RUTGERS SWIMMING & DIVING - A HISTORY OF SUCCESS

Transcription

1 RUTGERS SWIMMING & DIVING - A HISTORY OF SUCCESS In its 98-year history, the Rutgers Swimming and Diving program has been under the direction of just seven head coaches - James H. Reilly ( ), Otto H. Hill ( ), Frank W. Elm ( ), Elizabeth Blau ( ), Rick Simpson ( ), Chuck Warner ( ) and now Phil Spiniello (2010-present). Rutgers Swimming has enjoyed a proud history of success, achievement and one of the finest sports traditions On the Banks. Compiled after researching years of Scarlet yearbooks and Targums, this history is only a limited glimpse into the 98-year old tradition and recognizes only a very few of the hundreds of athletes who trained, competed and contributed to the fine tradition of Rutgers Swimming Rutgers Swimming began in 1915 upon the completion of the Ballantine Gym with a $30,000 donation by Mrs. Ballantine for a pool addition. The pool was dedicated March 10, 1915 with a gala meet starring National Champion, world record holder and two-time Olympian (1908 and 1912) James Reilly (1997 Rutgers Olympic Sports Hall of Fame Inductee). Reilly was promptly hired as the swim instructor and four decades of excellence began. Reilly also presided over the new Eastern Collegiate Swimming Association from 1920 until 1927, with Rutgers compiling a record of 48 wins and only nine losses. Leo Geibel ( 23), also an AAU Champion, won the 220 free in the National Intercollegiates and set intercollegiate records in the 150 backstroke and 440 free. George Kojac ( 31) continued his national and world recordsetting performances on campus and off. He represented the U.S. in the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, winning gold medals in the 100 backstroke and 800 free relay. He won the 100 free title at the 1931 NCAAs and combined with Bill Marquette ( 30) and John Dryfuss ( 32) for a world record in the 300 medley relay The Ballantine Gym was destroyed by a fire in the early morning of Jan. 30, 1930, necessitating construction of a new facility. Borrowed sites such as the New Brunswick YMCA and Princeton University were used for swimming until the College Avenue Gym opened on March 11, 1932, with a huge Aquatic Carnival. In the 1930s, Walter Spence ( 34), a 1997 Rutgers Olympic Sports Hall of Fame inductee, began his career On the Banks. Spence was an AAU Champion and a Canadian Olympian. He won the 100 free in three consecutive NCAA Championships and combined with Walt Ashley ( 35), Ted Brick ( 34) and Norm Kramer ( 33) for a winning freestyle relay in the 1933 NCAAs. The teams boasted an overall record of Later, Rutgers hosted the 1938 NCAA Championships at the state of the art College Avenue facility. From the Scarlet Knights registered a 22-6 record. The teams were led by AAU champ Chuck Gantner ( 44) who used the new breaststroke technique Frank Elm and Judy Melick, the first Rutgers Female Swimmer. that eventually became the butterfly in Gantner was an Eastern Champion, National Champion and one-time world record holder saw continued successes with the teams recording an overall record of 64 wins against only nine losses. All-American Bob Nugent ( 52), a 1997 Olympic Sports Hall of Fame inductee, epitomized the era. Earning First Team All-American honors in 49, 50 and 51, Nugent was 1948 Eastern Champion in the 100 free, and an NCAA finalist in both 1950 and Reilly left Rutgers with an enviable record of 240 wins and 92 losses. His teams recorded five undefeated seasons, 12 seasons of only one loss and an overall.722 winning percentage. He was a recognized leader in the sport, having coached Olympians and world record holders during his long tenure at Rutgers. Riley was inducted into the Rutgers Olympic Sports Hall of Fame. Head coach Otto Hill led the Rutgers men from Frank Elm was appointed head coach in 1961 after Otto Hill was promoted to Athletic Business Administrator. Elm came to Rutgers as a successful AAU Coach, New Jersey Interscholastic Champion, All-American from Indiana University and swimmer-coach in the Marine Corps. From the Scarlet Knights enjoyed 11-straight winning seasons, with an overall record. The creation of the Eastern Seaboard Championships in 1965 brought the Scarlet Knights to a new level. Swimmers Bill Clark ( 63), Larry Jones and John Wasylyk (64), Don Galluzzi and Marty Flickenger ( 65), and diver Roy Nichols ( 64) (Eastern Champion and NCAA top-eight finisher) were the top performers. In 1968, Rutgers was fourth in the prestigious Easterns with top six performances by Bob Chenaux ( 66), in the 1650, Dave Feigley ( 66) in diving, All-American sprinters Bruce Ball ( 67) and Dick Woodrow ( 66), and Peter Hibbard ( 67), Eastern Champion in diving. Rutgers success in the Easterns continued with John Hannan ( 68) scoring in the 1650, 500, and 200 fly while Jim Rose ( 67), Elliot Cheneaux ( 68), Jim Parkinson ( 70), Jose Ferraioli ( 69), Dave Helming ( 71) and

