Rutgers Swimming & Diving

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 coach- es - James H. Reilly (1916-1957), Otto H. Hill (1957-1961), Frank W. Elm (1961-1993), Elizabeth Blau (1993-1996), Rick Simpson (1996-1997), Chuck Warner (1997-2010) 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.

1916-1930 Frank Elm and Judy Melick, the first Rutgers Female Swimmer. Rutgers Swimming began in 1915 upon the comple- tion of the Ballantine Gym with a $30,000 donation by Mrs. that eventually became the butterfly in 1954. Gantner was Ballantine for a pool addition. The pool was dedicated March an Eastern Champion, National Champion and one-time world 10, 1915 with a “gala” meet starring National Champion, record holder. world record holder and two-time Olympian (1908 and 1912) 1946-1956 saw continued successes with the James Reilly (1997 Rutgers Olympic Sports Hall of Fame teams recording an overall record of 64 wins against only Inductee). Reilly was promptly hired as the “swim instructor” nine losses. All-American Bob Nugent (‘52), a 1997 Olympic and four decades of excellence began. Reilly also presided Sports Hall of Fame inductee, epitomized the era. Earning First over the new Eastern Collegiate Swimming Association from Team All-American honors in ‘49, ‘50 and ‘51, Nugent was 1920 until 1927, with Rutgers compiling a record of 48 wins 1948 Eastern Champion in the 100 free, and an NCAA finalist and only nine losses. Leo Geibel (‘23), also an AAU Champion, in both 1950 and 1951. Reilly left Rutgers with an enviable won the 220 free in the National Intercollegiates and set record of 240 wins and 92 losses. His teams recorded five intercollegiate records in the 150 backstroke and 440 free. undefeated seasons, 12 seasons of only one loss and an over- George Kojac (‘31) continued his national and world record- all .722 winning percentage. He was a recognized leader in setting performances on campus and off. He represented the sport, having coached Olympians and world record holders the U.S. in the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, winning gold during his long tenure at Rutgers. Riley was inducted into the medals in the 100 backstroke and 800 free relay. He won Rutgers Olympic Sports Hall of Fame. the 100 free title at the 1931 NCAAs and combined with Bill Head coach Otto Hill led the Rutgers men from Marquette (‘30) and John Dryfuss (‘32) for a world record in 1957-1961. the 300 medley relay. 1961-1991 1930-1961 Frank Elm was appointed head coach in 1961 after The Ballantine Gym was destroyed by a fire in the Otto Hill was promoted to Athletic Business Administra- early morning of Jan. 30, 1930, necessitating construction of tor. Elm came to Rutgers as a successful AAU Coach, New a new facility. “Borrowed” sites such as the New Brunswick Jersey Interscholastic Champion, All-American from Indiana YMCA and Princeton University were used for swimming until University and swimmer-coach in the Marine Corps. From the College Avenue Gym opened on March 11, 1932, with a 1961-72 the Scarlet Knights enjoyed 11-straight winning huge “Aquatic Carnival.” seasons, with an overall 79-42 record. The creation of the In the 1930s, Walter Spence (‘34), a 1997 Rutgers Eastern Seaboard Championships in 1965 brought the Olympic Sports Hall of Fame inductee, began his career “On Scarlet Knights to a new level. Swimmers Bill Clark (‘63), the Banks.” Spence was an AAU Champion and a Canadian Larry Jones and John Wasylyk (64), Don Galluzzi and Marty Olympian. He won the 100 free in three consecutive NCAA Flickenger (‘65), and diver Roy Nichols (‘64) (Eastern Cham- Championships and combined with Walt Ashley (‘35), Ted pion and NCAA top-eight finisher) were the top performers. Brick (‘34) and Norm Kramer (‘33) for a winning freestyle In 1968, Rutgers was fourth in the prestigious Easterns with relay in the 1933 NCAAs. The 1930-33 teams boasted top six performances by Bob Chenaux (‘66), in the 1650, an overall record of 21-4. Later, Rutgers hosted the 1938 Dave Feigley (‘66) in diving, All-American sprinters Bruce NCAA Championships at the “state of the art” College Avenue Ball (‘67) and Dick Woodrow (‘66), and Peter Hibbard (‘67), facility. Eastern Champion in diving. Rutgers’ success in the Easterns From 1940-42 the Scarlet Knights registered a continued with John Hannan (‘68) scoring in the 1650, 500, 22-6 record. The teams were led by AAU champ Chuck and 200 fly while Jim Rose (‘67), Elliot Cheneaux (‘68), Jim Gantner (‘44) who used the “new” breaststroke technique Parkinson (‘70), Jose Ferraioli (‘69), Dave Helming (‘71) and tive. The 1987-88 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 Zly- daszek combined to lead the men to an 8-2 record and set eight school records in 1989. The long-awaited news that a new facility would actually be built aided Coach Elm in recruit- ing. 