Highlighted by a program record nine event national championships, the Emory University Men's Swimming and Diving team finished as the national runners-up at the 2018 NCAA Division III Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana. The second place finish was the fifth in team history, first since 2009, and the 19th consecutive top-five finish.
Of the nine event titles, five were of the individual variety by senior Oliver Smith, junior Thomas Gordon and sophomore Sage Ono, marking the most solo wins for an Emory team at the NCAA Championships in team history.
Smith captured gold in a pair of events, the 50 and 100 Freestyles, on his way to being named the Collegiate Swimmers Coaching Association of America (CSCAA) National Swimmer of the Year. In addition to his two individual wins, Smith assisted on four championship winning relays and in the prelims of both freestyles, he set the NCAA Division III record with times of 19.37 and 42.98. Furthermore, with his time in the 100 he became the first male in Division III history to post a time under 43 seconds.
Gordon was another two-time champion at the national meet, winning both distance Freestyle events. Gordon posted winning times of 4:23.70 in the 500 and touched at 15:15.60 to win the 1,650. Ono rounded out the individual winners with his title in the 100 Backstroke, tying the school record time at 47.62.
The Eagles went 4-for-5 in the relay events with Ono and Smith assisting on all four wins (200 Freestyle, 400 Freestyle, 200 Medley and 400 Medley). Senior Aaron Schwartz and junior Trey Kolleck teamed up with Smith and Ono for wins in the freestyle titles while Smith, Ono, Kolleck and senior Cooper Tollen were part of the championship medley teams.
In total at the four-day meet, Emory racked up a Division III-best nine event titles, 15 All-America performances (10 individual, five relay) and earned three Honorable Mention All-America certificates.
A month earlier at the University Athletic Association Championships, the Eagles ran their title streak to 20 straight with a dominating performance in front of the home crowd at the Madeleine Jude Brown Aquatic Center in Atlanta. Emory collected 11 event titles, 19 All-UAA honors and set six conference records to win the conference meet with 1,725 points, posting the largest margin of victory since 2013 with a 206-point spread.
Gordon was named the conference's Swimmer of the Year after winning three individual events and helping the Eagles to a victory in the 800 Freestyle Relay, setting the UAA record at 6:40.56. Gordon recorded wins in the 500 Freestyle (4:28.65), 200 Freestyle (1:39.34) and 1,650 Freestyle (15:34.65).
Head Coach Jon Howell and assistant coaches Cindy Fontana, Chris Marshall, John Petroff and Bob Hackett was named Coaching Staff of the Year for the second straight campaign and for the fourth time overall.
In other championship style meets during the season, the Eagles finished first at its home invitational (out of six schools) and fourth at both the Miami Invitation in Oxford, OH (out of five schools) and at the SCAD Invitational in Savannah, GA (out of 11 schools) in early December.
Members of the team was also recognized for their classroom achievements in addition to their swimming accolades as Smith and Tollen were the 25th and 26th recipients of the prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships in Men's Swimming and Diving history. Both swimmers were two of nine Eagles to garner CSCAA Scholar All-America honors, which is awarded to student-athletes with a 3.50 grade-point average and participated at the NCAA Championships.