2 Frank Elm was a coach of the 1964 U.S. Olympic Team, of which Sue Pitt- Anderson and Ginnie Duenkel were members. divers Peter Leitner ( 70) and Ted Doeing ( 72) contributed to the team s efforts. Ferraioli and the Cheneaux brothers represented their native Puerto Rico in Olympic competition. Gregg Anderson 70 (Rutgers Olympic Sports Hall of Fame Inductee) was the leading point-scorer for the Scarlet Knights in the late 60s. He was named All-American in both 1968 and 1969 in the 200 backstroke and won three Eastern Championships while qualifying to compete in the NCAAs. The 70s are best known for the inclusion of women in the RU program. Olympian Judy Mellick ( 77), became the first female member of the Rutgers team and the first woman to compete with men. Mellick was among the pioneers as newly-coed RU embarked on a successful women s athletic program. In recognition of her contributions, Mellick was inducted into the first class of the Rutgers Olympic Sports Hall of Fame. Rutgers women s swimming burst onto the scene with three consecutive undefeated seasons, , and a dominance of Eastern Championships. The RU women were the only Eastern team to place in the top ten at the 1977 Nationals. Fifteen swimmers earned All-American recognition. Judy Mellick, Ellen Wallace, Debbie Franks, Maureen Mortell and Robin Locklair were among the leaders, champions and stars of their era. Wallace later represented the U.S. at the Pan-Am Championships and has been inducted into the Rutgers Olympic Sports Hall of Fame. A 1997 inductee into the Rutgers Olympic Sports Hall of Fame, Tiny Condrillo Randazzo was a consistent scorer at the Eastern Championships, a topsix finisher at Nationals and a two time All-American. In the 70s Elm had a record with the women s program. Frank Elm best described the 80s when he retired in In an interview he said, There have been so many highs and lows over the years. The lows were not winning too much, especially during the 80 s when basically we had no scholarship help and our pool was antiquated. We couldn t attract anybody, so it was really difficult to hang in there and keep going, (Star Ledger, April 30, 1993). But the Scarlet Knights did keep going and continued with a proud and competitive decade. The 80s saw mostly.500 seasons for both men and women, but the teams were spirited and competitive. The season saw five school records broken. James McGuckin received the unprecedented awarding of both the James H. Reilly trophy and August Heintzmann awards. Swimmers Ron Farina, Peter Loftus and Ted Zlydaszek combined to lead the men to an 8-2 record and set eight school records in The long-awaited news that a new facility would actually be built aided Coach Elm in recruiting. Elm recruits Jeff Farschon, Larry Page and Tim Berlin led the Scarlet Knights rebuilding efforts. Atlantic 10 Champions and school record holders Farschon and Page were named Swimmers of the Year in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Elm retired after 31 years at the helm of Rutgers swimming. He led the efforts to construct the state of the art swimming facility which is part of the Sonny Werblin Recreation Center on the Busch Campus. The facility, located just west of the football stadium, was completed in Elm enjoyed two seasons in the swimmers new home before retiring Elizabeth Blau, an Elm assistant, became the head coach in 1993 and led the team in its transition from the Atlantic 10 Conference to the tougher and faster BIG EAST. On 1994 Scarlet Knight swimmers went 7-2 in men s competition, and 4-5 in women s contests. Nine school records fell that season. Diving coach Fred Woodruff was named Atlantic 10 Diving Coach of the Year in Interim Coach Rick Simpson led the Scarlet swimmers as Rutgers hosted the BIG EAST Championships at the Werblin Center. The season was highlighted by a first-ever victory over Army. In 1997, California transplant and well-known coach Chuck Warner took over the building process at Rutgers. Warner began the process of re-building a championship program and continuing the storied success of Rutgers swimming. In , the men s team jumped from 10th to fifth at the BIG EAST Championships and in , the women vaulted from ninth to second at the conference championships, the most dramatic leap of any team in the BIG EAST. For his efforts, Warner was named BIG EAST Women s Coach of the Year, following a season that saw his Kelly Harrigan

