Consecutive Wins for CU Swim and Dive

BOULDER, Colorado, October 18 2017 -- Coming off of a big win at the CSU Ram Invitational, the University of Colorado’s club swim and dive team took first place yet again at the second annual Rocky Mountain Invitational at the University of Utah last week. The men’s team had nine first-place finishes, and the women team had five. Altogether, the combined team racked up a score of 1,907 and beat out second-place Utah by more than 600 points. “There was so much energy, so much positivity, with every one cheering each other on,” freshman Erik Stolz said. “We really pulled through and ended up winning by a big margin. It was really satisfying to go out there and win and to bond with the team.” Sophomore Rebecca Jacobs, who took first place for the one-meter dive at nationals last year, won the one-meter dive in Utah with a score of 215.33.

“I hadn’t been practicing that much since it’s so early in the season, so I just got out there and threw my dives,” Jacobs said. “I went in wanting to have a good time, but I was still pretty confident. At some point you have so much muscle memory, you just have to send it.” The team doesn’t have another meet until early November, when they travel to the University of Northern Colorado for the UNC Bear Invite. In the meantime, swimmers and divers are looking to make more individual improvements in order to help the team. “I’m trying to work more on three-meter diving so I can have a more solid list,” Jacobs said. “That and, of course, I hope I can meet some new friends and help out my teammates.” The freshmen on the swim and dive team are hoping to continue proving themselves on the blocks, as much of the team is new this year. “Our coach says we have a really strong freshman team,” Stolz said. “So I hope we can all come together as a class and kick [butt].”

Colorado Wins Fifth-Straight ECC Swimming and Diving Club National Championship

ATLANTA, Georgia, April 13 2015 -- After 53 events, the Colorado Buffaloes have secured their 5th ECC Swimming and Diving Club National Championship title. With 74 attending teams, the Buffs were able to eke out a final combined score of 1,496.5. This topped the second place Gators (1,202 points). Ohio State took 3rd (1,085.5 points), Colorado Mesa was 4th (897.5 points), and Penn State (897.5) rounded out the top 5. The Women’s finals were highlighted by Illinois’ Melissa Andruzzi, who swam 51.42 in the 100 Freestyle to claim her 5th win and 5th meet record of the weekend. Andruzzi was the highest scoring female athlete at the meet. Her high point counterpart on the men’s side was Jacob Johnson of Duke, who won the 100 Butterfly today (49.27) along with the 50 Freestyle and 100 Backstroke during the Saturday session.

Colorado’s only win of the day came in the final individual event, the 100 IM, as Casey Wilson touched the wall in 1:00.03. Wilson’s performance was followed by Brower’s 100 IM; he swam 51.51 to claim a second title on day three. The meet concluded with the 4×50 Freestyle Relay. Colorado Mesa took an early lead in the women’s event and held on to touch the wall first with a time of 1:40.71. The Florida men capped off an excellent meet with a close win over Colorado Mesa. The Gators swam to a time of 1:24.52 and solidified their men’s team title. On the women’s side, the Lady Buffs were able to once again claim victory. The top five women’s teams were Colorado, Ohio State, Colorado Mesa, Northeastern, and North Carolina State. The men’s team race ended with Florida taking a commanding victory over Ohio State, Colorado, Penn State, and Colorado Mesa.

All in all, the 2015 ECC lived up to its hype, serving as an exciting, fast paced, and competitive opportunity for more than 1500 collegiate club swimmers. Over the three day, five session meet, there were a total of 13 records broken. These include Alaina Gossett’s 200 Backstroke (2:06.65), Juliana Prim’s 100 and 200 Butterfly (56.99 and 2:05.93, respectively), Melissa Andruzzi’s 200 IM, 400 IM, 200 Breaststroke, 200 Freestyle, and 100 Freestyle (2:06.63, 4:30.94, 2:18.11, 1:51.09, and 51.42, respectively), Andrew Brower’s 200 Breaststroke (2:00.62), Maddie Sibilia’s 100 Freestyle (10:51.80), UVA men’s 4×200 Freestyle Relay (6:56.44), UCF men’s 4×100 Medley Relay (3:17.98), and Colorado women’s 4×50 Medley Relay (1:50.67). The competition this year was tougher than ever, but it is clear that every swimmer rose to the occasion and has left his or her mark on the 2015 ECC Collegiate Club National Swim & Dive Championship.

CU-Boulder Swimming and Diving Team Hungry for a National Title Three-Peat

BOULDER, Colorado, March 5 2013 -- The University of Colorado-Boulder swim and dive team is hoping to “three-peat” by winning another national title this spring. Last year, Colorado edged out the University of Florida by a close 145 points, and women’s team captain Kate Booth said she’s confident the Buffs can win again. “It’s going to be tough, but I think we’re definitely more than capable of outperforming what we did last year,” she said, “as long as we all … keep pushing through.” Booth, a junior majoring in math and astronomy, is originally from Westminster, Colo., where she was captain of her high school team. She joined the CU team as a freshman and knew she’d found a close-knit community after the team traveled together for the first time that fall.

