The Week That Was: Division II Record Holder Passes Away During Team Practice

Photo Courtesy: Cathleen Pruden

This week saw a range of stories across the swimming world, including the tragic passing of one of Division II’s most accomplished student-athletes. Read about all of this week’s biggest stories in this edition of the week that was.

The Week That Was #5 – Mutual Of Omaha Splits From USA Swimming

Photo Courtesy: Annie Grevers

This week the swimming world learned that Mutual of Omaha is no longer a sponsor of USA Swimming. Mutual of Omaha was one of USA Swimming’s biggest sponsors and had their name attached to the semi-annual Duel in the Pool. Despite the break in the relationship, the Mutual of Omaha Breakout Swim Clinics that have been organized by Olympian Josh Davis will continue. In an article published by the Omaha World Herald, the Herald speculates that the dissolution of the sponsorship could also affect Omaha’s chances of hosting a fourth consecutive Olympic Trials in 2020, although technically the United States Olympic Committee the official host of the event. You can read the original Omaha World Herald article here.

The Week That Was #4 – David Marsh Steps Away From CEO Role At SwimMAC

Photo Courtesy: SwimmingWorld.TV

This week it was announced that renowned coach David Marsh, who has served as the head coach and CEO of SwimMAC since 2007, would be stepping away from his current role with the club. Terry Fritch will take over as the club’s head coach, while Marsh will take on a to-be-determined role within the club. Marsh was the head coach at Auburn University before taking the head coach position with SwimMAC almost a decade ago, and most recently was the head coach for the U.S. women’s Olympic Team in Rio de Janeiro. Marsh will still lead the Team Elite program that consists of several professional swimmers, including U.S. national teamers Katie Meili and Madison Kennedy as well as Japanese Olympic medalist Ryosuke Irie.

The Week That Was #3 – Swimming Australia Moves Olympic Trials Dates

australian-womens-relay-rio-2016-olympics-world-record

Photo Courtesy: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports

Swimming Australia announced some major changes in approach for the next Olympic quad following a post-Rio review. One of the key changes to the organization’s approach to their qualification calendar for major international meets. In a move similar to the schedule in place in the United States for Olympic Games qualification, Swimming Australia will move selection meets to five weeks prior to the event. This past Olympiad, Australia selected its team in April. Other changes will include implementing a new framework to better track their high performance system, developing a Coach Leadership Team under National Head Coach Jacco Verhaeren, and seeking out warmer climate locations in the lead up to major competitions. Speaking to the changes, CEO Mark Anderson commented that Australia is looking forward to continuing their strong tradition of swimming success while continuing to improve their high performance strategy.

The Week That Was #2 – Surging Arizona State Team Ties Rival Arizona

Photo Courtesy: Blake Benard/Cronkite News

Arizona State University and the University of Arizona faced off in an intense dual meet Saturday in Tucson that ended in a tie for the men’s teams, 147-147. The meet was wire-to-wire throughout for the two rivals, with the victor of the meet ultimately coming down to the last relay. The Sun Devils were able to pull out a 1-3 finish to tie the meet, preventing an Arizona win. Arizona was dominant in the first half of the meet, winning the 200 medley relay and 1000 free right out of the gate in addition to the 100 breast, 200 fly, and 50 free. That gave Arizona an 86-61 lead heading into the first break, but ASU quickly rebounded in the second half of the meet by sweeping the 100 freestyle and working their way back to a tie by the second diving break. Arizona went 1-3-4 in the 400 IM, the last individual event of the day, meaning ASU would have to 1-2 the 400 free relay to win the meet. They nearly did, but ended up first (2:54.07) and third (2:55.05) with the Arizona A-team (2:54.31) right in the middle. Full results of the meet can be found here.

The Week That Was #1 – NCAA Record Holder Dies Following Medical Emergency

Photo Courtesy: Drury Athletics

This week was marked by tragedy when Drury senior Wen “Ariel” Xu passed away following a medical emergency during a team practice on Thursday, February 2. Xu had a storied athletic career at Drury, winning the 50 freestyle at NCAA’s last year while also setting a Division II record. Xu was also a member of two NCAA Championship relays, the 200 free and 200 medley, that set national records at the 2015 NCAA Championships. In a statement from the Athletics Department, Drury Director of Athletics Mark Fischer commented, “This is a difficult and sudden loss for all of us, but especially for Ariel’s teammates and coaches. She was an outstanding student-athlete and was an inspiration to her fellow swimmers in and out of the pool.” Drury wrapped up their regular season meet schedule two weeks ago and on Wednesday will travel to the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships. You can read the full statement on Xu’s passing on Drury’s Athletics Page.

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