3 women s squad finish with a 7-2 overall mark and shatter 20 school swimming and diving records. This feat, along with the 6-3 mark posted by the men s squad, which finished third in the conference, served as tangible proof that Rutgers swimming was on the rise on a conference and national level. In the women s team finished third in the conference, and broke all but two school records. The women s team also saw its first ever qualifier for the NCAA Championship meet in Erin McIntyre. Erin made the A cut in the 1650 freestyle, and also qualified for the 400IM and 500 freestyle. A year later, the women jumped to second in the conference and Warner was once again named BIG EAST Coach of the Year. The season was highlighted by the remarkable individual accomplishments of All-American Kelly Harrigan and senior Sean Smith, who both came away with BIG EAST Most Outstanding Performer honors at the conference championship meet. Both the men s and women s squads finished in third place, behind only Notre Dame and Pittsburgh, and are poised to remain at the top of the conference standings for years to come. The season, arguably one of the most successful under Coach Warner, was highlighted by the team s second-place finish at the BIG EAST Championships and 18thplace showing at the NCAA Championships, the highest team finish in the program s history. The Rutgers University swimming and diving team added yet another successful season to the programs storied history during the season. The team demonstrated the programs growing success by winning six straight dual meet competitions to end the season with a 6-1 record overall and a 3-0 mark in BIG EAST competition. The Scarlet Knights once again placed second in the BIG EAST Championships and managed a 22nd place finish at the NCAA Championships. In 2008 the Scarlet Knights captured three individual first-place finishes at the BIG EAST Championships and two swimmers advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Shayna Longacre garnered Honorable Mention All-American honors with her performance at the NCAA Tournament. Additionally, numerous former, current and future Scarlet Knights competed at the 2008 Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb. In 2009, Catherine Whetstone earned a trip to the NCAAs after earning the gold at the BIG EAST Championships - and setting a new meet record - in the 100 backstroke 2010-Present After the 2010 season, a new era was ushered in with the hiring of head coach Phil Spiniello. Spiniello saw great improvements in his squad during his first year with the Scarlet Knights. Senior Jen Betz made the trip to the NCAA Division I Women s Swimming and Diving Championship at the University of Texas in Austin, following a second place finish at the Zone A Diving Championship. In Spiniello s second year at the helm, he led the team to its best record since The 9-2 Scarlet Knights went undefeated in the BIG EAST posting a perfect 4-0 record. In RU finished with a 9-2 overall record, matching that of the previous year. The Scarlet Knights would capture a fifth-place finish in the BIG EAST Championships -- just missing fourth place by 4.50 points and points shy of third. Then-sophomore Nicole Scott continued the Scarlet Knights diving legacy, winning silver at the Zone A Diving Championships and qualifying for the NCAA Division I Women s National Diving Championships. Additionally, the Scarlet Knights went on to break four school records through the season in the 200 Butterfly (Brittany Guinee), 200 Breaststroke (Greta Leberfinger), 400 Medley Relay (Joanna Wu, Leberfinger, Guinee, Mary Moser) and Platform Diving (Scott). The season proved to be a historic campaign for the Rutgers swimming and diving team, as the Scarlet Knights posted a multitude of notable accomplishments throughout the year and finished with a record. For the first time since 2008, RU sent two student-athletes to the NCAA Women s Swimming and Diving Championships in senior diver Nicole Scott and sophomore Joanna Wu. Wu s selection to NCAAs marked the first swimmer under fourth-year head coach Phil Spiniello to advance to the championships. Scott would go on to garner Honorable Mention All-America honors after placing 16th overall in the platform. The diving captain qualified by capturing a silver medal in the platform dive at the 2014 Zone Diving Championships for the second-straight year. Out of the pool, Scott also represented the program well, earning two prestigious academic awards: the American Athletic Conference Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year award and the Rutgers New Jersey Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (NJAIAW) Woman of the Year award. Spiniello was named the American Athletic Conference Women s Swimming Coach of the Year after leading Rutgers to a third-place finish at the inaugural AAC Championships, the squad s best finish since The Scarlet Knights earned eight medals over the four-day championships. On the year, RU broke a total of nine school records between the regular season and postseason AAC Coach of the Year, Phil Spiniello