Booth, a freestyle specialist, was finance director for the team before she became captain. In the fall, she led the team’s efforts to plan its own swimming and diving meet, the Buff Invitational, which was held in Thornton, Colo., in October. The meet served as a fundraiser for the team, which has more than 100 members, and also gave CU a chance to race close to home since they travel many weekends throughout the year. Booth said what sets the CU team apart from other club teams — or even varsity programs — is that everyone on the team swims purely for enjoyment. The team practices every day for two hours, but there’s no pressure, she said, so no one burns out from over-training. “Sometimes people who go swim Division (varsity) feel like they have to for the scholarship opportunities,” she said. “We’re here because we love the sport of swimming. It gives you that competitive edge that if you want, you can get.”

Ellesse Spaeth, a sophomore majoring in civil engineering and a Mullen High (Denver) graduate, specializes in the individual medley, breaststroke and relays. In high school, Spaeth said she had to decide between swimming for a smaller Division I or II program, or attending her school of choice, CU, and swimming for the club team. Because of other students in a similar position, Spaeth said she thinks CU’s club team attracts top athletes.“Since CU does not have a Division team, we take all the best swimmers,” she said. “We just have a really good competitive aspect because everyone comes from a serious swimming background.” On the men’s side, CU’s Toshi Hirabayashi, 29, is a doctoral student in aerospace engineering while swimming for the club team. Originally from Japan, Hirabayashi is competing again for the first time in 10 years, he said.

Hirabayashi said the team gave him an instant “family” on campus. Senior Magaret Fox, who was her team’s captain at Longmont High, said nationals will be tough this year with more than 60 other teams already registered. Fox added that she’s happy to have found a smaller niche community within the CU campus. “It definitely brought me something to stay close to in such a big school,” Fox said. “This team is like my family. We spend so much time together.”

CU-Boulder Swim Team Takes First at Nationals

ATLANTA (4/5/12) – The University of Colorado‘s club swim team placed first overall at the 2012 East Coast Nationals last weekend, two years after being disqualified from American Swimming Association for inappropriate behavior. The CU team cut ties with the American Swimming Association in 2010 after the competition barred three Buffs from competing, who wrote letters to the organization before nationals expressing concerns for the way the competitions were staged. Neither CU nor the association would elaborate on what was deemed inappropriate. This marks the second consecutive national title won by the team since it’s expulsion from the American Swimming Association in 2010. Prior to the disqualification, the CU team won four consecutive national titles with the American Swimming Association.

CU sophomore Alex Mitoma said the team has won nationals in six of the last seven years. “I wasn’t here the year the team was disqualified but I know it was about taking a stand against the organization which is no longer hosting a national competition,” Mitoma said. “The disqualification did not speak to our reputation or the quality of the team and I think that was made clear by the last two wins.” East Coast Nationals has replaced the American Swimming Association as the club swimming nationals, Mitoma said. The competition continues to get tougher every year, he said, with varsity program across the country losing funding sending varsity-level swimmers to compete at the club level. The women took first place while the men took second at last weekend’s competition but Mitoma said it was the diving team that pushed the Buffs into first overall.

“The competition was really close but the divers created the gap that really put us ahead,” Mitoma said. The University of Florida came in second overall creating a close competition for the Buffs. Bruce Deakyne, CU junior and club president, said the meet was the largest collegiate club meet in history so it was a good time for CU swimmers to strut their stuff. “The Buffs broke 11 team records and five meet records, winning 11 events in total,” Deakyne said. “This was the most competitive national club meet we have ever attended,” Deakyne said. “The team picked up momentum on the first night and kept the lead though the meet.” Mitoma said he expects future competitions to get more difficult but with consistent coaching and support, he predicts the Buffs will continue to win. “Scott, our swim coach, he’s the first coach that’s stayed for more than a year in a while,” Mitoma said. “I don’t think he’s going anywhere and the consistency he creates for us is great.” Diving coach, Gevin Votaw, has been with the team for nearly 20 years, Mitoma said, and the talent of the diving team is an example of what can be accomplished when a team sees constant support and training.

CU Swimming and Diving Wins Fifth National Title in Six Years

ATLANTA (4/5/11) – The University of Colorado swimming and diving team are champions of the ECC Club Swimming Nationals. The Buffaloes took home the overall title on Sunday at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center with 1,270.50 points, blowing away second place Florida, who finished with 744.50 points. CU’s women’s team finished first with 720.50 points while the men finished second with 550, 19 points behind first place Rhode Island. “This was our toughest win yet,” said CU junior and team president Bruce Deakyne, who finished with gold medals in the men’s 500 yard and 1000 yard freestyle events. “With varsity programs being cut across the country, club swimming is getting faster every year. Our men and women broke 17 team records, won 14 events and set 11 meet records. I’m excited for next season and hope we can continue our success.” Colorado’s championship is their fifth in six years, and the Buffs have won a title every year in which they have competed in that time span.

The ECC Club Swimming Nationals was the largest club swimming meet ever as 46 teams and over 1,000 athletes from schools across the country attended the three day event. Colorado sent their largest championship team ever to meet, bringing 49 swimmers and one diver. On Sunday, Colorado’s men’s team was down by three points entering the final event, the 100 yard individual medley, but the Buffs weren’t able to come from behind as Rhode Island’s Alex Macdonald won the event and secured the men’s title for the Rams. However, the final day of competition wasn’t a disappointment for the CU men as senior Steve Nester defeated Rhode Island’s Joe Sagginario in a thrilling race in the 200 yard freestyle. Nester defeated Sagginario by 22 hundredths of a second to win gold and set a new meet record of 1:43.23. The CU women’s team dominated the relay events at the meet as they won every race except for the last one, the 4x50 yard medley relay, in which James Madison pulled out the victory on Sunday.