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 1991. Frank Elm was a coach of the 1964 U.S. Olympic Team, of which Sue Pitt- Elm enjoyed two seasons in the swimmers’ new home before Anderson and Ginnie Duenkel were members. retiring. divers Peter Leitner (‘70) and Ted Doeing (‘72) contributed to the team’s efforts. Ferraioli and the Cheneaux brothers repre- 1993-2009 sented their native Puerto Rico in Olympic competition. Gregg Elizabeth Blau, an Elm assistant, became the head Anderson ‘70 (Rutgers Olympic Sports Hall of Fame Inductee) coach in 1993 and led the team in its transition from the was the leading point-scorer for the Scarlet Knights in the late Atlantic 10 Conference to the tougher and faster BIG EAST. 60s. He was named All-American in both 1968 and 1969 in On 1994 Scarlet Knight swimmers went 7-2 in men’s compe- the 200 backstroke and won three Eastern Championships tition, and 4-5 in women’s contests. Nine school records fell while qualifying to compete in the NCAAs. that season. Diving coach Fred Woodruff was named Atlantic The ‘70s are best known for the inclusion of women 10 Diving Coach of the Year in 1995. in the RU program. Olympian Judy Mellick (‘77), became the Interim Coach Rick Simpson led the 1996-97 Scarlet first female member of the Rutgers team and the first wom- swimmers as Rutgers hosted the BIG EAST Championships at an to compete with men. Mellick was among the pioneers as the Werblin Center. The season was highlighted by a first-ever newly-coed RU embarked on a successful women’s athletic victory over Army. program. In recognition of her contributions, Mellick was in- In 1997, California transplant and well-known coach ducted into the first class of the Rutgers Olympic Sports Hall Chuck Warner took over the building process at Rutgers. of Fame. Warner began the process of re-building a championship Rutgers women’s swimming burst onto the scene program and continuing the storied success of Rutgers with three consecutive undefeated seasons, 1975-1977, and swimming. In 1998-99, the men’s team jumped from 10th a dominance of Eastern Championships. The RU women were to fifth at the BIG EAST Championships and in 1999-2000, the only Eastern team to place in the top ten at the 1977 the women vaulted from ninth to second at the conference Nationals. Fifteen swimmers earned All-American recognition. championships, the most dramatic leap of any team in the Judy Mellick, Ellen Wallace, Debbie Franks, Maureen Mortell BIG EAST. For his efforts, Warner was named BIG EAST and Robin Locklair were among the leaders, champions and Women’s Coach of the Year, following a season that saw his stars of their era. Wallace later represented the U.S. at the Pan-Am Championships and has been inducted into the Rut- gers 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 top- six finisher at Nationals and a two time All-American. In the ‘70s Elm had a 70-20 record with the women’s program. Frank Elm best described the ‘80s when he retired in 1993. 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 competi- Kelly Harrigan women’s squad finish with a 7-2 overall mark and shatter 20 In 2012-13 RU finished with a 9-2 overall record, school swimming and diving records. This feat, along with the matching that of the previous year. The Scarlet Knights 6-3 mark posted by the men’s squad, which finished third in would capture a fifth-place finish in the BIG EAST Champion- the conference, served as tangible proof that Rutgers swim- ships -- just missing fourth place by 4.50 points and 32.50 ming was on the rise on a conference and national level. points shy of third. Then-sophomore Nicole Scott continued In 2002-03 the women’s team finished third in the Scarlet Knights’ diving legacy, winning silver at the Zone the conference, and broke all but two school records. The A Diving Championships and qualifying for the NCAA Division women’s team also saw its first ever qualifier for the NCAA I Women’s National Diving Championships. Championship meet in Erin McIntyre. Erin made the “A cut” Additionally, the Scarlet Knights went on to break in the 1650 freestyle, and also qualified for the 400IM and four school records through the season in the 200 Butterfly 500 freestyle. A year later, the women jumped to second (Brittany Guinee), 200 Breaststroke (Greta Leberfinger), in the conference and Warner was once again named 400 Medley Relay (Joanna Wu, Leberfinger, Guinee, Mary BIG EAST Coach of the Year. Moser) and Platform Diving (Scott). The 2004-05 season was highlighted by the re- The 2013-14 season proved to be a historic cam- markable individual accomplishments of All-American Kelly paign for the Rutgers swimming and diving team, as the Harrigan and senior Sean Smith, who both came away with Scarlet Knights posted a multitude of notable accomplish- BIG EAST Most Outstanding Performer honors at the