The Eagles earned the following honors during the 2017-18 season:
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Collegiate Swimmers Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Swimmer of the Year |
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Milan, MI (Milan) |
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NCAA Division III Champion |
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Raleigh, NC (Enloe) |
500 Freestyle, 1650 Freestyle |
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Newburgh, IN (Castle) |
200 Medley Relay, 200 Freestyle Relay, 400 Medley Relay, 400 Freestyle Relay |
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Johns Creek, GA (Centennial) |
100 Backstroke, 200 Medley Relay, 200 Freestyle Relay, 400 Medley Relay, 400 Freestyle Relay |
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Calabasas, CA (Calabasas) |
200 Freestyle Relay, 400 Freestyle Relay |
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Milan, MI (Milan) |
50 Freestyle, 100 Freestyle, 200 Medley Relay, 200 Freestyle Relay, 400 Medley Relay, 400 Freestyle Relay |
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Dresher, PA (Upper Dublin) |
200 Medley Relay, 400 Medley Relay |
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All-America (Top-Eight Finisher at NCAA Division III Championships) |
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Raleigh, NC (Enloe) |
500 Freestyle (1st), 1650 Freestyle (1st), 200 Freestyle (3rd), 800 Freestyle Relay (4th) |
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Centennial, OH (Smoky Hill) |
800 Freestyle Relay (4th) |
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Newburgh, IN (Castle) |
200 Medley Relay (1st), 200 Freestyle Relay (1st), 400 Medley Relay (1st), 400 Freestyle Relay (1st), 100 Freestyle (4th), 50 Freestyle (5th) |
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Johns Creek, GA (Centennial) |
100 Backstroke (1st), 200 Medley Relay (1st), 200 Freestyle Relay (1st), 400 Medley Relay (1st), 400 Freestyle Relay (1st), 200 Backstroke (8th) |
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Wheaton, IL (Wheaton North) |
800 Freestyle Relay (4th), 200 Backstroke (6th) |
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Calabasas, CA (Calabasas) |
200 Freestyle Relay (1st), 400 Freestyle Relay (1st) |
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Milan, MI (Milan) |
50 Freestyle (1st), 100 Freestyle (1st), 200 Medley Relay (1st), 200 Freestyle Relay (1st), 400 Medley Relay (1st), 400 Freestyle Relay (1st) |
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Charlotte, NC (South Mecklenberg) |
800 Freestyle Relay (4th) |
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Dresher, PA (Upper Dublin) |
200 Medley Relay (1st), 400 Medley Relay (1st) |
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All-America Honorable Mention (Finished 9th – 16th at NCAA Division III Championships) |
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Johns Creek, GA (Centennial) |
50 Freestyle (12th) |
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Milan, MI (Milan) |
100 Butterfly (12th) |
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Dresher, PA (Upper Dublin) |
200 Breaststroke (16th) |
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University Athletic Association Swimmer of the Year |
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Raleigh, NC (Enloe) |
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UAA Coaching Staff of the Year |
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Jon Howell |
Head Coach |
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Cindy Fontana, Chris Marshall, John Petroff & Bob Hackett |
Assistant Coaches |
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UAA Champion |
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Beverly Hills, CA (Harvard-Westlake) |
400 Medley Relay |
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Raleigh, NC (Enloe) |
500 Freestyle, 200 Freestyle, 800 Freestyle Relay, 1650 Freestyle |
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Centennial, OH (Smoky Hill) |
800 Freestyle Relay |
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Newburgh, IN (Castle) |
200 Free Relay, 200 Medley Relay, 400 Freestyle Relay |
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Johns Creek, GA (Centennial) |
200 Free Relay, 400 Medley Relay, 200 Medley Relay, 100 Backstroke, 400 Freestyle Relay |
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Wheaton, IL (Wheaton North) |
800 Freestyle Relay |
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Calabasas, CA (Calabasas) |
200 Free Relay, 400 Freestyle Relay |
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Milan, MI (Milan) |
200 Free Relay, 50 Freestyle, 400 Medley Relay, 200 Medley Relay, 100 Freestyle, 400 Freestyle Relay |
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Charlotte, NC (South Mecklenberg) |
800 Freestyle Relay |
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Dresher, PA (Upper Dublin) |
400 Medley Relay, 200 Medley Relay |
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All-UAA (Top-Three Finisher at UAA Championships) |
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Danville, CA (San Ramon Valley) |
200 Butterfly (3rd) |
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Beverly Hills, CA (Harvard-Westlake) |
400 Medley Relay (1st) |
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White Plains, NY (The Hackley School) |