Senior Lauren Fowler led the Colorado women on the last day with a good showing in the 50 yard backstroke, in which she finished third, and the 100 yard individual medley, in which she finished second by 13 hundredths of a second to Tennessee’s Rachel Leong. However, Fowler’s weekend wasn’t a disappointment as she brings home three gold medals from the meet. Fowler won the 200 yard backstroke on Friday and the 100 yard backstroke and 200 yard individual medley on Saturday. The CU women picked up three more individual victories over the weekend as senior Ashley Scott won the 100 yard freestyle, freshman Melanie Rogers won the 50 yard freestyle after breaking the meet record twice (once in the preliminary’s and again in the finals) and Diedra Gustafson won the one meter springboard in diving. This is the first year that diving was included in the championship venue. Colorado’s championship victory at the ECC’s once again ends another successful season that featured seven meets against NCAA, NAIA and club teams. The Buffaloes will look to make it six championships in seven years in 2012.

University of Colorado Swimming Team Disqualified From ASA Championships; “Inappropriate Behavior” Cited — Updated With Statement from CU

PHOENIX, Arizona, April 22 2010 -- RECENTLY SwimmingWorld.com posted a press release issued by the American Swimming Association announcing the results of their University League's championship meet. The press release failed to mention that the association disqualified the entire University of Colorado's men's and women's swimming team on the final day and expunged all of CU results from the final results. The ASA, founded in 2003 by current league president Dr. Keith Bell as a for-profit entity that conducts non-USA Swimming sanctioned and non-NCAA sanctioned events, cited "inappropriate behavior" displayed before and during the meet as the reason for the team disqualification.

The Colorado Daily first reported the news Monday that the University of Colorado team was asked to leave the competition before Sunday's finals, according to the story written by Whitney Bryen. As a result, CU lost the chance to win a fifth straight combined team league title, which was awarded to the University of Florida club team. CU officials are considering the option of breaking from the ASA, as well as pondering a course of legal action against the ASA. The ASA has its own set of rules and regulations allowing for different racing strategies. Two of those strategies include allowing forward standing starts from the blocks in backstroke events and switching the order of swimmers in medley relay events. In addition, breaststrokers and butterflyers can perform flip turns instead of two handed touch turns.

Reports indicate that members of the Colorado team riled the association by sending a letter protesting the backstroke standing start and other rules prior to the championship meet. The Colorado team was threatened with a ban prior to the start of the meet for the letter, but was allowed to compete if they agreed to certain conditions. As the meet moved into its final day, with some spectators reportedly confused by all the variations and unorthodox league rules, the association disqualified the entire team when CU staff informed the ASA they would not abide by the conditions they initially agreed on before the meet. Reports indicated that in at least one backstroke race the entire heat started in the water to show support for CU. Reports also indicated that after the meet was rescored, some teams were requested to restage their podium photo shots, but it is unclear if any team complied.

Officials and swimmers from CU were immediately told to not comment on the situation, a decision that was re-stated at a team meeting Wednesday. Shortly after this article was posted, Cheryl Kent, director of recreation services for CU, provided the following statement via email: "We at CU are very sorry that the CU collegiate sport club swimming and diving team was unable to continue in their bid for another national championship. My heart goes out to our swimmers, coaching staff, families and friends of our program. Our team is looking forward to next year and moving forward." In extensive interviews with Swimming World, Keith Bell, verified that the issue between his organization and CU began with the student-written letter, and talked about the circumstances that led to CU's expulsion from the meet.

Bell said he spoke with CU coaches before the meet, saying the letter resulted in the ASA revoking the team's entries to the league's national meet in Atlanta. Bell said the coaches asked the ASA to not punish the entire team for the actions of a few athletes, and after consideration, Bell and ASA staff allowed CU to compete in the nationals, with the exception of the three swimmers who were responsible for writing the letter. "We were really afraid of further damage," Bell said. "They (the CU team) had done irreparable harm to the organization, and we didn't want to give them a forum to further harm the organization or nationals in any way. We worked out a way to (allow them entry into the meet), but in hindsight I wish I hadn't." Swimming World also learned from Bell of other conditions that the CU staff agreed to in order to compete that included a letter of apology written by CU staff and sent to member teams of the ASA, payment of meet fees, limiting public complaints to Bridger Bell (Keith's son and meet director) at the meet, building a positive atmosphere at the nationals by not disrupting the meet, and conforming to meet rules.

"They assured us of 100 percent compliance," Bell said. Keith Bell did not attend the meet, but he received regular reports from his son that CU was not complying with any of the conditions they agreed to in Atlanta. The letter of apology, the Bells discovered through discussions with representatives from other teams, was not sincere and the check for meet fees was never sent. Keith Bell spoke of one other instance that he said he had never heard about in more than 50 years in competitive swimming. "In the 400 IM, two of their swimmers were DQ'd (for unsportsmanlike conduct) for rolling over on their backs on freestyle and waving to everybody," Keith Bell said. "It's as if they were mocking the event. You don't see that kind of thing happening at (USA Swimming) nationals." CU's announcement of non-compliance with the agreed-upon conditions was enough to warrant immediate removal from the meet, Keith Bell said.

