CSCAA Division III Hall of Fame Adds 19 as Second Class
The CSCAA Division III Hall of Fame on Thursday announced a 19-member class of 2025 that stands as the second class for the Hall.
Founded in 2024 with 38 inaugural members, the Hall adds 19 this year – eight coaches, two female athletes and nine male athletes. It’s led by three swimmers each from Johns Hopkins University and Keynon College.
“Congratulations to the Division III Hall of Fame Class of 2025!,” CSCAA executive director Samantha Barany said in a press release. “This Hall of Fame celebrates the extraordinary careers of swimmers, divers, and coaches who have left a lasting legacy in Division III collegiate swimming and diving. These inductees are being celebrated not only for their athletic excellence but also for their enduring contributions to the sport, their teams, and their institutions.”
The class will be inducted at the CSCAA Annual Awards Celebration on May 6, 2025, at the Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley in North Carolina.
Division III Hall of Fame Class of 2025
Coaches
- Keith Beckett, The College of Wooster
- John Benedict, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Nancy Bigelow, Tufts University and Wellesley College
- Tom Erdos, Allegheny College
- Robert (Bob) Kent, Kalamazoo College
- Jon Lederhouse, Wheaton College (Ill.)
- Gail Pebworth, Wabash College
- Scott Woodburn, St. Lawrence University
Female Athletes
- Helen Collins, Bryn Mawr College
- Mary Gentry, Pomona-Pitzer College
Male Athletes
- Jonathan Blank, Johns Hopkins University
- Tim Bridgham, Kenyon College
- Frank Christian, Monmouth University
- Timothy (Tim) Collins, Johns Hopkins University
- Tim Glasser, Kenyon College
- William (Bill) Kiss, Monmouth University
- Douglas (Doug) Morgan, Johns Hopkins University
- Gregg Parini, Kenyon College
- Chris van De Mark, Grove City College
The honorees, in alphabetical order:
Keith Beckett spent nearly four decades at the College of Wooster, as its men’s and women’s swimming coach from 1984-2003 and its athletic director for a further 16 years. He had a combined dual meet record of 253-73-1, with three top-5 finishes at NCAAs, leading 182 All-Americans and three times being named CSCAA Division III Coach of the Year. Beckett served on the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships/Rules Committee, including as its chair, and has 10 times been the meet coordinator for NCAAs.
John Benedict coached MIT’s men’s and women’s teams from 1975-1997 before two decades as athletic director. An all-American swimmer and water polo player at Cal State Hayward, he led MIT’s men to top-10 finishes at NCAAs in 1982 and 1984. He served as the president of the New England Intercollegiate Swimming Association and the Collegiate Water Polo Association.
Nancy Bigelow swam at Penn State and was hired by Wellesley College to host fencing and volleyball before taking over the swim team. She coached there from 1976-80 before moving to Tufts, where she coached the women from 1982-2015. . With a .692 winning percentage, she led the Jumbos to New England Championships in 1986, 1987 and 1989 and had three top-10 NCAAs finishes. She was an associate head coach on the combined men’s and women’s team as the men won their first NESCAC title in 2018. Bigelow served on and chaired the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships/Rules Committee and has been on the CSCAA Board.
Jonathan Blank was part of Johns Hopkins’ 1978 and 1979 NCAA championship teams. He won six titles in breaststroke and three in relays on the way to 12 All-American honors. He set five NCAA records in breaststroke, leading JHU to four straight Middle Atlantic Conference titles. The Hopkins Hall of Famer was also part of the 1980 NCAA runner-up squad.
Tim Bridgham starred at Kenyon, the first NCAA champion under Hall of Fame coach Jim Steen, dating to his 100 backstroke record in 1977. IT was one of the seven NCAA titles for Bridgham, a 22-time All-American and still Kenyon’s only three-time NCAA champ in the 100 back. A Kenyon College Hall of Famer, he won Ohio Athletic Conference titles in four different events and was the 1979 Division III Swimmer of the Year.
Frank Christian enters the Hall alongside Monmouth teammate Bill Kiss. The Australian won NCAA titles in the 500 free and 1,650, setting NCAA records in both. He helped Monmouth finish as the NCAA runner-up in 1978, before it moved up to Division II. The 12-time All-American finished fourth in the 200 fly at Australian Olympic Trials in 1980, has set a master’s world record in that event and had his school record in the mile stand from 1978 to 2022.
Helen Collins starred at the 1981 AIAW Championships for Bryn Mawr College, winning the 500 free, 1,650 free and 400 individual medley. She won the freestyle events at NCAAs in 1982, on the way to 18 All-American honors, 14 program records and five EAIAW records.
