Swim team grabs third consecutive national championship
Fact errors in this story have been corrected. We apologize for the error
Good things come in threes, or at least they do for the CU club swim team.
After nearly tripling the score of the second place team at the American Swimming Association University League National Championships in Chapel Hill, N.C., last weekend, Colorado grabbed its third consecutive national swim title.
The swim team not only won nationals, but did so in a record-breaking fashion as the athletes set 27 of the 50 records. The team now owns 31 of 50 national records.
With the efforts of the entire organization culminating into another national championship, coach Nate Rothman said the win was something the swimmers had looked forward to all season.
ASA U. Nationals Top Five
1. CU 797
2. UNC-Chapel Hill 251
3. Penn State 224
4. University of Connecticut 140
5. Duke 122
“It’s a pretty big accomplishment .. We all kind of knew we could do it this year, and we were all kind of anticipating it,” Rothman said.
In January, the swim team celebrated its first NCAA win at the Colorado College Classic amidst hard work and, from some athletes, frequent two-a-day practices. A few weeks later, the swimmers competed at the ASA U. Western Regionals and managed to set 13 records.
After setting records in regional competition, Rothman said he knew the team would be competitive at nationals.
“(At regionals) we weren’t really resting, so we knew that we would be able to do some pretty good things at nationals,” Rothman said.
Colorado brought 41 swimmers to the meet, which made the Buffs the largest team at the event. Of those swimmers, about 30 were able to compete in either individual or relay events. Many of the swimmers won their events or placed within the top five.
While there were many standout performances, there were a few names that appeared frequently on the leader’s board.
Swimmer Katie Klane dropped over 50 seconds in her 1,650 freestyle while also setting a national record.
Other standout swimmers included Ashley Scott, Katie Klane, Piers Blyth, Stephen Nester, Peter Swanson and Steven Urich.
Men’s captain Swanson said the league became more competitive on average this season than ever before. Even with the new competitive edge of the league, the team was able to set the standards high for next season.
“It’s unbelievable how fast everyone swam and how fast the league got,” Swanson said. “To swim up to the level we swam (at the championships) is not going to be easy.”
Women’s captain Dori Bland said next season will be an opportunity for them to make an even bigger impact on the league.
“We want to go back and just be as dominant as we were and break even more records,” Bland said.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Rachael Fischer at
rachael.fischer@colorado.edu.