Club Swimmers Splash Toward Third Championship

BOULDER, Colorado, September 28, 2007 -- The CU club swimming team has won the club national championship the past two years in a row. Now they are looking to make it three. “National championship or not, you have to approach every year a little differently,” head coach Nate Rothman said. “We can expect to do the same thing at nationals as last year by doing the same things, but we want to be better as a team.” Turnout for club swimming this year has been substantial. Nearly 100 prospective swimmers showed up to the club’s informational meeting and around 40 freshmen attended the first practice of the season, Rothman said. Part of the reason the CU club team won the club national championships two years running is nearly all of their regular season competition leading up to the club championships is against varsity swimming programs.

Freshman Josh Fleming said while the team atmosphere is really competitive, it is not intimidating. “It’s a lot of fun and competitive,” Fleming said. “Everyone here is really friendly and welcoming to all skill levels, whether you’re a beginner or you’ve been swimming your whole life.” The club swim team has their first competition of the season on Oct. 6 against Metro State and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

CU Club Swimming Takes Nationals for the Second Year. Swimmers set records, take down host Virginia

CHARLOTTSVILLE, Virginia, April 18, 2007 -- The CU club swimming team struck gold at this year’s American Swimming Association University League National Championships, earning its second straight title. Eighteen teams competed in the third annual event, which took place at the University of Virginia on April 14-15. CU earned 668.5 total points and defeated last year’s runner-up, Virginia. The host team posted a total of 531 points. “It was very exciting to see our student-athletes go out there and hold their own,” head coach Nate Rothman said. “They swam incredibly, and I am very pleased with how everything went.” A competitive regular season helped the team achieve postseason success, junior and men’s captain Piers Blyth said. “I think we had one of the fastest teams we have ever had. We were feeling strong throughout the season,” he said. “We kept up with a lot of Division II and Division III teams this year, so we expected to do pretty well going into the championships.”

Rothman said the tournament’s results exceeded the team’s expectations. The competition saw a total of 28 records established throughout the weekend. CU set 16 of those records. Blyth set the men’s records in the 100-yard butterfly, 100-yard backstroke and 25-yard butterfly events. Women’s captain Taylor Bleidt set one individual record in the women’s 200-yard freestyle event. The sophomore also achieved five final first-place finishes. “The team is constantly building together and getting better,” she said. “It has been a really great year overall, and our times at the meet showed that.” The team’s efforts at nationals stayed very consistent throughout the tournament, Rothman said. “I think the big thing is we had a lot of depth. We had more than one person coming back in each (final) event every night, allowing us to move up and create a greater margin of victory,” Rothman said.

At nationals, Virginia’s home-pool advantage posed a significant threat to CU’s chances of repeating as champions. “It is their pool, so they knew what to expect. They did not have to travel before the event either, which was a huge advantage for them,” Rothman said. CU prepared for the trip by resting swimmers before their departure to prevent exhaustion during nationals. Virginia’s home advantage played a big role in motivating the Buffs, Bleidt said. “I think it really got us pumped to know that we would face an even bigger challenge going to Virginia,” she said. The two-time champions have a lot of youth woven into the fabric of the team, fostering high hopes for next season. “It’s great to know we have a young team because it means we can keep having success and building upon our foundation in the future,” Blyth said..

Rothman attributes much of CU’s success to the strong relationships his swimmers have built with each other. “Our team has a great camaraderie, and I think I saw a lot more interaction and teamwork between our swimmers at nationals compared to the other teams,” he said. “A lot of people think of swimming as an individual sport, but having a team is really important because the interaction can really get you fired up.”

With Dick Lepman coming from behind to finish three feet ahead in the crucial four-man relay, Colorado edged out Colorado A&M 43-41 February 22, and the Water Buffaloes swam to a tie for eastern slope honors with the Aggies. The finmen, coached by Paul Bradley, turned in a good season, winning six meets, and losing once to the Aggies and once to Nebraska. Opening the season with a lopsided 66-8 win over Colorado State, the mermen went on to thoroughly dunk Denver and Wyoming before losing 33-49 to Nebraska and Lincoln. In the Colorado A&M camp the Rams bested the Buffs 46-38. After another easy win over Denver, the team hung the two-pointer on the Aggies, and went on to swamp Wyoming 61-23 to cinch their share in the title.

During the season school records were cracked right and left, and CU swimmers hung up two new conference records. Dick Ready, Dave Ebaugh, and Frank Zaitz teamed to lower the 300 yard medley relay record to 3:28.4. Keith Gilmore turned a 25.2 50 yard freestyle to claim another record, and Lepman and Ready also lowered school records in the freestyle and backstroke respectively. Lepman was the outstanding swimmer on the team, winning freestyle events at will. Gilmore, Bowers, Zaitz, Eastman, Flower and Polowski were also worthy freestyle performers. Herbst and Ebaugh in the breaststroke and Ready and Alderman in the backstroke proved needed points.

