by Lauren Serowik

10 May 2019, 04:00am

1959 Michigan Team Still “The Greatest of ‘Em All”

For overall strength as well as balance in all the strokes, distances and diving, no team in history has ever dominated the men’s NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships like the 1959 University of Michigan Wolverines.

The University of California’s victory at men’s NCAAs last March was Coach Dave Durden’s fourth team title, a great achievement that ties him on the all-time list with Yale’s legendary coach Bob Kiphuth (1942, 1944, 1951, 1953) and Michigan’s Gus Stager (1957, 1958, 1959, 1961). Of course, he’s still 10 wins behind Eddie Reese’s otherworldly 14 titles.

But as great as the teams from Texas and Cal have been in recent years, the title of the “Greatest of ’Em All” still belongs to Gus Stager’s University of Michigan team of 1959.

“They were the finest college swimming team ever assembled,” said Bob Kiphuth, the veteran Yale coach who had seen every intercollegiate championship since the event was first held in 1917. Matt Mann, who preceded Gus Stager at Michigan thought so, too. And Jon Urbanchek, who followed Stager, said recently that he “had no objection to that theory.” Of course, Hall of Famer Urbanchek might be prejudiced, as he was a member of that 1959 team.

To read the full story about the 1959 Michigan Wolverines,
check out the May 2019 issue of Swimming World Magazine, available now!

[PHOTO CREDIT: PETER H. BICK]

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FEATURES

016 NO LEDECKY…NO MANUEL… NO PROBLEM
by Dan D’Addona, David Rieder and Andy Ross
Relying on a younger team—with 10 underclass-men—Stanford still won its third straight women’s NCAA Division I swimming and diving team title. It’s just that this year’s margin of victory was much closer than the previous two.

WOMEN’S NCAA DIVISION I MINI-FEATURES:

018 BROOKE FORDE: MAKING THE EXTRA EFFORT

019 BEATA NELSON: UN-BEATA-BLE NELSON

021 ABBEY WEITZEIL/CAL BEARS: THE OTHER CHAMPIONS

022 LILLY KING: LILLY’S LEGACY

024 WOMEN’S NCAA DIVISION I PHOTO GALLERY
photos by Peter H. Bick

026 THE COMPLETE PACKAGE
by Dan D’Addona and David Rieder
The depth of Cal’s Golden Bears was on full display at this year’s men’s NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships in Austin, proving they were the best team in the nation.

MEN’S NCAA DIVISION I MINI-FEATURES:

028 DANIEL CARR: SECOND CHANCE PAYS OFF

029 SILVER LININGS FOR SECOND-PLACE TEXAS

031 DEAN FARRIS: DEAN OF THE POOL

032 MEN’S NCAA DIVISION I PHOTO GALLERY
photos by Peter H. Bick

034 STILL NO. 1
by Andy Ross, Cathleen Pruden, Olivia Wile and Grace Nordquist
All of the schools that won college national championships last year for NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA and NJCAA repeated as champions in 2019. Their winning streaks range from two to 45!

038 ’59 MICHIGAN TEAM STILL “THE GREATEST OF ’EM ALL”
by Bruce Wigo
For overall strength as well as balance in all the strokes, distances and diving, no team in history has ever dominated the men’s NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships like the 1959 University of Michigan Wolverines.

COACHING

010 LESSONS WITH THE LEGENDS: FRANK KEEFE
by Michael J. Stott

014 SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: CONDITIONING TO OPTIMIZE TECHNIQUE (Part 2)
by Rod Havriluk
As explained in Part 1, there are three types of sets that are critical to emphasizing technique: skill sets, transition sets and test sets. Part 2 presents strategies to integrate these three sets into a conditioning program.

041 SPECIAL SETS: TRAINING FOR THE 200 FLY
by Michael J. Stott
Coach Sean Farrell’s recent success with distance flyers at the Cheshire YMCA/Sea Dog Swim Club in Connecticut results from having good athletes, a defined sense of how to train them and a philosophy focused on training the whole athlete.

043 Q&A WITH COACH DAN MASCOLO
by Michael J. Stott

044 HOW THEY TRAIN JULIA STEVENS
by Michael J. Stott

JUNIOR SWIMMER

046 UP & COMERS: MORGAN RAZEWSKI
by Taylor Brien

COLUMNS

008 A VOICE FOR THE SPORT

009 BEYOND THE YARDS

013 OFFICIAL WORD

040 DID YOU KNOW? ISHOF’S FIRST HONOREES: A “SPORTS SPECTACULAR”

047 GUTTER TALK

048 PARTING SHOT

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