History of Clemson Men’s Swimming and Diving March 29, 1919 - Georgia Tech defeated the Tigers 45-19, at Clemson. This was the first ever Swimming and Diving Meet for the Tigers. The early swimming teams swam in the basement of the Holtzendorff YMCA building. 1934-35 - Clemson finished the season with a 6-2 record overall and a third place finish in the Southern Conference meet. The Tigers also had an 11-5 record overall in the 1933-34 and 1934-35 seasons. March 3-4, 1939 - Clemson won the Southern Conference men’s swimming Championship. The Tigers were coached by P.B. Holtzendorff, Jr. His son P.B. Holtzendorff, III, was the star at the meet as he set records in the 100 and 50 yard dashes. The 300yard medley was also won by Clemson. The members of this 300-yard medley relay team included Benton Young, John McKnight, and Ben McKnight. Benton Young, Jr. was the captain of the team and was undefeated in his last two years of competition setting a new record at the 1939 Southern Conference meet in the 150-yard backstroke. This was a significant improvement, as Clemson had finished last in the Southern Conference meet in 1938. December 4, 1975 - Clemson defeated Furman 72-41 in the first meet at Fike Natatorium in the remodeled Fike Field House. 1975-76 - This was the final season for long-time Head Coach Carl McHugh. McHugh served as the Head Swimming Coach of the Tigers from 1947-1976. March 1, 1976 - Bob Boettner was named the Head Men’s and Women’s Swimming Coach. January 14, 1984 - Clemson’s Fike Natatorium was dedicated and named the Carl McHugh Natatorium in honor of the former Clemson swimmer and long-time coach. He was on the swimming team in 1933-36 and was the head swimming coach from 1947-76. Not only was he the swimming coach, he taught Engineering Graphics and was Director of the Engineering Learning Service. February 21-23, 1985 - Clemson won a school-record 11 individual Championships and finished second in the ACC Meet as Jeff Stachelek and Coy Cobb teammed up to win six ACC individual titles in 1985. Stachelek won three events in the 50, 100, and 200 yard freestyle. Cobb won the 100 and 200 yard backstroke and the 100 yard butterfly. Chuck Wade won both the one and three meter diving events and won the ACC’s Most Valuable Diver. Bob Boettner was named ACC Coach-of-the-Year, while Cobb was named the meet’s MVP. February 27-28 & March 1, 1986 - Clemson won its first Atlantic Coast Conference Championship. Rick Aronberg won the 500 Freestyle and the 1650 Freestyle in leading the Tigers to the Championship in Charlottesville, VA. Aronberg won the 1650 Freestyle for four seasons during his career. Bob Boettner was named ACC Coach-of-theYear, while Chuck Wade was named the ACC’s Meet most Valuable Diver for the second season in a row as he won the one meter diving event.
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February 25-27, 1988 - Dave Hrovat won the one-meter and three-meter diving events and was named the ACC Meet’s Most Valuable Diver. January 21, 1989 - Clemson defeated N.C. State 150-93 for its11th dual meet win of the season. This is the school record for most wins in a season as the Tigers finished 11-4. March 6, 1991 - Jim Sheridan was named Head Coach of the Clemson men’s and women’s swimming teams. June 25, 1994 - Bruce Marchionda was named Head Coach of the Clemson men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams. February 8-10, 1996 - Brian Haecker won the one meter diving contest and was named the ACC Meet’s Most Valuable Diver. February 25-28, 1998 - Razvan Petcu was named the ACC Rookie-of-the-Year as he won the 100 Freestyle at the ACC Championships in Charlottesville, VA. July 17, 2002 - Chris Ip was named the Head Coach of the Clemson men’s and women’s Swimming and Diving Teams. May 2003 - Eric Shulick namd to Academic All-America team by CSCAA for first time. He would be named again in the 04-05 season. January 4, 2004 - Tigers win school-record 12th meet of the season against Georgia Tech. Seven days later, they would win their 13th against NC State, the current school record. May 2004 - Tigers set men’s swimming and diving team record for highest GPA with a 3.26 team mark. November 19, 2005 - Tigers win Nike Cup Invitational with 1053 points in Chapel Hill, NC. June 29, 2008 - Tigers send four swimmers to US Olympic Trials in Omaha, NE. February 26, 2011 - Tigers finish the season as the 25th-ranked team in the country, the first time in history the men’s program has been ranked in the final poll.
The Clemson men’s swimming team won the Southern Conference Championship in 1939.