Congratulations to the 2013 Swimming and Diving Teams. The men won their third Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association Championship on February 23 and the women’s team placed 7th.
The first swim team was tagged the “Catfish.”
Swimming as a sport was a late arrival at Davidson. While students formed baseball and rugby teams in the late 1900’s, the college did not have a swimming pool on campus until the construction of Johnston Gym in 1949. The first team formed quickly enough, competing in the 1950-51 season.
Summarized in the 1951 yearbook, the Catfish “sank three out of ten opponents under the capable leadership of Silver Springs’ Bill Blue Ray.” The team set 5 pool records during a meet against the University of South Carolina. In that year’s Southern Conference Championship, Bill Ray took first place in the 50 yard freestyle and Frances Pepper placed fourth in the 1500 freestyle.
Headline from January 8, 1982 Davidsonian article reporting the end of the team.
The team faced difficulties in the 1980s, as the aging Davidson pool was declared unsafe for meets. The college rented the pool at UNC – Charlotte for meets but encountered additional problems there. The team was disbanded in the spring of 1982.
1991-92 Swimming and diving teams
Women began forming intercollegiate teams in the 1980s but would not form a swim team until the 1990s. One change for the college was the construction of the Baker Sports Complex in 1989 which included a new pool. The Charles A. Cannon Pool was dedicated on January 25, 1992.
Like the 1950-51 team, this group wasted no time in earning honors at competitions. At the Southern States Swimming and Diving Championships, the Wildcats placed 5th in the men’s division and 7th in the women’s.
These teams are known for quirky bonding rituals but the archives are sadly lacking in photographs of teams with their pink boas or unusual haircuts. If you have any photos of the teams having fun, please share them with the archives.
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