Club History
Dallas, Texas has been a center for aquatic success since the 1940s, when Wally Hofrichter led the Dallas Aquatic Club. Hofrichter, a University of Texas All-American and TSDHOF honoree, was perhaps the earliest in what became a long line of coaches and swimmers with connections to major programs and success at state, national, and international levels.
In 1966 Legendary SMU Coach Red Barr along with Walter Kaspareit started the Junior Mustang Swim Team. In the late 60s the team began to truly impact swimming beyond Dallas and swimmers from each iteration of the Mustang Swim Club have competed at every Olympic Trials since 1968. To this day, there continues to be a close relationship between the club and the SMU women’s and men’s swimming programs.
The team became known as the Dallas Swim Club when Richard Quick took the helm in 1971, swimming out of Highland Park High School and SMU pools. Around the same time, the DISD All-Stars swim team was established at the Loos Swim Center.
In 1975 the Dallas Swim Club merged with the Fort Worth Swim Club, coached by Pat Hogan, to form one of the largest organizations of its kind at the time: the DFW Swim Team. In 1977 Rick Klatt took over the Dallas Swim Club until the team officially became known as The Mustang Swim Club.
Legendary coaches in this time period included George McMillion, Berry Hamilton, Eddie Sinnott, Nancy Nitardy, and Bob Laura. The mid-70s brought a name change as Dr. Pepper sponsored the team until 1980. Meanwhile, the DISD All-Stars became the Dallas Aquatic club, coached by Audris Zidermanis (Coach Z) and then Mook Rhodenbaugh in 1989.
In 1992 the clubs finally came together. The Mustang Swim Club and the Dallas Aquatic Club merged to form the Dallas Mustangs, with Rhodenbaugh as head coach and who still leads the Mustangs three decades later. The main pools for the team were Loos, Highland Park High School, and SMU.
Following the merger, the prominence of the team grew over the following decades, leading eventually to the Dallas Mustangs winning Long Course Junior Nationals overall team champions in 2007. As a result, in the following year the Dallas Mustangs were named a United States Swimming Gold Medal Club, an honor they were given each of the next four years in a row.
Dallas continues to contribute to swimming in the state of Texas each year, led by the Mustangs.
Notable swimmers over the decades (Olympians, National Champions and National Team Members):
1970s: Jerry Heidenreich, Ronny Mills, John Thorburn, Paul Tietze, John Rubottom, Greg Kraus, Andy Veris, Geoff Gaberino, Kim Dunson, Leslie Crozier, Jim Montgomery
1980s: Steve Lundquist, Guy Goosen, Mook Rhodenbaugh, Mike Heath, Bruce Hayes, Bobby Patten, John Spaulding, John Miranda, Greg Rhodenbaugh, Glenn Mangum, Chris Weissman, Chuck Bauman, Jon Cleveland, Shaun Jordan
1990s: Ryan Berube, Mike Ross, Katie McClelland, Martina Moravcova, Lars Frolander, Robert Musclewhite, Courtney Patterson, Sandra Cam, Craig Jackson, Naoko Imoto
2000s: Matt Thompson, Max Murphy, Candace Blackman, Codie Hansen, Spin Beck, Flavia Rigamonti, Georgina Lee
2010s: Claire Brandt, David Johnston, Alvin Jiang, Nina Rangelova, Mindaugas Sadaskas
Other notable DM Coaches: Eddie Sinnott, Steve Collins, Greg Warner, Jim Henry, Greg Rhodenbaugh, Doug Moyse, Dorsey Tierney, Christy Shefchunas, Andy Kershaw, Mike Shrader
