PHOENIX, Arizona, April 11. IN a press release sent out today, the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) welcomed two NCAA Division 3 women's teams into the collegiate swimming family today: one new team and one reinstated team.<\/p>\n
Bridgewater College, in Bridgewater, Va., announced the establishment of its first-ever women's team while Slippery Rock settled a Title IX lawsuit by agreeing to reinstate its women's swimming and water polo teams.<\/p>\n
"Today is a banner day for college swimming," said CSCAA Executive Director Phil Whitten. "The Bridgewater team is the 22 NCAA or NAIA college swim team created during the 2006-07 school year.<\/p>\n
"As for Slippery Rock," Whitten said, "we applaud the tenacity of the women's swim team and its attorneys, the Women's Law Project, in fighting the team's unjustified elimination last year. The only way the outcome could have been better was if the men's team had also been reinstated."<\/p>\n
Curt Kendall, Bridgewater's Athletic Director, said that beginning next fall, his new team will compete with seven other institutions in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference: Washington and Lee University, Guilford College, Randolph-Macon Woman's College, Randolph-Macon College, Sweet Briar College, Hollins University and Emory and Henry College. At least once during the 19-week season, said Kendall, Bridgewater will host a meet. <\/p>\n
"The interest is there, the sport is in place and the search for a head coach has begun," Kendall said. <\/p>\n
In Pennsylvania, Slippery Rock University, agreed to set aside $300,000 to enhance women's sports and be monitored for three years to ensure compliance with Title IX.<\/p>\n
Last year the school announced it was cutting eight sports — five men's and three women's. The women's sports were swimming, water polo and field hockey. When a coalition of women athletes protested, the school reinstated field hockey. So the swimming and water polo teams sued in federal court.<\/p>\n
Last July, U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose ruled that the school must reinstate the two aquatic teams. Yesterday, Slippery Rock announced it would comply with the ruling.<\/p>\n
"The school has agreed not to treat their women athletes as second-class citizens, said Susan J. Frietsche, an attorney at the Women's Law Project in Washington, who represented the athletes. <\/p>\n
"Presumably Ms. Frietsche was not comparing them to the male swimmers who, if the women swimmers were second-class citizens, surely must be reckoned as third-class citizens.'' Whitten commented.<\/p>\n
Beth Choike, the 20 year-old swim team captain and the lead plaintiff, called the lawsuit "a worthwhile fight.''<\/p>\n
"It was a long process. It's nice to see the resolution and the school finally settle what we went to court for,'' said Choike.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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