Tim Collins was part of Johns Hopkins’ late-70s dynasty, just the third swimmer to win an event at three straight NCAAs when he claimed 1,650 in 1977, 1978 and 1979 (he was the runner-up in 1980). His NCAA record of 15:49.98 from 1978 stood for six years. The 11-time All-American was inducted to Hopkins’ Hall of fame in 1998.
Tom Erdos coached Allegheny College’s men’s and women’s teams from 1977-2007, 23 times finishing in the top 10 at NCAAs. The women’s team made the top four on three occasions, the men’s two. He coached five national champions and twice was named CSCAA Division III Coach of the Year.
Mary Gentry excelled at Pomona-Pitzer College, her career straddling the eras of AIAW and NCAA competition. She won 12 conference titles in three backstroke events over four seasons, the team winning the championship each year. She set 22 school records. She swept the 50/100/200 back at the 1980 and 1981 AIAW Championships, then won the 1982 NCAA 100 back title.
Tim Glasser was part of Kenyon’s first national champion team in 1980, earning Division III Swimmer of the Year honors that year for winning NCAA titles in the 100 fly, 200 fly and 500 free. The first D3 swimmer to break 51 seconds in the 100 fly, he won seven total individual NCAA titles, starting with the 100 fly in 1978, and was a 22-time All-American. He was inducted to the school’s HOF in 2000.
Bob Kent coached Kalamazoo College’s men’s team from 1968-2003, serving as the schools Director of Men’s Athletics for 16 of those years. The Western Michigan graduate led Kalamazoo to 25 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association crowns and 13 top-10 finishes at NCAAs. Kent did it all at Kalamazoo – swim coach, AD, chair of the physical education department for 16 years, assistant football coach for 15 years (including one as the interim head coach), eight seasons as an assistant baseball coach and nine as the head golf coach.
Bill Kiss won the 200 free and 200 free at the inaugural Division III Championships in 1975, helping Monmouth finish third as a team. His national record in the 200 free stood for eight years. After skipping the 1976 meet, he repeated in the same events in 1977, Monmouth finishing fourth. He earned 16 All-American honors and held every school freestyle record save for the mile.
Jon Lederhouse coached Wheaton College’s men’s team from 1977-2017 and the women’s team from 1981-2017. That’s 78 seasons in all at his alma mater in Illinois. The women finished in the top 10 at NCAAs on 10 occasions, the men 11, topping out at third in 1990. He coached seven individuals who won 16 NCAA titles and set four D3 records. Wheaton won 53 conference titles under Lederhouse, who received the CSCAA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018, served on the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships/Rules Committee and hosted the 1990 NCAA championships in Milwaukee.
Doug Morgan was part of Johns Hopkins’ 1978 and 1979 NCAA title teams and 1980 runner-up. He won the 200 fly in 1979 and 1981, adding the 200 IM title in the latter. He never finished worse than fourth in 12 individual NCAA swims and was part of three winning Blue Jays relays. Morgan led Hopkins to four straight conference crowns and was elected to the school’s HOF in 2004.
Gregg Parini was one of the first stars of Keynon’s powerhouse, part of the first three NCAA championship teams in 1980, 1981 and 1982. He won the first two D3 titles in the 50 free, going from 21.49 in 1980 to 20.83 in 1981, the first D3 man to break 21 seconds. He also set the NCAA record in the 100 free in ’81. He won four NCAA relay titles and was part of five D3 records. He won four 50 free titles and three 100 back crowns at the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships.
Gail Pebworth spent 28 years coaching Wabash College’s men’s team from 1984-2002, the first woman to coach swimming at an all-male college. She led Wabash to a 775-112 record in dual meets, won six conference titles, finishing in the top 20 at NCAAs on five occasions and coached 48 All-Americans. A Wabash Hall of Fame, she was selected one of Indiana’s Trailblazing Women in 1989.
Chris van De Mark was Grove City College’s first national champion, winning both springboard titles at NCAAs in 1981 en route to Diver of the Year honors that year. He repeated on 1-meter in 1982 and was runner-up on 3-meter. He won seven All-American honors overall.
Scott Woodburn coached St. Lawrence University for just seven years from 1970-77, but he launched the program without an on-campus pool and led them to a shocking 1976 NCAA title. He coached nine All-American swimmers, with two individual and two relay champions in 1976. Woodburn went on to coach at South Carolina and LSU and worked as an administrator at LSU, Tennessee State and Rhode Island.