con- ments throughout the year and finished with a 9-4-1 record. ference championship meet. Both the men’s and women’s For the first time since 2008, RU sent two student-athletes squads finished in third place, behind only Notre Dame and to the NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Champion- Pittsburgh, and are poised to remain at the top of the confer- ships in senior diver Nicole Scott and sophomore Joanna ence standings for years to come. Wu. Wu’s selection to NCAAs marked the first swimmer The 2005-06 season, arguably one of the most suc- under fourth-year head coach Phil Spiniello to advance to cessful under Coach Warner, was highlighted by the team’s the championships. Scott would go on to garner Honorable second-place finish at the BIG EAST Championships and 18th- Mention All-America honors after placing 16th overall in the place showing at the NCAA Championships, the highest team platform. The diving captain qualified by capturing a silver finish in the program’s history. medal in the platform dive at the 2014 Zone Diving Champi- The Rutgers University swimming and diving team onships for the second-straight year. added yet another successful season to the programs storied Out of the pool, Scott also represented the program history during the 2006-07 season. The team demonstrated well, earning two prestigious academic awards: the Ameri- the programs growing success by winning six straight dual can Athletic Conference Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year meet competitions to end the season with a 6-1 record award and the Rutgers’ New Jersey Association of Intercol- overall and a 3-0 mark in BIG EAST competition. The Scarlet legiate Athletics for Women (NJAIAW) Woman of the Year Knights once again placed second in the BIG EAST Champion- award. ships and managed a 22nd place finish at the NCAA Champi- Spiniello was named the American Athletic Confer- onships. ence Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year after leading In 2008 the Scarlet Knights captured three indi- Rutgers to a third-place finish at the inaugural AAC Cham- vidual first-place finishes at the BIG EAST Championships and pionships, the squad’s best finish since 2007. The Scarlet two swimmers advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Shayna Knights earned eight medals over the four-day champion- Longacre garnered Honorable Mention All-American honors ships. On the year, RU broke a total of nine school records with her performance at the NCAA Tournament. Additionally, between the ¬regular season and postseason. 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 2001. The 9-2 Scarlet Knights went undefeated in the BIG EAST posting a perfect 4-0 record. 2014 AAC Coach of the Year, Phil Spiniello 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 1977. 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 1975. 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, Colom- bia, 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 1996.

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 her competitive swimming career with a strong showing at Inspirational by her teammates in two-consecutive years. the FINA World Cup in Daejon, Korea. She garnered a silver Post-graduation, DeFreese represented the Scarlet medal in the 50 meter butterfly (27.41) and a bronze in the Knights at the 2004 Olympic Trials, finishing 10th in the 100 100 meter butterfly (1:00.70). meter butterfly (1:01.18). Later in 2004, she topped off Kelly Harrigan (‘07 World University Games) She is a two-time NCAA Championships qualifier with honor- A highly decorated swimmer at both the conference able mention All-American honors in the 100 yard butterfly. and national levels, Harrigan was crowned a BIG EAST Cham- Whetstone earned All-BIG EAST Second Team honors as a pion 19 times—leaving multiple broken BIG EAST and school senior in 2010. She was among those competing for Rutgers records in her wake—as well as qualifying for the NCAA in the 2008 Olympic Trials. Championships four times and competing at Olympic Trials in Outside of the sports arena, Whetstone has been 2000, 2004 and 2008. She was a four-time All-American in honored with the Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award and the 100 and 200 yard backstroke, finishing as high as 3rd in named Rutgers Woman of the Year after, among many other the 200 (1:54.77) at the NCAA Championship in 2006. things, compiling a 3.918 GPA in the Rutgers School of Busi- A year after graduation, Harrigan earned a spot at ness. the U.S. World University Games which took place in Bangkok, Thailand in 2007. 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.

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 2010. 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 2007. 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).