Organized during the summer by Chief Leonard, the swimming team took first place in the regional A.A.U. swimming meet held in Denver in August. With only a month of practice, the squad, composed of naval trainees, vanquished the top teams of the Rocky Mountain section. Work horse of the team was Rollin Wilson, who swam to victory in the 100 and 400 meter freestyle events as well as participated in the relay. The 200 meter freestyle was well taken care of as Joe Knittle copped first and Reid Barker backed him up with second. Al Look and Bob Rogers took second and fourth respectively, in the 200 meter breaststroke, while Andy Rechnitzer pulled down third in the 200 meter backstroke. The relay team of Wilson, Barker, Gilmore, and Knittle nosed out the Multnomah Athletic Club by two yards to take the relay event.

SWIMMING SQUAD 1942

The University of Colorado swimming team under the tutelage of Coach Bob Shelton opened the season with a convincing 70-14 victory over the Wyoming University splashes. Merrifield praced the Buffs by winning both the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle events. Other first place winners for Colorado were Daniels, Dumm, Eaton and Bigum. Ward, Foley and Clark teamed together to cop the 300-yard medley, while Davis, Clark, List and Merrifield grabbed the 440-yard relay event.

Practically all honors were grabbed by the Buffaloes in a dual meet with Colorado State. The Colorado tankmen won first place in nine events, piling up a 51-23 marign. Individual honors were divided between Bigum, Merrifield and Eaton, capturing two first places each. Again the Colorado swimmers showed their superiority by monopolizing all of the first place positions by trouncing Colorado State 57-27. Merrifield in both dashes and Bigum in both distance races, along with wins by Eaton, Daniels and the 300-yard medley team were outstanding for Colorado.

In the division meet Colorado took complete control by winning first place in every scheduled event. The Buff swimmers amassed 83 points in winning the championship, followed by Colorado State with 49, and Wyoming with 26.

SWIMMING SQUAD 1941

For the first time in Big Seven Colorado was shorn of its swim title. Tragedy in the death of George Caypless and ineligibility caused the Buffs to drop to second in the conference. Coach Robert Shelton's swimmers started the season by winning every event but one and beating Wyoming 52 to 26. Rogers and Merrifield showed that they would be outstanding. In the next meet Colorado won five firsts to three for Aggies, but because of a dispute in scoring lost 43 to 41.

Kansas State beat Colorado 79 to 46, while Mines finished third with 34 points in a triangular meet. Yeo of Kansas set a new pool record of 56 seconds in the hundred. Paced by Rogers, who won the fifty and hundred yard free styles in both meets, Colorado beat Greeley State 62-22, and Wyoming 49 to 33. Aggies beat the Buffs again 50 to 34. Rogers swam the fifty in 57.3 seconds, clipping a second off the conference record. In the Eastern Division meet Colorado took second, Merrifield won the 220 and 440 yard freestyles. Wagner took the diving, and the 440 relay team set a record of four minutes. Nebraska beat CU 49 to 30 in the last meet. Bauer, Bigum, Clark, List, Merrifield, Robinson, Rogers, Underwood, and Wagner won C's.

SWIMMING SQUAD 1940

The Colorado swimming squad brought the four year regime of Howard "Doc" Waite to a successful termination by winning ten out of eleven meets and its third successive Eastern Division championship. Waite, who resigned at the conclusion of the season to take a position as head-trainer at Pittsburgh, has piloted the swimming tema to twenty-one wins and three losses, and three Divisional titles in four years at the helm. Opening their season, the swimmers sunk Greeley State 65-19, followed by a 51-16 victory over Wyoming. In their third meet, the Bufs handed Colorado State a shellacking by a score of 48.5 to 26.5

Invading Big Six territory, Colorado dropped a 46-35 decision to Kansas State but defeated the strong Nebraska Crew 48 to 36. The Buffaloes returned home to score a 61 to 19 win over Wyoming, a 56 to 23 decision to Mines and a 51 to 33 victory over Aggies. In the Eastern division meet, the tankment grabbed the title with a total of 81 points folowed by Colorado State and Wyoming. The Buffs then closed the season by tossing Coach Waite into the pool after defeating New Mexico Military Institute, 44 to 31.

The University of Colorado won its second consecutive Big Seven championship by leading the field of entrants with a total of 65 points in the divisional meet. Aggies finished second with 50 points and Wyoming was third with 44 points. Although handicapped by graduation and ineligibility, Colorado's Buffalos, led by Law, Holmes, McCotter, and Vandapool, finished the 1939 season undefeated in six contests. The oustanding man on the CU team was Ray Vandapool who won sixteen blue ribbons out of sixteen starts in the 100-220-440 yard freestyle. Ray finished the season by setting a new conference record in his main event, the 100 yard freestyle.

The University of Colorado swimmers made a good start in the first season of the Big Seven Conference. The team ammassed a total of 89 points while Wyoming in second place managed to garner only 39. Colorado Aggies was third with 27. The Buffaloes took firsts in all the events but the 50-yard freestyle event. Peyton Musselwhite was the high scorer of the meet with firsts in the 220 and 440-yard freestyle events. He also was anchor man on the 400-yard relay team. In taking these two firsts Musselwhite broke the old conference records in both of the distances. Pat Reed took first place in the 200-yard breaststroke with a good margin to spare.

