The 1972 West Chester University's women's swimming team ended a four-year run by Arizona State University when the Golden Rams narrowly edged the Sun Devils at the Division for Girls and Women's Sports (DGWS) national championships that spring – sparking the phrase "ASU Who? ASU Two!". West Chester was the only small school institution to claim the national championship from 1968 to 1982 when the NCAA finally split its membership into three separate divisions based on the size of the school. The 1972 national championship was the last DGWS title, before the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was formed out of the DGWS. Head coach Barb Leighton and assistant coach Susan Parkinson guided the Golden Rams to the championship, defeating Temple and Penn in the regular season, before topping the field at both regionals and nationals.

ABOUT THE ECAC

In the 76 years since its inception, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has emerged as the nation's largest Conference. The ECAC has grown considerably from its charter membership of 58, boasting over 300 member schools in Divisions I, II and III, ranging in location from Maine to Georgia, and westerly to Missouri.  In the 2015-16 academic year, the ECAC will host nearly 100 championships in 32 men’s and women's sports as the sponsors of over 5,800 varsity teams and 111,000 male and female Players. For more information, visit www.ecacsports.com.   

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