As many of you know, this is the 75th anniversary of swimming at the University of St. Thomas.
The first historical record of St. Thomas’s participation in intercollegiate swimming or diving was in 1933, in what was then called the college State Meet . No Tommie swimmers scored that year, but there’s evidence found in the school newspaper archives that our school was, at least, represented.
The next year, interest had grown to the point where 23 men went to the athletic director, and received permission to begin practicing at the John Ryan Baths in Minneapolis. They coached themselves, and again swam in the State College Meet. Just two years later, Bob Christensen was hired to coach a team, and within four years, they had St. Thomas’s first conference championship in swimming and diving.
Save the Date!!
We’re going to have an anniversary party on Saturday, February 23, starting at 2:00 PM in the O’Shaughnessy Natatorium, followed by a reception and dinner on campus. That gives plenty of time to meet with old friends for brunch before the meet, then splash in the pool (non-competitive, of course) with the current team, and then share an evening of memories with team members old and new.
We are hoping to have Bob Christensen, the first coach, at the banquet. We’ll have more details to follow, of course, but it should be an evening to remember.