Wilson and Poyen took first place in the 100-yard freestyle with Lee carrying off fifth place. In the 150-yard backstroke, Hayes, Leonard, and Atkinson copped first, third, and fifth positions respectively. Mark and Holdredge took the first two places in the diving event. Following Musselwhite in the 220 and 440-yard freestyles was Lloyd with fifth and third places respectively. The medley relay team was composed of Hayes, Reed and McCotter -- the 400-yard relay team of Vandapool, Glass, McCotter, and Musselwhite.

Displaying true championship talent, the Colorado School of Mines tankmen successfully defended their eastern division swimming title by scoring 71 points in the division meet here last Friday and Saturday. Runner-up honors went to Colorado University, scoring 41 points. Colorado Aggies finished third with 35 points; other teams finished in the order named: Wyoming, 15 points; Greeley State, 8 oints, and Denver U., 2 points. The Blasters captured six of nine first places and five second places. CU won two each of firsts and seconds, and Aggies won one first two seconds. The other three teams did not win anything higher than third places.

Nils Christianson of Mines, who swam on the 1936 Phillippine Olympic team, undoubtedly was the oustanding man of the meet. Three of Mines' blue ribbons were won by him, in the 50, 100 and 440-yard freestyles; he also set conference records in the 50 and 100. Colorado's two first places were in the diving and in the breaststroke. Bill Mark, undefeated diver, established a new school record with a high of 133 points. Another undefeated swimmer and conference record-holder in the breaststroke, Ross Bumstead, garnered another first for Colorado.

The University of Colorado swimming team wound up a mediocre season by winning fourth place in the eastern division meet here February 28 and 29. The Buff tankmen scored 17 points, finishing behind Mines with 41, Colorado State with 26, and Greeley State with 23. The CU swimmers had second place within their grasp, only to lose it when the medley relay team was disqualfied. William DeBacker made a sensational finish to nose out the Mines anchor man, but the judges ruled that he took off before his teammate had finished his last lap.

Bill Mark, sophomore diver, retained his diving championship in a comeback after Brown of Greeley had beaten him in the preliminaries. He won the only Colorado first. Ross Bumstead, in poor form, lost his breaststroke title to Sears of Mines, who won the event with a time of five seconds slower than Bumstead's division record. John Hayes won third in the backstroke, Debacker fourth in the 50-yard sprint, and the CU 440-yard relay team won second. Colorado lost a dual meet to Mines, 48 to 36, here January 25; were nosed out by Colorado State February 8 at Ft. Collins; beat Wyoming here, 57 to 28, February 15; tied with Greeley State at Greeley, 42 to 42, February 22.

THE BUFFALO swimmers, though beaten in the Eastern Division meet here in March 1, by the defending champions, Aggies, came through with one of the best season performances in many years. Colorado scored 33 points to place second behind the Farmers' 46. Three victories and one defeat is their dual meet record, having dropped a four-point decision to Aggies. The Silver and Gold won over Mines, Teachers and Wyoming, by heavy scores. Great individual performances featured the Buffaloes' meets all season. Charles Bumstead, ace breaststroker, twice broke the record formerly held by his teammate Hans Hansen, and was undefeated in his specialty all year. Bill Mark, diver, was beaten only once -- by Brown, former champion -- and captured the first in the Division meet. Ralph Christy, Horace Eakins, and Bumstead teamed up in the medley relay to break the old conference mark twice during the season, the last time at the Division meet.

In the first meet of the season, the Colorado tankmen downed Mines 48-36, here January 26. Although the Blasters won five firsts to the Buffaloes four, CU captured enough second places to win the meet. Bumstead, Eakins, White and Mark won the blue ribbons for Colorado. Aggies proved too much for the Bisons, when they managed a 44-40 victory February 6. Though beaten, the Colorado splashers set two conference records and dangerously threatened the Farmers' supremacy. Bumstead broke the breaststroke record, and the medley relay team lowered that mark. Christy won the backstroke event and Mark won diving, for the other CU first places.

At Laramie February 16, the Bisons easily overcame the Wyoming Cowboys, 50-34, winning firsts in all but the 400-yard relay and the 440-yard dash. Bumstead, Christy, Eakins and Mark led in their specialties. CU doused the Greeley Staters here February 23, 47-38, capturing number one positions in six events. In the features of the day, Christy beat Sorby of Teachers, and Mark dropped an exciting diving duel to Brown of Teachers, who won by 9/10 of a point. The 400-yard relay team, Bumstead and Eakins won the other Colorado firsts. Letterman are Lucien Bissey, Charles Bumstead, Ralph Christy, William DeBacker, Horace Eakins, William Haible, Hans Hansen, Julian Hayes, William Mark, Norman Neel, and John Poyen. Christy, Eakins, and Hansen will be lost by graduation: but prospects are good for next season.

SWIMMING SQUAD 1934

COLORADO'S 1934 swimming team won two of its three dual meets and finished second in the conference meet held here March 3. Aggies were again champions with 39 points, Colorado was next with 35, C. T. C. third with 30, and Wyoming fourth with 11. The Farmer 400-yard relay team set a new record of 4 minutes 52 seconds, and Wayne Berry, Teacher star and high point man of the meet, set a new record of 2 minutes 29.3 seconds in the 220-yard freestyle. The Aggie merment came to town February 10 and were almost upset by Colorado's representatives. The final score was Aggies 47, CU 37. Hans Hansen, Colorado veteran, clipped more than three seconds off the old record in the 200-yard breastroke event. His time was 2:50.4.

