns Hopkins University TOP WRITE-IN ATHLETE: Six tied with one vote

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

FEMALE Break Out Team 2012 13 season:

HONOREE & TOP VOTE GETTER: University of Tennesssee Coach Matt Kredich TOP WRITE-IN ATHLETE: Harvard University Coach Stephanie Wriede-Morawski

MALE Break Out Team 2012 13 season:

HONOREE: NC State Coach Braden Holloway TOP VOTE GETTER: University of Michigan Coach Mike Bottom TOP WRITE-IN ATHLETE: Johns Hopkins University Coach George Kennedy

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2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors FEMALE Most Exciting Meet 2012 13 season:

HONOREE & TOP VOTE: Denison 149.5, Kenyon 147.5 “D3 Thriller: Denison claims meet on final relay over rival Kenyon.”

11/3/2012

TOP WRITE-IN: Michigan & Indiana @ Texas UT: “Women’s S&D defeats Indiana & Michigan in home opener.”

10/26/2012

MALE Most Exciting Meet 2012 13 season: HONOREE: Harvard, Yale @ Princeton 2/2&3/2013

TOP VOTE GETTER: Denison 157, Kenyon 141 11/3/2012 TOP WRITE-IN: Navy 130.5, JHU 129.5 2/6/2013

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52 2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

FEMALE Best Dual Meet Upset 2012 13 season: HONOREE: #11 Tennessee 161, #2 UGA 139 January 26, 2013

TOP VOTE: Arkansas defeats #12 Penn State 150.5-149.5 January 12, 2013

TOP WRITE-IN: 19 tied with one vote each MALE Best Dual Meet Upset 2012 13 season: HONOREE & TOP VOTE: Tennessee defeats #12 Georgia 161.5-132.5 January 26, 2013

TOP WRITE-IN: 12 tied with one vote each

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Championship Performance Female 2012 13 season: HONOREE: University of Tennessee @2013 NCAA Division I Swimming & Diving Championships

TOP VOTE: Johns Hopkins @2013 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships Top Write In: Kenyon, D3 NCAA Championship Performance Male 2012 13 season: HONOREE & TOP VOTE: Michigan @2013 NCAA Division I Swimming & Diving Championships

TOP WRITE-IN: Indiana University @ 2013 Big 10 Swimming & Diving Championships

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Assistant Coach of the Year FEMALE 2012 13 season: HONOREE & TOP VOTE: Coach Nikki Kett Johns Hopkins University

Top Write In: tie Coach Dani Korman, Yale Coach Marie Marsman, Indiana Coach Chris Morgan, Harvard Assistant Coach of the Year MALE 2012 13 season: HONOREE & TOP VOTE: Coach Josh White University of Michigan

TOP WRITE-IN: Coach Mike Westphal Indiana University

2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

more author profiles CAREER IMPROVEMENT HONOR: Christopher “Woody� Woodard is a graduate of Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York. He is currently the Head Coach for Colorado State University where he just completed his second season.

BREAK OUT ATHLETES: Damion Dennis is currently the assistant coach at West Virginia University where he just completed his sixth season with the Mountaineer program.

MALE BREAK OUT TEAM: Michael Litzinger is currently the associate head coach at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Mike, a Hobart graduate, is a regular contributor to the College Swimming & Diving Honors.

PHOTOGRAPHY: Tim Binning owns and manages TheSwimPictures.com. He is one of the most active swimming and diving meet photographers in the United States. Many Tim Binning photographs can also be found on a regular basis at the website SwimSwam.

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2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

more author profiles Walk On Athletes: Josh Huger is currently the assistant coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Josh finds the time to write for Profiles on an annual basis while serving as the founder and manager of the website; Swimutopia.

