Jan. 18, 2007

Courtesy Scott McClean, Simon Fraser Media Relations Coordinator

BURNABY, B.C. - One of the most heated rivalries in swimming and diving will add another length to its storied tale Saturday, as the Simon Fraser University Clan swimming and diving team prepares to host the Seattle University Redhawks for their last home dual meet of the season. Beginning at 1pm, the event will also serve as an opportunity to unveil the swimming athletic facility as the Margaret and Paul Savage Aquatic Centre.
 
The Redhawks and Clan are old rivals from the days when Seattle competed in the NAIA. Seattle is now one of the top programs in NCAA Division-II and earlier this season SFU pulled out close victories over Seattle in a dual meet, as both the men's and women's competitions each came down to the final relay.
 
"It's intense, there is no doubt about it," said SFU head coach Liam Donnelly of the rivalry. "For the past six to eight years we have really been trying to schedule each other, because these are two programs that are quite equal and if you look at the history between our two teams in dual meets, the separation is almost in the single digits for points.
 
On the women's side, senior Kathryn Rosberg (Burnaby, B.C.) led the Clan against Seattle by posting an SFU dual meet record in the 400-yard medley. She also lapped her competition in the 1000-yard freestyle, and won the 500-yard freestyle by 15 seconds. On the men's side, Sean Nugent (Burnaby, B.C.) posted two first place finishes against the Redhawks to lead the way for the small SFU men's team, a team that features only seven total swimmers.
 
"[Rosberg] is one of the leaders on our team, along with Tina Hoang (Coquitlam, B.C.)," says Donnelly. "On the men's side we have a couple of strong men led by Kyle Smerdon (Toronto, Ont.) and Neils Muntzenburger (Chemnitz, Germany). We did beat them last time with a little luck, but this time we really are going to have to earn a win."
 
The day will also be an opportunity to unveil the swimming athletic facility as the Margaret and Paul Savage Aquatic Centre. Paul Savage was the original head coach of the Clan Swimming and Diving team, while Margaret was the team's first assistant coach. With ten men's and three women's NAIA National Championship Team titles, 193 individual national titles, and more than 30 Canadian national team members to their credit, Margaret and Paul Savage established a standard of excellence in the SFU Clan Swimming & Diving program over two decades.
 
"They are the spine of this program, there is no question about that," says Donnelly. "I consider myself lucky to be building off the foundation they laid, we have had some recent success and want to continue to have success at the national and international level, but none of that could have been possible without [the Savages]."
 
In addition to their innovative coaching practices at SFU, both coaches helped guide numerous Canadian National Teams throughout the years.  Paul was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1982 and Margaret in 1985.  Both were recently inducted into the British Columbia Swimming Hall of Fame.
 
The meet officially begins at 1 pm, with the unveiling and a small reception to take place immediately following at approximately 2:30 pm.