George Washington Swimmer Leading Effort to Save Smith Center Pool Following Historic Season

After sweeping Atlantic 10 conference titles and setting a program record with three NCAA qualifiers this year, George Washington swimmers are pushing back against university plans to turn their Smith Center pool into a new practice facility for the men’s and women’s basketball teams.

Nearly 3,000 people have signed a petition to save the Smith Center pool started by George Washington junior Julia Knox, who called it “heartbreaking” to have “essential facilities” taken away following such a successful season. By comparison, the Revolutionary men’s basketball team finished last in the A-10 this year and the women placed 11th out of 15 squads.

“Despite these achievements, our athletic department is planning to fill in our pool without providing us with a suitable alternative,” wrote Knox, a Northern Ireland native who last year became the first Revolutionary women to compete at the NCAA Championships since 1995. “This decision threatens not only our athletic success but also our academic performance… We ask you to join us in calling on GW’s athletic department to treat us fairly by halting their plans to fill in our pool until they can provide an adequate alternative solution which does not compromise either our academic or athletic success.”

George Washington athletic director Tanya Vogel said last month that the university had an agreement in principle “with a local facility that has an Olympic-sized pool with deep water,” but that offsite venue has yet to be publicized, according to the GW Hatchet. Last year, it was reported that the Revolutionaries were expected to relocate a few miles northwest to the GW Mount Vernon Athletics Facility in the long term, but not until a 30,000 square-foot building is constructed around the existing six-lane, 25-yard outdoor pool.

They have until around September before the Smith Center pool is filled in to accommodate Gorge Washington’s basketball programs. The Smith Center dates back to 1975, with its latest renovation coming in 2011.

At a local governing body meeting last month, Vogel pointed to teams such as baseball, gymnastics, tennis, and track that already practice at off-campus facilities. She said the athletic department is working with a shuttle service to ease the load of additional transportation.

Last fall, George Washington picked up its first dual meet victory ever against a Power Five opponent in Pitt. Even more remarkably, the Revolutionaries pulled off the upset in LCM competition while training within the SCY confines of the Smith Center pool.

They continued their momentum into the spring, sweeping Washington D.C. rival Georgetown in what could be the last meet ever in the Smith Center. Then in February, the George Washington men captured their fourth consecutive A-10 crown while the women won their third in a row.

Three Revolutionaries went to NCAAs in March — Ava Topolewski (500 free, 1650 free), junior Ava DeAngelis (100 breast, 200 breast), and redshirt senior Djurdje Matic (100 fly) — highlighted by Matic’s 14th-place finish in the 100 fly (personal-best 44.95).

George Washington head coach Brian Thomas has built his combined men’s and women’s program into one of the top mid-major groups in the country during just six seasons, sweeping the past three A-10 coach of the year honors along the way.