IMPACT HONOR: Casey Barrett competed for both Southern California and SMU in addition to competing in the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. He remains deeply involved in the sport of swimming on several fronts. He is a co-founder for Imagine Swimming; a learn-to-swim school in New York City. You can read more of Casey’s work at http://capandgoggles.com/

ASSISTANT COACH HONORS: Amy Finn just completed her first season as the assistant coach at her alma mater, Lake Forest College.

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2012-13 College Swimming & Diving Honors

Noteworthy The followings programs were nominated for at least one category Air Force Academy - Men Alaska-Fairbanks-Women Amherst College - Women Auburn University-Women Boston College-M&W Bowling Green-Women Brigham Young Univ. -M&W California-Berkeley-Men California-Berkeley-Women Columbia University-Women Columbia University-Men Cleveland State Univ. - Women Dartmouth College-Men Darton State College - Men Denison University-M&W Denver University - Men Duke University - M&W Eastern Illinois University-Men Eastern Michigan Univ. - M&W Emory University-M&W Florida Southern University-M&W Florida State University - M&W Fresno State Univ. - Women Grand Canyon University - Men Grinnell College-Men Henderson State University -M&W Harvard University-Women Harvard University-Men Indiana University-M&W IUPUI-M&W Johns Hopkins University M&W Kenyon College-M&W Long Island Univ/Post-Women McDaniel College - Men Merchant Marine Academy - Men MIT - Men Miami University of Ohio - M&W Missouri State University - Men North Carolina State Univ.-M&W Northern Colorado University-W Notre Dame University-M&W Nova Southeastern Univ.-M&W

Ohio State University-Men Old Dominion University - Men Princeton University-Women Princeton University-Men Rice University - Women Rollins College-Women Rose Hulman Institute of Tech-M Rutgers University-Women Queens University-M&W Saint Vincent College - M&W San Diego State University-W San Jose State Univ. - Women Stanford University - Women St. Bonaventure Univ. - Men St. Leo University - Men Stevens Institute of Tech.-M&W Susquehanna University-Women Texas A&M University - M&W The College of New Jersey-W Towson University-Women UCLA - Women University of Alabama-M&W University of Arkansas-M&W University of Arizona-M&W University of Buffalo - M&W University of Cincinnati - Men University of Florida-M&W University of Georgia-M&W University of Louisville-M&W Univ. of Mary Washington M&W UMBC-Men University of Michigan-Men University of Minnesota-M&W University of Missouri-M&W University of New Hampshire - W University of Nevada-Women UNLV - Women University of North Carolina-M&W University of Virginia - Women UC San Diego-Women University Southern California-W University Southern California-M University of Tennessee-M&W University of Texas-Men

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University of Texas-Women University of the South - M&W UNC-Wilmington-Women University of Wisconsin-M&W Villanova University - Women Virginia Tech - M&W Washington & Lee University - W West Chester University-M&W West Virginia University-Women Wheaton College - Women Williams College-Women William & Mary-M&W Wingate University-Women Xavier University - Men Yale University - Women Dedicated this year to an extraordinary group of now-retired coaches. Years with most recent program listed (see back cover): Coach Gary Conelly, University of Kentucky, 22 years, KU athletics Coach Jeff Huber, Indiana Diving, 24 years, photo credit: IU Media Relations Coach Dave Jennings, Miami University of Ohio, 31 years, photo credit: Miami Communications Coach Joe Suriano, Navy Diving, 35 years, photo credit: D. Bomberger Special thank you to the following for making this happen; Casey Barrett, ImagineSwimming, Tim Binning,TheSwimPictures.com Peter Brown, Brown University Damion Dennis, West Virginia Univ.

Amy Finn, Lake Forest College Erin Fuss, University of Nevada Josh Huger, Swimutopia.com Michael Litzinger, North Carolina Univ.

Amy Swanson, Denison University Chris Woodard, Colorado State See website for full list

PROFILES IN EXCELLENCE: Congratulations to our newly retired coaches!

PROFILES IN EXCELLENCE: Morozov sets a pace to be remembered in ’13