The Week That Was: More Than 50 USMS Record Fall At Masters Nationals

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

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This week the largest USMS Master National Championships in history, with more than 50 records coming down over the four days of the meet. You can catch up on all of those records plus the other biggest stories of the week below in the week that was!

The Week That Was #5 – Maya DiRado Joins USA Swimming Foundation Board

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Photo Courtesy: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports

Olympic gold medalist Maya DiRado will be joining the Board of Directors for the USA Swimming Foundation. Dirado was a four time Olympic medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, which most memorably included a come from behind gold medal in the 200 backstroke over Hungarian Katinka Hosszu. DiRado was also a four year NCAA swimmer for Stanford, winning NCAA titles in the 200 and 400 IM during her time with the Cardinal. Started in 2004, the USA Swimming Foundation aims to save lives and build champions through philanthropic programs through USA Swimming, including the Make a Splash initiative and supporting the U.S. National Team. You can learn more about the USA Swimming Foundation Board of Directors here.

The Week That Was #4 – USC Women Top Stanford In NCAA Water Polo Final

Photo Courtesy: Catharyn Hayne

In a tight game the University of Southern California Trojans powered their way to a 5-4 win in the 2018 NCAA Women’s Water Polo Championships final. Denise Mammolito was a key player for the Trojans, scoring three goals for the Trojans while Amanda Longan had 10 saves throughout the match to earn the MVP for the NCAA Tournament. That win gives USC its fifteenth total NCAA Championship trophy between the men and women’s programs, the most of any NCAA team. This was also Stanford’s ninth consecutive appearance in the NCAA championship final and their fifteenth total appearance in the final match. You can read the highlights from the match here.

The Week That Was #3 – Olympic Bronze Medalist Hilary Caldwell Announces Retirement

Photo Courtesy: Ian MacNicol

Olympic bronze medalist Hilary Caldwell announced her retirement this week, ending a long career as part of the Canadian National Team. The 27-year old was the third place finisher in the 200 backstroke at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and also owns a bronze from the 2013 World Championships and a gold from the 2015 Pan American Games that were held in her home country. Caldwell said she was thinking about retirement as far back as last summer’s World Championships, and determined over the last year that last month’s Commonwealth Games would be her final meet where she would end up finishing fifth in the 200 backstroke.

The Week That Was #2 – Jeremy Kipp Named Northwestern’s Director of Swimming and Diving

Photo Courtesy: Northwestern Athletics

Northwestern has announced the replacement for both the men’s and women’s head coaches at Northwestern University this week, naming Jeremy Kipp as the new Director of Swimming & Diving. This will combine the men’s and women’s programs, eliminating one of the last split programs in the Big 10. Kipp comes to Northwestern after acting as the head coach for the women’s swimming & diving program at Boise State. During his tenure in Boise, Kipp was named the Mountain West Coach of the Year each of the three seasons he was there and led the Broncos to back to back conference titles in 2017 and 2018. He also led that team to their highest NCAA finish in history (36th) in 2017. Before taking the job in Boise State, Kipp was an assistant at USC for eight seasons, and prior to that was with the UC Santa Barbara team for eight seasons as well. Over his career Kipp has mentored 25 Olympic qualifiers who have gone on to earn 17 Olympic medals.

The Week That Was #1 – 53 Total Records Come Down At U.S. Masters Nationals

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

The 2018 United States Masters National Championships were underway this week in Indianapolis, Indiana, with more than 2,300 participants competing and a total 53 USMS records falling over the four days of the meet. That made the meet the most attended in history. 95 year-old Willard Lamb broke an astounding 11 USMS records over the three days, including breaking the 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, and 1650 free records all on the first night of the meet in the men’s mile. Lamb also broke the 50 and 100 backstroke records while resetting the 50 and 100 free records later in the meet. Laura Val was the most prolific record breaker on the women’s side, taking down 6 USMS records in the 65-69 age group. You can see the all the recaps and results from the 2018 USMS Nationals on our Event Landing Page.

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