Jake Lewing and M.J. Barczak revel in the moment after clinching the long-sought championship title. (Photo: Ben K. Moser)
As cheers, whistles, and music echoed throughout the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center at the University of Tennessee, Denison’s swimming and diving head coach Gregg Parini noticed one of his swimmers sitting in the team bleachers with a towel over his head.
Parini didn’t understand. This was the final night of the 2011 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships, and after a disappointing preliminary swim in the 200-meter breast stroke, team captain Jake Lewing ‘11 had come back to win the consolation final by over a second. He broke his personal record and the varsity team record, and improved his position from tenth to ninth, earning Denison additional points.
“I didn’t know what was going on,” Parini says. “So, I went over to him, touched him on the shoulder, picked up the towel and said, ‘Are you okay?’”
Lewing’s response: “I’m great. I just can’t watch.”
Who could blame him? Following the 200 breast stroke, the men’s team trailed rival Kenyon College by just 20 points. A year ago at the same meet, more than 400 points separated runner-up Denison from national champ Kenyon. Now, with two events left–three-meter diving and the 400 freestyle relay–Denison supporters were starting to lose it.
“I was trying not to get overwhelmed by it, but it was really difficult not to,” Parini says. “There was that little voice inside me saying, ‘Okay, don’t come up a point short. Do not come up a point short.’ It was gut-wrenching in so many ways.”
Fans focused their attention on the diving well. Denison had two divers–Cody Smith ‘11 and Gabe Dixson ‘13– in the top heat of the three-meter diving. Kenyon didn’t even have divers at the meet. At the very least, Denison would score 23 points in the event. “We trained all year for a night like that,” says Jason Glorius, Denison’s diving coach. “I told them to just let their training take over and relish the moment.” Dixson and Smith did just that. With every round, cheers for the two divers grew louder. At the end of the evening’s sixth and final round, Dixson and Smith had placed fourth and fifth, respectively, boosting Denison to a nine-point lead.
With only the 400 freestyle relay remaining, Denison needed to finish within eight points of Kenyon. If Kenyon got first in the relay, Denison needed to be third or better. Chants of “We are Big Red!” echoed throughout the natatorium.
Behind the blocks, Parini prepped Denison’s four relay swimmers–Carlos Maciel ‘14, M.J. Barczak ‘12, Andrew Krawchyk ‘11, and Spencer Fronk ‘14. They talked about the scenario and what needed to be done, and then, they just tried to stay loose.
The starter blew his whistle, and the swimmers stepped up onto the blocks. Maciel, Barczak, and Krawchyk swam the first three legs. In the lane next to them, Kenyon had taken an early lead and never looked back. The Lords finished three seconds ahead of the rest of the field, leaving Denison anchor Fronk and swimmers from four other schools in a nail-biting battle for second.
As Fronk and the others powered into the wall, heads turned from the pool to the scoreboard. The race was too close to call by sight. There was a split second of silent anticipation, and then, after a “3” illuminated the board next to Denison’s lane, there was Big Red pandemonium.
Denison took third in the relay by 0.32 seconds and won the meet by one point, ending Kenyon’s 31-year winning streak–the longest NCAA championship reign in any sport across all divisions.
Smith was speechless. “I thought, Oh my God, we actually did it,” he says. “We did what no other team has been able to do in my lifetime.” Aaron Cole ‘00, a former Denison swimmer himself and 28-time All-American, was on deck alongside the team and coaches throughout the meet. “It had to be a one-point win,” he says. “How could one of the greatest stories in sports end any differently?” Even though Fronk was the guy who touched the wall at the end, he acknowledges that the win was a team effort. “It was one point,” he says. “We could’ve won or lost that point anywhere in the meet.” At the end of the four-day competition, the Big Red men had set three national records and nine varsity team records. They walked away with 51 All-American swims and dives, and Parini was named the men’s D-III Coach of the Year. “Nobody can take this win from them,” Cole says. “Just as there was only one team that started Kenyon’s 31-year streak, there will only be one team–ever–that broke it.”