CGB Hall of Fame: (10) Tom Shields vs. (2) Dave Durden

Results from the Previous Round

Tom Shields upset 7th-seeded Cameron Jordan 44-38, while Dave Durden prevailed over 15th-seeded Lavelle Hawkins, 62-26.

(10) Tom Shields

Ruey tells us about Mr. Shields:

With 11 individual and relay national titles that were instrumental to Cal Men’s Swimming winning the back-to-back team national titles in 2011 and 2012, Tom Shields is one of the most decorated swimmer to come through the storied Cal Aquatic programs.

Here is the impressive list of his national titles earned in his Cal career. For the medley relays, Shield swam the butterfly leg of those races.

2010

• Tom Shields, men's swimming - 100-yard backstroke, 44.91
• Men's swimming - 400-yard freestyle relay (2:48.78 - Graeme Moore, Josh Daniels, Tom Shields, Nathan Adrian)
• Men's swimming - 400-yard medley relay (3:02.83 - Guy Barnea, Damir Dugonjic, Tom Shields, Nathan Adrian)

2011

• Tom Shields, men's swimming - 100-yard backstroke, 45.02
• Men's Swimming - 400-yard freestyle relay (2:47.39 - Graeme Moore, Josh Daniels, Tom Shields, Nathan Adrian)
• Men's Swimming - 400-yard medley relay (3:02.28 - Guy Barnea, Damir Dugonjic, Tom Shields, Nathan Adrian)

2012

• Tom Shields, men's swimming - 100-yard backstroke, 44.86
• Tom Shields, men's swimming - 100-yard butterfly, 44.76
• Men's Swimming - 400-yard medley relay (3:03.24)

2013:

• Tom Shields, men's swimming - 100-yard butterfly, 44.59
• Tom Shields, men's swimming - 200-yard butterfly, 1:39.65

A multi-event threat in Free, Back, and Fly, Cal could also count on Tom Shields to accumulate plenty of team points comes the NCAA. It is important to note that in addition to the wins listed above, Shield came a close 2nd or 3rd (sometimes to his teammates) on numerous races at the NCAA’s.

Tom was named the 2012 Swimmer of the Meet at the NCAA Championships, being the MVP that led the Golden Bears to a repeat team title.

Even though the Bears were not able to three-peat in Shields’ senior year, he got the American record in 200 Fly (tying some guy by the name of Michael Phelps...I think he’s a famous for all those Subway commercials) and add yet another NCAA title in 100 Fly to his collection.

Now that his swimming eligibilities are gone, Shields is still training at Cal and winning a variety of races and breaking records. He is still looking to earn the precious title of being a "Calympians", hopefully for the Rio 2016 games.

(2) Dave Durden

Dave Durden quickly established Cal as one of the top men's swimming programs in the nation. CalBears.com highlights his accomplishments:

David Durden, beginning his sixth year at the helm of the California men's swimming and diving program, has led the Golden Bears to back-to-back national team titles in 2011 and 2012, and has been named NCAA Coach of the Meet and Pac-12 Coach of the Year three seasons in a row.

In just five years Durden has brought the Cal program to the pinnacle of college swimming as he coached the Golden Bears to their first NCAA team title since 1980 in 2011, and then guided his squad to another national crown this past March in Federal Way, Wash.

In his spectacular fifth year at Cal, Durden led his 2011-12 team to the program's fourth NCAA title with a dominating 535.5 to 491 point victory over second place Texas at the national meet. Before his pair of national crowns, Durden led the Bears to an NCAA runner-up finish in 2010 and fourth-place finishes in 2008 and 2009. He now owns an overall dual meet record of 24-9 (.727).
...
Since his arrival to Berkeley in 2007, Durden's (along with head coach emeritus Nort Thornton) swimmers have established school records in 18 of 19 swimming events, including all the relays. He has guided Cal to 23 NCAA titles, including nine relay crowns and 33 Pac-12 individual and relay titles, in five seasons.

That article is woefully out of date, however, as Durden and the Bears won another National Championship last spring. This is how he celebrated:

This is how a swimming and diving coach celebrates a national title ... pic.twitter.com/R0oilxymN3

— NCAA (@NCAA) March 31, 2014