H20 Frogs Shattered Records and Expectations
3/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Swimming and Diving
March 25, 2009
Updated Record Book | Men's Final Stats | Women's Final Stats
For head coach Richard Sybesma and the TCU swimming and diving teams, the 2008-09 season was a breakthrough year, highlighted by 13 new school records, 16 All-Mountain West Conference team members and one MWC individual champion. The women's squad finished the campaign with an 8-3-1 overall record and a seventh place finish in the MWC Championship standings, while the men earned a 4-5 record and a fifth place finish in Oklahoma City.
The Frogs' 16 All-MWC members compiled honors in 23 events, as TCU also ended the season with eight MWC Swimmer/Diver of the Week award winners. Out of the water, both squads earned Academic All-America status for their outstanding achievements in the classroom.
The Frogs kicked off the season in Keller, Texas for the North Texas Relays. Squaring off against some of the stiffest competition in the Metroplex, the women garnered runner-up honors behind only SMU, while the men captured third place. TCU would have to make a quick turnaround, hosting Missouri State at the University Rec Center the following day for the home opener.
Against the Bears, freshman Ashley Bolin and Maria Paula Alvarez paced the squad with a pair of individual wins, while also serving on the winning 400-medley team. Newcomer Kaitlyn Vann also earned her first collegiate win with the top time in the 1000-free. Junior Josh Bagby and sophomore Jeff Gettel also pocketed wins, while senior R.J. Hesselberg swept the diving events. The Frogs' split the meet, as the women's triumphed by a score of 72-41, while the men dropped a 67-46 decision.
After both teams swept UT-Permian Basin in Andrews, Texas, TCU returned home to open up the MWC slate, hosting BYU and Colorado State. Hesselberg highlighted the action against the Cougars, setting the school record for the three-meter dive with a score of 380.10 and surpassing his previous benchmark of 359.80 to win the 2008 MWC individual championship.
Bagby and sophomore Edgar Peyro also excelled, leading the squad with two wins apiece. Bagby took care of the 50-free and 100-free, while Peyro came up big for the Frogs late in the meet to top the field in the 200-breast and the 200-IM.
Colorado State came into Fort Worth riding an unbeaten 4-0 record, but TCU slammed the door on the Rams in the final home meet of the fall with a 128-115 victory. Alvarez broke the TCU record in the 1000-free for the first of many times this season, while junior Jennifer Ferguson swept the diving events. Senior Katie Rosen and junior Stephanie Futscher and Vann were among other event winners for the Frogs.
 Sophomore Maria Paula Alvarez  | |
The Purple and White followed the win with its first road trip outside of the Lone Star State, heading into MWC battlegrounds against the Air Force Academy and Wyoming. The women claimed 10 of the 13 events against the Falcons for a 128-111 victory, while the men struggled at altitude, fighting to a 128-105 loss. Amongst the winners for TCU, sophomore Nikki Pappas and freshman Megan Higginbotham were welcomed into the win column for the first time of the season. Colorado-native Jennifer Oster also claimed her inaugural victory in the 200-fly.
Two days later, both teams struggled in Laramie, as the women took the top spot in six of the 16 events, falling short by a score of 168-131, while the men won five events and dropped the meet, 191.5-106.5. For the third-straight meet, Bolin tacked on a pair of victories, while sophomore Brittney Martinez captured her first win of the year in the 200-back.
The Frogs capped off the fall semester with a trip to Atlanta, Ga., for the 2008 ConocoPhillips/USA Swimming Short Course National Championships. Bagby took advantage of the adrenaline and momentum that comes in a big meet to break the TCU 100-free record, re-writing Jonathan Berrettini's previous school-record time of 44.70 set in 2007 with a time of 44.64 in the preliminary heat.
 Junior Josh Bagby | |
The women's 800-free relay squad of Bolin, Vann, Lindsey Stevens and Futscher also recorded an impressive showing, notching the school's third-fastest time of 7:30.63.
