Swimming

Blast From The Past: 1988 National Invitational Dual-Meet Championships

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By Riley Overend on SwimSwam

Swim fans were treated to a blast from the past on social media this week courtesy of Texas A&M associate head coach Jason Calanog, who shared results from the 1988 National Invitational Dual-Meet Championships.

Swim meets are typically scored by overall team standings in terms of total points instead of head-to-head matchups in a bracket format. But what if the NCAA held a March Madness-style tournament for the top teams, maybe in place of midseason invites?

Back in 1988, Alabama hosted the four-day National Invitational Dual-Meet Championships from December 1-4 — a few months before championship season in February and March. Three of the eight women’s teams competing were nationally ranked at the time: No. 1 Florida, No. 5 Clemson, and No. 12 Arizona.

The first round went as expected, with No. 5 Clemson beating Indiana, No. 12 Arizona sending Nebraska to the consolation bracket, Texas A&M taking down Southern Illinois, and top-ranked Florida prevailing against host Alabama.

The No. 12 Arizona pulled off an upset against No. 5 Clemson in the second round, advancing to the championship against No. 1 Florida. After beating Texas A&M in the semifinals, Florida defeated Arizona to claim the women’s title while Clemson claimed 3rd place over the Aggies.

That Gator team was led by senior Dara Torres, who was fresh off her second Olympics in Seoul earlier that year. She famously became the first American swimmer to make five Olympic teams, punctuating her career with a 50 free silver medal at age 41 in 2008. Torres is tied for the most Olympic medals won by an American woman with 12, along with Jenny Thompson and Natalie Coughlin. The Florida women featured five other 1988 Olympians on their roster that season between Tami Bruce (USA), Jane Kerr (Canada), Laura Walker (USA), and Paige Zemina (USA).

The Florida women went on to win their fourth consecutive SEC crown later that season and place 3rd at the 1989 NCAA Championships. The Clemson women also placed 9th at NCAAs, Alabama placed 11th, Arizona placed 15th, Nebraska placed 29th, and Texas A&M placed 36th.

Quick aside: Florida and Alabama were SEC rivals back then, but Texas A&M hadn’t joined the conference yet. The Aggies were members of the Southwest Conference before joining the Big 12 in 1996 and finally SEC in 2012.

On the men’s side, host Alabama engineered a first-round upset against Florida, which was coming off a top-10 finish at NCAAs the previous season and went on to place 7th nationally in 1989. The Crimson Tide beat Southern Illinois in the semifinals to set up a date with Iowa in the championship, where Alabama escaped with the victory. Southern Illinois triumphed over Indiana for 3rd place.

The Crimson Tide men were led by Jon Olsen, who went on to earn First Team All-American honors in the 100 free and 200 free that season.

Notably, two of the eight teams that competed at the 1988 National Invitational Dual-Meet Championships no longer support swimming programs. Clemson cut its swim teams in 2011, and Iowa followed suit in 2021.

The Arizona men went on to place 15th at NCAAs, Alabama placed 20th, SIU placed 27th, and Clemson placed 31st in 1989.

SwimSwam: Blast From The Past: 1988 National Invitational Dual-Meet Championships

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