The following Saturday Colorado met Wyoming. The Cowboys were unable to do very much and were swamped by a score of 58-21. CU won every event except the 150-yard backstroke. Teachers proved to be a tough competition when CU journeyed to Greeley, February 24. It was a nip-and-tuck affair all the way. Berry was the high point man for the Teachers, winning every event he entered. Colorado won with a score of 45-39. Many of the Colorado stars swam under the colors of the Denver Athletic Club at the A. A. U. meet held in Denver after the regular season. Hans Hansen won the 200-yard breaststroke race while Ralph Christy was good for a second in the backstroke. These two men, with Horace Eakins, another CU man, teamed up int he final event, the 300-yard medley relay, to break a tie and win the team title for the D. A. C.

THE 1933 Swimming Team was strong and well-balanced in every event, despite a lack of outstanding stars. In the first meet, against Colorado Aggies, Coach Chapman's swimmers, composed largely of inexperienced men, were beaten 54 to 30. The Aggie veterans showed marked superiority in the frestyle events, winning every first place in this department. The next two meets were with Wyoming at Laramie and Teachers at Boulder. Colorado won every first place and a majority of the second honors, proving the balance of the team. The scores were CU, 64; Wyoming, 20; CU, 62; Teachers, 24.

With the experience of three meets behind them, each man found his best event, and the team went to Greeley intent on the championship. Again the strength of the Aggies in the freestyle, backstroke and other events was too great a handicap for the University swimmers. The showing made was eminently satisfactory, however, with the final score 52 for Aggies and 44 for CU. The letterman are: Porath and Hansen, breaststroke; Christy, backstroke; Baird and Halldorson, diving; and Bangeman, Alexander, Maxwell, Clark, Moore, Eakins and Christy established a new record at the Conference Meet. With all but one of the letterman returning next year, the prospects of a championship in swimming are particularly good.

The Varsity Swimming Team finished its season by placing second in the Eastern Division Meet. Aggies won the Division championship with 43 points while Colorado scored 37; Teachers and Wyoming finished third and fourth, respectively. Colorado, however, won four of the eight division championships; these were in the diving, won by Baird, backstroke won by Christy, Collins won the breaststroke, and the medley relay team, Collins, Porath, Baird, was victorious. Collins was the high point man of the meet. Colorado annexed a conference record when Collins broke the breaststroke record by six seconds; and Aggies acquired a record formerly held by Colorado when Longmore broke the hundred yard dash record. Baird was undefeated during the year.

The team won all its dual meets except those with Aggies, despite the fact that it was composed of practically all new men. The team has very good prospects for next year as all the lettermen except Hazlett and Collins will be back, and the championship should return to Colorado. The letterman are: James Baird, Elmer Halldorson, Lewis Jolley, William Wallace, Robert Hazlett, Charles Moore, Charles Williams, John Bangement, William Nagel, Ralph Christy, Karl Porath, and Ernest Collins.

Head Coach John H. Mason

John H. Mason, swimming coach, was graduated from the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College at Stillwater, Oklahoma, in 1925. While in school there he was the quarterback of the football team for three years and All-Southwestern Conference selection for that position in 1922; he also made letters in track and wrestling.

COLORADO again annexed the eastern division swimming championship this year by virtue of winning the eastern division meet at Laramie and every other meet scheduled. All of the Silver and Gold watermen performed in an outstanding fashion throughout the season. State's tankers opened their season by scoring a 50-25 win over Aggie's mermen at Boulder on January 31; in this meet new conference records were established by Colorado's relay team, in the 220-yard freestyle by Pingrey, of Colorado, and in the 50-yard freestyle by Longmore, of Aggies. CU substitutes next swamped Wyoming 6 to 13 on February 6; in this meet Murray, of CU clipped two tenths of a second from Longmore's record established the week before, and the Colorado's medley team also set a new record.

The next victims to be snowed under were the Teacher's swimmers, who were defeated 51 to 18 by Colorado on Feburary 11. In a return meet the Silver and Gold again defeated Aggies 44 to 31 at Fort Collins on February 14. In the conference meet at Laramie on February 29 and 30, Coach Mason's natators won their third consecutive eastern division title and took every first place, piling up 67 points to the Teacher's 23.5 points and Wyoming's 11.5 points.

COLORADO'S swimming team emerged victorious in all of the five dual meets in which they participated in during the past season. With Campbell, Hinderlider, Collins, Johnson and Stoddard doing excellent work, the team was easily the outstanding team in the eastern division of the conference. Several new marks were made by the team during the season. Campbell broke his own mark in the 220-yard free style in the meet with Teachers in Boulder on February 21, swimming the distance in 2:43.1. This mark was 5.6 faster than his former time. Johnson also set a new mark in the breast stroke, in the same meet. He had made one new mark in the event earlier in the season, swimming the race in 3 minutes, 8.1 seconds. His new mark was 2 seconds faster.