Despite getting off to a rocky start with a pair of losses at UNLV to begin the spring schedule, the Frogs turned their seasons around, recording a combined record of 7-0-1 in the final eight meets of the regular season.
One of the biggest meets of the spring came against Utah on Jan. 9. The men toppled the Utes for the third-straight season, 145-92, while the women ended the night cinched at 121.5-121.5. Newcomers Laszlo Gyurko and Friedrich Grott made their first appearances in Purple and White after joining the roster at the beginning of the semester, serving as integral parts in the Frogs' winning 200-free and 200-medley relays. Sophomore Jeff Gettel continued his dominance against the MWC in the 200-back, extending his unbeaten streak to five meets.
On the women's side, Alvarez stole the show by breaking the TCU 1000-free record for the second time in the week, shaving off nearly three seconds with a lifetime-best clocking of 10:08.80.
On senior day, TCU picked up a trio of victories over San Diego State and Centenary College. In his final home meet of his career, senior Jason Hauck notched a pair of victories in the 100-fly and 100-free. Gyurko and freshman Jack Doran also claimed double-event wins, while the women won 14 of the 16 events, including both the 200-medley and 400-free relays, including six Frogs adding up to all 12 individual victories.
Sophomore diver Kyle Callens stole headlines in the final men's meet of the year, shattering the TCU one-meter springboard record with a 341.62 scorecard at Incarnate Word in San Antonio. The Deer Park, Texas native surpassed former Frog Kelly McCain's mark of 335.10 from 2006 and earned his third one-meter win of the season.
At the MWC Championships in Oklahoma City, the men's diving core of Hesselberg and Callens turned in the top performance, registering the top two spots in the three-meter springboard, respectively. Ferguson also represented the Purple and White with a bronze medal from the three-meter dive on the women's side.
Alvarez claimed TCU's second silver medal of the Championships, taking runner-up honors in the 1650-free. Alvarez swam the mile in 16:43.68, blowing out the TCU benchmark set by Megan Ryther in 1998 by nearly nine seconds.
 Freshman Friedrich Grott | |
Rosen and Grott each earned bronze medals in the final day of action. Rosen, a St. Louis, Mo., product swam a 2:17.54 in the 200-breast, serving as the second-fastest time in Horned Frog history. Grott rewrote the TCU 200-fly record with a time of 1:46.34, erasing former Frog All-American and Olympian Walter Soza's time of 1:47.85 from 1994.
Grott also removed the Frogs' 100-fly record that stood for 17 years, claiming fifth place after hitting the wall at 47.99. The Potsdam, Germany, native has enjoyed an impressive week in Oklahoma City as a member of the TCU's record-breaking 200-medley relay and also finishing fifth in the 200-IM.
Bolin reset the 200-free record twice during the Championships, once as the leadoff leg for the 800-free relay and again later in the week. The Oshkosh, Wis., product joined Alvarez, Stevens and Vann claim a bronze medal race with the fastest 800-free clocking in TCU history at 7:20.69.
The men's 200-free relay team of Gyurko, Doran, Josh Schifferer and Bagby registered the second-fastest time of 1:21.14 to finish in third place for bronze.
Futscher broke Gretchen Brannon's 19-year-old 200-fly school record of 2:01.16 during her preliminary heat, clocking in at 2:00.33. Bagby took fourth place in the 100-free, breaking his Frog school record time, clocking in at 44.42.
TCU's last chance to qualify for the NCAA Championships came after the MWC Championships at the Austin Grand Prix. Competing against some of the top talent in the world, Bagby broke the school record in the 100-free for the third time this season, clocking in at 44.06.
The Frogs say farewell to six seniors, the first class to compete in the MWC in all four years on campus. Forty-two athletes, including six TCU record holders, will return for another climb towards a Mountain West Conference title in 2009-10.
Players Mentioned
