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DU women’s swimmer Grace Kittle propelled the Pioneers postseason triumph by becoming the first women’s swimmer in program to receive All-American honors after finishing in eighth place in the 200 Breaststroke event at the 2011 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 19.
In addition to Kittle’s success at the national level, the men’s and women’s swimming and diving team dominated at the conference level, completing a first place sweep at the Sun Belt Conference Championships on Feb. 27.
It was the first time in program history that the women’s team was able to hoist the title, and only the second time the men’s team claimed first place.
Both teams edged long-time rival Western Kentucky as the DU men’s team finished with 1009 total points and the women’s team finished with 924.5 points, while WKU’s teams finished second with 943.5 points and 795 points, respectively.
“Winning conference was the best that happened over this year, and in my career, because we were able to beat Western Kentucky,” said Kittle, a senior from Dallas. “Every year we talk about winning conference, and every year we had to watch them win, so it was nice to finally beat them.”
Kittle was the lone swimmer from the team to advance to the national level and was able to set a new DU and SBC record during the preliminary races of the 200 Breaststroke before the final event. Kittle finished seventh with a time of 2:09.49 and broke her own record of 2:10.58, which she had set at the SBC Championships.
“It was a bit nerve-racking being the only one representing DU, because there were teams that had 16 or 18 representatives,” said Kittle. “I knew if I could make a really good first time, then I could make it back for another swim, and that was my goal to make it back for a second swim.”
Although alone at the championships, which were held at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center in Austin, Texas, Kittle had experience at the NCAA level. As a freshman, she made an appearance for the Pioneers, where she qualified and placed in No. 17, one spot from finishing with All-American honors.
“After my freshman year, my goal was to make All-American, so another one of my favorite memories is accomplishing what I worked so hard to achieve,” said Kittle. “I couldn’t ask for a better end for my career at Denver.”
As for her legacy at the program, Kittle says she hasn’t thought about it much, and in fact wasn’t even aware she was the first women’s swimmer to earn All-American honors.
“I actually didn’t know I was the first until I read the article on the [DU] Athletics website,” said Kittle. “I hope that my legacy can drive others to accomplish what I accomplished, and with the coaching staff here I know that is possible for future swimmers.”
A strong school of fish
The senior class of swimmers and divers ultimately pioneered the group’s success this season, which springs the program to continue being successful in conference and on the national level.
“We had great senior leadership on both sides,” said head coach Brian Schrader. “And with both teams winning it creates a lot of energy, and it keeps our kids motivated to keep being successful, so when recruits come here and they see what we’ve accomplished it becomes contagious.”
In addition to a multitude of accomplishments in the water, the men’s swim team was able to reach the highest success in the classroom, becoming the No. 1 overall team in the country in academics.
“We are beating out the best of the best in the classroom, and it’s a big deal,” said Schrader. “The women’s team has been number one in the past, and they are still amongst the top, and we are really excited about that.”
This season, the men’s team has an average GPA of 3.46, while the women’s team averages 3.35.
Rough start, strong finish
Although the postseason success in the pool and in the classroom makes the program’s future very bright, the road to this point wasn’t an easy one.
The team struggled early in the fall, suffering from a flu outbreak during their first meet in November, but recovered mid-season to knock off several teams that gave pretty good indication to the coaching staff of what this team could accomplish.
“Our men’s team beat Wyoming at Wyoming, and that had never happened before and the women’s team beat Colorado State, which had never happened,” said Schrader. “Also, the women beat UNLV, while the men came within three points of upsetting the No. 16 [UNLV] in our home pool. After that, everyone knew we were on our way to a good year.”
The Pioneers saw great contributions from several different swimmers and divers this season, from the senior class downward, including Caleb Severns on the men’s side and Katy Motsinger on the women’s side.
In addition, younger swimmers, such as sophomores, Bailey Beins, Rachel Burns and Alex Suppan, were big contributors on the women’s team, while freshmen Matt Absher and Kyle Milberg were standout performers throughout the season, according to Schrader. Also, sophomores Robert Barret and freshman Kyrene Clarke were excellent in the water for the men’s and women’s team, respectively.
While the swimmers were successful racing in the pool, the team’s divers were equally successful plunging into it. Senior diver Seth McNew was named the men’s Diver of the Year in the SBC, while head diving coach Aaron D’Addario was named the men’s Diving Coach of the Year.
“Aaron has been great for our program; he is a great communicator and loves getting feedback and teaching athletes,” said Schrader. “I’ve seen great improvements with all the kids in our program; he’s been coach of the year two years in a row now, and it’s well deserved.”
Through surviving the early struggles, the team learned what they were capable of doing as a team as well as individuals.
“The best [high school] athletes need to know that in our program they can reach the highest level and score,” said Schrader. “And we’ve proven we can do that with men and women swimmers and divers.”
