A Night To Remember
By Mike Muska

Sharing a night to remember with family and friends is always an important event, and St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2001 will be a night that senior swimmer John Limouze will always remember. Some of us may remember the seven hour drive on Friday through snow and accidents to get to Buffalo, but those thoughts fade when we think of the exciting performance that Saturday evening as John successfully defended his NCAA Championship in the 200 Butterfly. 
A preview of good things to come happened Saturday morning in the trials as John earned his way into the finals in the second qualifying spot, ahead of his qualifying times a year earlier. An Emory swimmer led the qualifying with a teammate and two of John’s arch rivals from Kenyon among the top six qualifiers. After the trials, John joined the Oberlin contigent in the stands and appeared relaxed and ready for the evening final.

You could sense the excitement and nervousness in the air that evening. I had knots in my stomach as John was introduced, and greeted with the loudest applause and cheers of the participants. You knew that it was going to be a very special night. 

The final that evening pretty much went to form, John’s form that is. Rival competitors knew they had to put John far behind early and hope he could not catch them. Trailing in last through the first 50, John started to close the gap by the 100 mark. Though still in last at that point, John made his patented move in the next 50, charging into third by 150, and taking control of the race in the final 50. John pulled away for a comfortable margin of victory to win in 1:49.85, becoming only the third swimmer to break 1:50 in capturing the NCAA crown.
You could end the story there. But this story is more about Division III athletics and all that is truly good about it, particularly at Oberlin. Competitors from rival schools noted to John the presence of the large Oberlin contingent of fans, the roars and cheers that John received when being introduced, and the group he saluted as he popped out of the water at the finish.

Among that group were John’s two coaches, Dick Michaels and Brian Jones, male and female teammates, alums, John’s parents and brother and yours truly. You could feel the emotion in the group each time John participated, and I’ll admit to a tear or two after he won, and will not claim to be the only one feeling that way.

But the support for John came from more than just the Oberlin contingent. You saw the respect John earned from competitor schools such as Kenyon and Kalamazoo. You saw it in the opening ceremony, where each senior in the NCAA meet is led across the bulkhead in the pool and are recognized prior to the competition. You sensed it when John climbed on the victory stand and received his championship from his own coach, selected to give the awards in this event. It all made you feel proud and glad to be there that evening.
You saw it after the race as well. The good will shared with John by so many, but especially by the Oberlin group. Relaxing with John at dinner after the meet, one could look around a table and see so many different people who played a part in sharing this special night with John from his Oberlin graduate parents, to his coaches, to his teammates and friends. Perhaps a beer or two on St. Patrick’s Night helped the celebratory mood as well, but one realized that this was a night John and everyone seated at that table will always remember as a very special part of their Oberlin experience.
I saw much of the same spirit at the NCAC Track Championships weeks earlier, and plan to see more of the same this spring in tennis, lacrosse, track, baseball and softball. I hope we all will have similar Oberlin experiences. Not every Oberlin athlete will win an NCAA championship, but they can all share that same pride and good feeling of competing and remembering those special experiences in college.