As part of the buildup to the 75th Anniversary celebration for Claremont McKenna College (visit CMC's 75th Anniversary Countdown Page to learn more), we are reliving many of the great moments and landmark years from CMS athletic department history over the 75-day countdown from April 17 to July 1. If you would like to add to the memories of one of these moments, or if you would like to submit your memories of your own favorite CMS Athletics moment, fill out the form on our main 75th Anniversary page.

Great Moments Featured in This Story
1987 Men's Water Polo: Stags Win WWPA Title in Sudden Death
1989 Women's Swimming and Diving: Athenas Take First SCIAC Championship
1991 Men's Swimming and Diving: Stags Finish Second at Nationals Behind Teeples' Title
1992 Men's Water Polo: Stags Win SCIAC in Overtime over Redlands
1992 Women's Water Polo: Athenas Earn Collegiate Nationals Title, Upgrade to Varsity

Team coaches/captains pictured above at Axelrood opening ceremony: Mike Sutton (Men's Swimming and Diving/Water Polo Coach), Skye Wagstaff (Scripps '94, women's swimming/water polo), Jenn See (CMC '94, women's swimming and diving), Greg Gero (CMC '94, men's water polo), Beth Burkhart (CMC '94, women's water polo), Dave Alles (HMC '94, men's swimming and diving), Pam Tanase (Women's Swimming and Diving/Water Polo Coach). Foreground: Ruth Schmirer (Matt M. Axelrood Foundation executrix)

In 1993, the Matt M. Axelrood Aquatics Center first opened its doors on Claremont McKenna's campus, and the timing couldn't have been better. 

The existing CMS aquatic sports were in the middle of a prolonged dynasty when they moved into their new home, with men's swimming and diving and men's water polo both riding streaks of 11 consecutive SCIAC Championships, with men's water polo on a 110-0 streak after winning its 11th in a row with an overtime win over Redlands. Both programs had extended their success well beyond just the SCIAC as well, as the men's swimming and diving team had finished in second place at the NCAA Championships six times between 1983-1991, the last coming in 1991 behind a national title from Ryan Teeples, and the men's water polo team had picked up three Western Water Polo Association Championships between 1984-87, the last coming in sudden death overtime against UC San Diego. 

The women's swimming and diving team, meanwhile, broke through to hand Pomona-Pitzer its first SCIAC dual loss in 1988 and then win its first-ever SCIAC Championship in 1989, establishing itself as a perennial league contender (one which has produced 18 more league titles since the new pool opened). Women's water polo, then a club team, won the 1992 Collegiate II National Championship in a tournament held at Pomona while Axelrood was under construction, and successfully won its petition to upgrade to a varsity program in 1993, adding to both the size of the athletic department and the need for more pool space. 

Axelrood was an immediate upgrade from the old Voit Pool, which was smaller than official regulation size, often resulting in multiple heats needed for home swimming events. It also led to some gamesmanship from opposing water polo coaches, including in 1984, when a home game against archrival UC San Diego had to be moved.  

"Voit Pool was shorter and narrower (25 yards, six lanes) than championship level pools, so UCSD's coach refused to play us at CMC," said Brad Munroe (CMC '85). "Our game was moved to Claremont High School, which, though also 25 yards, was a wider venue, thus diminishing our home pool advantage."

The larger Axelrood Pool had much more space, allowing for up to 10 competition lanes for swimming, in addition to a diving area. For water polo, it had more width, but it also created room for a warm-up area behind one of the goals, allowing for the growth of home tournaments such as the annual Claremont Convergence (now the Gary Troyer Memorial Tournament for men's water polo), which is the largest collegiate water polo tournament in the country. 

The facility was named in memory of Matt Martel Axelrood, who passed away in San Diego in 1990. The Matt M. Axelrood Foundation helped provide funding for the new facility in his memory, and executrix Ruth Schmirer attended the 1993 dedication, which featured the captains of the four CMS aquatic sports pouring buckets of water from the old Voit Pool into the new one, symbolic of carrying on the old tradition of excellence in the new venue. 

In a bit of an unfortunate irony, men's water polo and men's swimming and diving actually both saw their streaks of consecutive SCIAC titles end in the first year at Axelrood Pool. But any thoughts of the new facility being bad luck quickly ended when men's water polo rattled off the next five league titles in a row, and men's swimming and diving won six straight.

Women's swimming and diving, meanwhile, kicked it into a new gear in their new home with SCIAC titles in 1995 and 1996, and would end up building a powerhouse program that would take 13 straight league titles from 2003-15, surpassing even the seemingly insurmountable streaks compiled by their male counterparts in the 1980s and 1990s. Women's water polo also celebrated its upgrade to varsity status by winning its first SCIAC title in 1997, and then adding a Collegiate Nationals championship in 2001, matching the title won by the 1992 team (but this time as a full varsity program).

After women's and men's swimming and diving swept the 2020 SCIAC Championships, right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the four CMS aquatic sports now have raised their total to a combined 86 SCIAC Championships in their histories.  

Perhaps they should have kept Voit Pool around too, just for a place to store the trophies.