The Psych Sheet

Milberg Nabs Denver Post Award

Congratulations to University of Denver-bound Kristen Milberg for being awarded the Denver Post Female Student Athlete of the Year award. Milberg, who swims for the DU Hilltoppers, was honored Tuesday night at a banquet at the Denver Athletic Club.

The Denver Post program, in conjunction with the DAC and 9News, chose Milberg along with two male Student Athletes of the Year, after 34 weeks of selections that highlighted in-state high-schoolers who excelled in academics, athletics and character.

Earlier this year Milberg helped lead the girl’s team at Rock Canyon High School to its first 4A championship. During her stellar high school career, she won 10 championships in assorted individual and relay races.

University of Denver head coach Brian Schrader had this to say: “This is a great way for Kirsten to be acknowledged for all of the hard work she has put into the pool and the classroom. She is a class act and it’s why we wanted her to be a part of the Denver Pioneer family. We are looking forward to her leadership in and out of the water.”

The Starting Blocks

When it comes to the world of competitive swimming, there seems to be few slow weeks. There’s always news happening in some arena of the sport whether it’s involving age groupers, high school swimmers, college competitors, the pros or even my colleagues, the master’s group.

Here’s a quick look at some of this week’s news.

Mature Swimmers Take to the Pool

The 2009 United State Masters Swimming National Short Course Championship kicked off yesterday with the mixed 1000Y Freestyle and mixed 1650Y Freestyle events at the Clovis North High School Aquatic Complex in Fresno, Calif. The annual championship is a chance for master swimmers from around the country to face off.

This year’s Colorado Masters Swimming team is comprised of 51 athletes from various masters programs around the state and is one of the larger teams at the national meet, which has more than 1,500 competitors.  Not too surprising, many are swim parents who devote their fair share of time schlepping their kids to practice and attending age grouper meets so it’s nice to see them take the opportunity to get in there and strut their stuff.

Speaking of strutting, today’s lineup includes the 400Y IM, which I happen to think is one of the most grueling events. Among the competitors, 86-year-old Jae Howell of Walnut Creek Masters in Calif. You go girl!

The Bad Economy Hits the Sport

Late last week, the University of Washington announced it was cutting both its men’s and women’s intercollegiate teams. It’s a shame to hear about any program being cut, but given that the swimmers had no idea and that both programs had met with some recent success – the men’s team took 16th at the NCAA championship meet in March while the women’s team finished 15th – it’s especially tough news. For a local perspective, check out this Seattle Times piece .

Phelps Ban Lifted

Boy how time flies. Michael Phelps has the green light from USA Swimming to once again compete in meets. His three-month suspension from competition following the publishing of a photo in late January of him with a weed pipe in hand, ended on Tuesday. As reported by the Associated Press, the penalty didn’t appear to faze the Olympic superstar who didn’t even know it had ended.

Instead, he’s been focused on getting back in shape according this insightful, feature article in the Washington Post published today that details what was going on with the swimming celebrity post Beijing. 

We’ll see how fit he is next weekend when Phelps and several other Olympians compete at the Charlotte UltraSwim May 14-17 at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center.

Super Suits Controversy Lands in WSJ

I expect to read about the issues surrounding high-tech suits in Sports Illustrated, Swimming World Magazine and of course on the USA Swimming Web site and other popular swim forums. I’m not even that surprised when The New York Times weighs in  on the issue. They do, after all, have at least one former collegiate swimmer on staff who devoted plenty of ink to swimming last year leading up to and through the Beijing Olympics.

But imagine my surprise when yesterday my inbox held a story about high-tech suits from, of all places, that bastion of business and finance news, The Wall Street Journal. Reporter Matthew Futterman on page D8 detailed the controversy rocking the sport as it applies to collegiate swimming.

In the article, Futterman writes that collegiate swimming was  “turned upside down” this season when the NCAA decided not to rule on high tech suits. That left programs scrambling to not only find the super suits but had them dishing out thousands of dollars to outfit their rosters, all to the dismay of many collegiate coaches.

"It's like having one pole-vaulter using a fiberglass pole and another using a wooden pole," Phil Whitten, executive director of the College Swim Coaches Association, was quoted. "It's an absolute mess."

Just goes to show a level playing field is of concern no matter the level, whether on the age-group, high-school or even collegiate scene.

NCAA Men's Meet

The article makes a nice run up to the NCAA Division I Men's Championship, which kicks off tomorrow at College Station, Texas, where the women competed last week.

I’ll be keeping my eye on a few former Colorado swimmers. Heritage High School graduate Mark Dylla, now in his second year at the University of Georgia, is ranked first in the 200Y Butterfly, an event he took second in last year at the championships as a freshman. 

Agustin Magruder, formerly of the Greenwood Tiger Sharks, swims for the Longhorns and goes into the meet most highly ranked in the 200Y Breaststroke where he is seated sixth. Finally, there’s Steamboat swimmer Blake Worsley, a senior at the University of Denver, who is ranked sixth in the 500Y Free and seeded eighth in the 200Y Free.

Much like the women’s meet, I’m expecting super fast times, and who wouldn’t with the suits and all.