1650 Freestyle (2nd) |
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Raleigh, NC (Enloe) |
500 Freestyle (1st), 200 Freestyle (1st), 800 Freestyle Relay (1st), 1650 Freestyle (1st) |
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Centennial, OH (Smoky Hill) |
800 Freestyle Relay (1st) |
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Newburgh, IN (Castle) |
200 Free Relay (1st), 50 Freestyle (2nd), 200 Medley Relay (1st), 100 Freestyle (2nd), 400 Freestyle Relay (1st) |
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Johns Creek, GA (Centennial) |
200 Free Relay (1st), 50 Freestyle (3rd), 400 Medley Relay (1st), 200 Medley Relay (1st), 100 Backstroke (1st), 200 Backstroke (3rd), 400 Freestyle Relay (1st) |
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Wheaton, IL (Wheaton North) |
800 Freestyle Relay (1st) |
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Calabasas, CA (Calabasas) |
200 Free Relay (1st), 400 Freestyle Relay (1st) |
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Milan, MI (Milan) |
200 Free Relay (1st), 50 Freestyle (1st), 400 Medley Relay (1st), 200 Medley Relay (1st), 100 Freestyle (1st), 400 Freestyle Relay (1st), 100 Butterfly (2nd) |
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Charlotte, NC (South Mecklenberg) |
800 Freestyle Relay (1st) |
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Dresher, PA (Upper Dublin) |
400 Medley Relay (1st), 200 Medley Relay (1st), 200 Breaststroke (3rd) |
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NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Recipient |
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Milan, MI (Milan) |
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Dresher, PA (Upper Dublin) |
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CSCAA Scholar All-America |
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Troy, MI (Troy) |
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Beverly Hills, CA (Harvard-Westlake) |
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Beverly Hills, CA (Harvard-Westlake) |
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Raleigh, NC (Enloe) |
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Newburgh, IN (Castle) |
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Johns Creek, GA (Centennial) |
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Wheaton, IL (Wheaton North) |
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Calabasas, CA (Calabasas) |
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Charlotte, NC (South Mecklenberg) |
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UAA Athletes of the Week |
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Suwanee, GA (Lambert) |
Oct. 24 |
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Glenview, IL (Glenbrook South) |
Oct. 24 |
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Milan, MI (Milan) |
Dec. 5, Jan. 15, Feb. 5, March 26 |
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Johns Creek, GA (Centennial) |
Jan. 29 |
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Raleigh, NC (Enloe) |
Feb. 20 |
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The following were the top marks by Emory swimmers and divers during the 2017-18 season:
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50 Free |
19.37*# |
NCAA Championships |
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100 Free |
42.98*# |
NCAA Championships |
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200 Free |
1:37.41 |
NCAA Championships |
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500 Free |
4:23.70 |
NCAA Championships |
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1000 Free |
9:20.56 |
Miami Invitational |
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1650 Free |
15:15.60 |
NCAA Championships |
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100 Back |
47.62* |
NCAA Championships |
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200 Back |
1:47.57 |
NCAA Championships |
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100 Breast |
55.30 |
UAA Championships |
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200 Breast |
2:01.05 |
UAA Championships |
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100 Fly |
48.63 |
NCAA Championships |
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200 Fly |
1:48.79 |
UAA Championships |
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200 IM |
1:51.20 |
UAA Championships |
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400 IM |
3:55.59 |
Miami Invitational |
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1-Meter, 6-Dives |
321.45 |
vs. BSC |
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1-Meter, 11-Dives |
416.25 |
NCAA Regionals |
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3-Meter, 6-Dives |
291.08 |
vs. Emory Invitational |
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3-Meter, 11-Dives |
431.75 |
NCAA Regionals |
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200 Free Relay |
1:18.57* |
NCAA Championships |
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200 Medley Relay |
1:27.38 |
NCAA Championships |
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400 Free Relay |
2:56.72 |
NCAA Championships |
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400 Medley Relay |
3:13.97 |
NCAA Championships |
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800 Free Relay |
6:35.45 |
NCAA Championships |
* - Indicates School record
# - Indicates NCAA DIII record