Stoddard, Hinderlider, Swartz and Campbell set a new mark in the 200-yard relay, in the meet with Wyoming on January 26, lowering the old records of 1 minute 56.4 seconds to 1 minute 50.3. Stoddard lowered the record in the 100-yard free style race from the 1 minute 4.8 seconds to 1 minute 4.5 seconds in the same meet. Meets were won from Wyoming, Mines, Aggies and two from Teachers. Campbell was a high point winnter for the team, scoring 34 points. Stoddard was close behind with 30, while Johnson made 25. Coach John H. Mason had done much to build an active and worth-while team. The presence of such an active coach as Mason, has made the sport of swimming one that is becoming more and more popular among the members of the Rocky Mountain Conference.

This year's squad will lose very few men and, as a result, there is an excellent chance for another high-point team next year. The sport is rapidly gaining support in all of the schools in the conference, and a few years will see swimming among the most interesting of all the minor sports. The University has a well-equipped team, and an excellent pool in the gymnasium.

Colorado Swim Team Shatters Two Conference Marks

BOULDER Colo., Feb. 12. 1927 -- University of Colorado swimmers broke two conference records in the varsity gymnasium Friday afternoon as they defeated Colorado Aggies 48 to 11 in a meet featured by a spectacular race for honors in the 100-yard dash between two Silver and Gold mermen. The Aggies did not win a first place in the meet.

Defeating a teammate, Stoddard, by four inches, Austin of Colorado smashed the 100-yard dash record. Capt. Elston Tribble of Colorado established a new record in the 150-yard backstroke event. Three hundred spectators saw the 1926 conference tank champions overwhelm the Aggies. Results of the events were:

100 yard freestyle -- First, Austin, Colorado; second, Stoddard, Colorado; third, Noland, Aggies. Time. 1:48. Breaks old record made by Capt. Rutledge, Colorado, of 1.7 in 1926. 150 yard Backstroke -- First Capt. Tribble, Colorado; second, Anderson, Colorado; third Noland, Aggies. Time 2:10.2 Break conference record of 2:17 made by Capt. Rutledge, Colorado, in 1926. 200-yard Breaststroke -- First, Jones, Colorado; second Deicha, Aggies; third, Emery, Aggies. Time 3.06.1. Fancy Diving -- First, Capt. Tribble, Colorado; second, Shanks, Aggies; third, Reilly, Colorado. 50-yard Freestyle Swim -- First, Austin, Colorado; second, Stoddard, Colorado; third, Nordine, Aggies. Time 28 seconds. 200-yard Relay -- Won by Austin Anderson, Jones and Stoddard of Coloardo. Time 1:55.5

The Cardinal Visit, Buffs Break Through

For decades Stanford has been home to one of the nations top swim programs, holding 7 NCAA national championships. Today it would be inconceivable for the Stanford swim team to visit Boulder. That wasn’t the case in 1926 though when the Cardinal chose to venture to Colorado to face the Buffs in an exhibition meet. The result was a massacre as the Cardinal steam rolled to a 44-14 win.

Facing the Music

The first official meet in the history of the University of Colorado swim team was against a Glee Club. More specifically the meet was against four members of the Northwestern University Glee Club. On paper, you might assume the Buffs rolled to a blowout victory. You would be wrong, because these weren’t your ordinary, run of the mill, Glee Club singers. When they were not occupied with their vocals they were four of the most prestigious swimmers in the country. A year prior they were instrumental in securing the Wildcats first national championship in swimming. The group was led by Captain Ralph Breyer, an Olympic caliber swimmer who earned a gold medal as part of the United States’ 4 X 200 relay in the 1924 Olympics.

Already traveling out west as members of the school glee club, Breyer and company took the opportunity to organize a barnstorming tour against collegiate swim teams, many of which were in their infancy just like CU. Notable stops included Stanford, University of Utah, University of Denver. The traveling tour reached Boulder on February 2nd, 1925 where they squared off in the brand new Carlson Gymnasium. The rag tag CU squad stood little chance as they lost their first ever competition 41-18. Despite the poor initial showing, better times lied ahead. Following the loss to the “Northwestern Four” CU bounced back with a win against the Denver YMCA by a score of 36-30. However, the Buffs first win against a true college opponent wouldn’t come until April 23 against the University of Denver.

Just like CU the Pioneers, coached by Kenneth Johnson, were a young inexperienced squad in their first season of competition. It is possible it could have been a competitive meet, however Denver was crippled by injuries. Days before the meet of one the Pioneers swimmers broke his leg and was unable to compete. To add to this misfortune during the meet another of their top swimmers, Walker, pulled a tendon costing DU points in diving and the 100 free. With Walker out Denver was also forced to forfeit the final relay of the meet. The end result was a solid 40-24 win for the Buffs. A few weeks later CU proved the win was no fluke as they wrapped up their season with a Triangular victory against DU and the Denver YMCA. This meet is most notable for being the first CU meet with detailed team results. The Buffs claimed a couple of first places: Elston Rutledge in the 40-yard backstroke and John Dawson in diving.

The Buffs dominated the plunge for distance event at the meet claiming first, second and third place. The plunge for distance is a long discontinued swimming event where competitors dive into a pool and float for sixty seconds trying to make it as far down the pool as possible before breathing. This is the only time CU officially competed in a plunge for distance. As a result, Anderson who won first place that day with a 50 foot, 2 inches dive is the school’s current record holder.