4 RUTGERS INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING Several current and former Rutgers University women s swimmers have had the chance to represent their country throughout the program s history. Most recently, Rutgers junior Joanna Wu qualified in the 100 backstroke for the 2012 Olympic Trials. Additionally, recent Rutgers graduate Taylor Zafir, as well as graduated Scarlet Knights Catherine Whetstone, Shayna Longacre, Kasey Kesses, Kelly Harrigan, Megan Caylor, Brianne Lindblad and Sarah Bicknell battled for spots on the U.S. squad for the 2008 Olympics in Omaha, Neb. Rutgers international success dates back to 1972, as the first-ever Rutgers female swimmer competed in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. Below represents a timeline of Scarlet Knights in red, white and blue. Judy Mellick ( 72 Olympic Games) The first ever female swimmer at Rutgers University, Mellick competed in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, placing fifth in the 100 meter breaststroke (1:16.34) and also racing on Team USA s gold medal 400 medley relay (4:20.75). At Rutgers, Mellick helped pioneer a successful women s swimming program, contributing to three consecutive undefeated seasons and earning All-America honors before graduating in Seventeen years later in 1994, she was among those in the first class inducted into the Rutgers Olympic Sports Hall of Fame. Ellen Wallace ( 75 Pan American Games, World Championships) Wallace was a member of the U.S. Pan American Team that traveled to Mexico City, Mexico in At the games, she finaled in the 200 meter freestyle and 200 meter backstroke. Later that year, Wallace placed fourth in 200 backstroke (2:20.42) at World Championships in Cali, Colombia, and the following year, she just missed making the 1976 Olympic Team with a fourth-place finish in the 200 backstroke at Olympic Trials. During her campaign On the Banks, Wallace was one of the charter members of women s swimming at the university. She played a crucial role in Rutgers breakout dominance of the Eastern Conference, gaining All-American recognition in the process. Wallace was inducted into the Rutgers Olympic Sports Hall of Fame in Michelle DeFreese ( 04 FINA World Cup) DeFreese walked on to the Rutgers squad after swimming for a year at Montclair State University. Before she graduated, she claimed multiple BIG EAST titles as well as setting the Rutgers and BIG EAST records in the 100 yard butterfly (53.32) and in numerous relays. DeFreese qualified for the NCAA Championships twice, and was voted Most Inspirational by her teammates in two-consecutive years. Post-graduation, DeFreese represented the Scarlet Knights at the 2004 Olympic Trials, finishing 10th in the 100 meter butterfly (1:01.18). Later in 2004, she topped off her competitive swimming career with a strong showing at the FINA World Cup in Daejon, Korea. She garnered a silver medal in the 50 meter butterfly (27.41) and a bronze in the 100 meter butterfly (1:00.70).

5 Kelly Harrigan ( 07 World University Games) A highly decorated swimmer at both the conference and national levels, Harrigan was crowned a BIG EAST Champion 19 times leaving multiple broken BIG EAST and school records in her wake as well as qualifying for the NCAA Championships four times and competing at Olympic Trials in 2000, 2004 and She was a four-time All-American in the 100 and 200 yard backstroke, finishing as high as 3rd in the 200 (1:54.77) at the NCAA Championship in A year after graduation, Harrigan earned a spot at the U.S. World University Games which took place in Bangkok, Thailand in She claimed an individual gold medal in the 200 meter backstroke (2:11.48) at the Games, and also aided fellow teammates in snagging gold in the 800 meter freestyle relay - setting and resetting the World University Games Record in the event. She is a two-time NCAA Championships qualifier with honorable mention All-American honors in the 100 yard butterfly. Whetstone earned All-BIG EAST Second Team honors as a senior in She was among those competing for Rutgers in the 2008 Olympic Trials. Outside of the sports arena, Whetstone has been honored with the Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award and named Rutgers Woman of the Year after, among many other things, compiling a GPA in the Rutgers School of Business. Shayna Longacre ( 07 Japan International Grand Prix) Longacre got her first taste of international competition at the 2007 Japan International Grand Prix meet, held in Chiba, Japan. She represented the U.S. in both breaststroke events, recording a 15th place finish in the 100 meter (1:10.28) and a 19th place finish in the 200 meter (2:34.33). At Rutgers, Longacre has garnered multiple BIG EAST titles in addition to owning school records in the 100 and 200 yard breaststroke (1:01.30, 2:15.32) and the 200 yard individual medley (2:02.09). She was named to the All- BIG EAST Third Team as a senior in She competed in the 2008 NCAA Championships, earning honorable mention All-American honors with a 15th place finish in the 100 yard breaststroke. She also represented Rutgers at the 2008 Olympic Trials. Catherine Whetstone ( 07 Japan International Grand Prix) Whetstone earned a spot on the U.S. team that traveled to Chiba, Japan for the Japan International Grand Prix meet in She raced the 100 meter butterfly (1:00.60), finishing in the 21st place slot. Whetstone added many impressive academic and athletic accomplishments to her resume during her Rutgers campaign. Individually, she has collected BIG EAST gold medals in the 100 yard butterfly and backstroke events setting the BIG EAST and school records in both (53.27 and 53.11).