Women's Swimming and Diving
From CarlWiki
The Women's Swimming and Diving team is one of the colleges 19 varsity teams. They have recently been one of the more consistently strong teams in the MIAC, with a string of third or better finishes. Current teams generally consist of between 30 and 40 women. Practices and competitions are held in Thorpe Pool, located in West Gym. The current head coach is Andy Clark, the assistant coaches are Brooke Larsen, Craig Johnson, and the diving coach is Gabe Korteum.
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Conference Success
The Women's Swimming and Diving team has consistently been one of the most successful in the conference, including three championships in 2001, 2002, and 2009. Between 1983 and 2008, 57 members of the team have earned All-Conference by finishing in the top three in an individual or relay event.
National Success
The team has had several squads head to the NCAA championships. The highest finish was in 2005 with a sixth place finish, among the highest team finishes of any varsity sport at Carleton. There have been two individual national champions and two relay teams won a national championship. Lydia Neilson won the 100 breaststroke in 1995, and Marie Marsman '05 won 7 times between 2002 and 2005, twice in both the 50 and 200 freestyle and three times in the 100 freestyle. Marsman also set the national records in all three events and at the end of the 2008 season still held the 50 and 100 records. The two relay championships came in 2005; the 200 freestyle relay of Marsman, Jenny Grover, Andrea Barbera, and Jen Gratz and the 400 freestyle relay of Marsman, Grover, Emily Mondloh, and Barbera each won. There have also been 12 All-Americans and 5 Academic All-Americans since 1980.
Traditions
The Margate Memorial Cream Cheese Trophy
This refers to a tradition of both the men's and women's teams. The Margate Memorial Cream Cheese Trophy is a plaque that is traded by the Carleton and St. Thomas swimming and diving teams every year. The tradition originated in 1995 when the Carleton food service sent along a brick of cream cheese that was well beyond its expiration date as the team traveled to take on the Tommies in a dual meet. Both the Tommies and the Knights mourned the loss of the cream cheese. The teams ended up making a plaque out of the wrapper, which is traded by the teams along with a new (not expired) brick of cream cheese. It is tradition for the home team to come up with a creative way to present them to the visiting team. The St. Thomas team has also made a storybook about the origins of the cream cheese which resides with the Carleton team.
The Ted Mullin Hour of Power
Every year the the men's and women's swimming and diving teams host the Ted Mullin Hour of Power for Cancer Research in honor and memory of Ted Mullin '07.
Ted Mullin '07 entered Carleton with the Class of 2006, but was awarded a posthumous degree in 2007. Ted was a three time letter winner and devoted member of the team throughout his entire time at Carleton. However, his last few years at Carleton were interrupted by his battle with Sarcoma, a rare soft-tissue cancer. He passed away days before the start of the 2006-2007 school year. He continues to be an inspiration to the members of the Swimming and Diving teams, and the "Hour of Power" has been established in his memory by the team and his family. The event raises money for a Sarcoma research fund which has been established by his family at the University of Chicago.
The event is now annual, taking place near the beginning of the swimming and diving season. The "Hour of Power" consists of hour long, all-out relays by the entire participating teams. The event serves not just to raise money and awareness, but also to build team spirit. In its first year in 2006, 15 Division III teams participated, raising a total of $11,000. In 2007 the event included 53 teams, including some from the other divisions and club and high-school teams, and over $43,000 was raised.
The teams maintain a page for the event.
