Goucher Swimmers Demonstrate Best Overall Sportsmanship

Landmark Recognizes Six Teams from Winter Season

TOWSON, Md. — Both of Goucher's swimming teams were among the six from the winter sports season that were recognized for sportsmanship today by the Landmark Conference.

The Landmark Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) created a Sportsmanship Cup in the fall of 2009 and, by the end of the current academic year, one member institution will be awarded the coveted trophy. The Landmark SAAC Sportsmanship Cup is designed to recognize the Landmark institution that demonstrates the best overall sportsmanship over the course of the year. The Cup is awarded based on a formula that compiles the votes of each Landmark head coach in consultation with his or her team captains, ranking the top three programs based on sportsmanship in their respective sport.

The NCAA and the Landmark Conference have placed a special emphasis on sportsmanship with the hope of encouraging positive interaction not only among competing teams, but also the fans in attendance.

This winter, the teams that were selected as the best representations of sportsmanship in the six sports for which the Landmark Conference crowns a champion were:

  -  men's basketball - Juniata
  -  women's basketball - Moravian
  -  men's swimming - Goucher
  -  women's swimming - Goucher
  -  men's indoor track and field - U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
  -  women's indoor track and field - Juniata

"I'm really very proud how well the two swimming teams came together (in 2012-13)" said Thomas Till, Goucher's aquatics director and head coach of the swimming program, after learning his two teams were recognized for sportsmanship. "We really felt like a family and the close-knit atmosphere was something everybody associated with the program embraced. As a coach, to see your team like this, to have such strong friendships, not just in the pool but also out of the pool and in the classroom ... .

"Teams have their ups and downs and we struggled as a team in so many ways, but it was awesome to see them quickly rebound because of the efforts of everyone involved, not just one or two people. The team really wanted to be close and each person took it upon himself to make that happen. It took a lot of work and it's gratifying to see the hard work acknowledged by others."