Mike Ginder ’07 claimed one of the most decorated careers in the history of Washington and Lee athletics as a member of the swimming team.
Ginder earned four letters with the swimming program and served as a team captain for his senior season. Following his athletics career, he served as an assistant swimming coach for the Generals from 2007-2010, helping lead the W&L women to three ODAC titles and helping guide the men to an eighth-place finish at the 2008 NCAA Championship.
As an intercollegiate athlete, Ginder was a four-time First Team All-Bluegrass Mountain Conference honoree and twice he was named the Bluegrass Mountain Conference Co-Swimmer of the Meet.
Across his four seasons, Ginder collected 16 All-America citations, the second-most by any athlete in school history. He was named First Team All-American 10 times across six different events, as well as earning Honorable Mention accolades on six more occasions. Additionally, he set numerous pool, meet and school records, graduating as the school’s record holder in the 200 freestyle (1:39.17), 100 backstroke (50.77) and 200 backstroke (1:49.82), while also competing on the school-record setting 200 medley relay (1:33.36), 400 medley relay (3:26.85), 200 freestyle relay (1:21.64), 400 freestyle relay (3:03.80) and 800 freestyle relay (6:44.50) teams.
As a first-year in 2003-04, Ginder helped lead the Generals to the first of four consecutive Bluegrass Mountain Conference titles, while earning Conference Co-Swimmer of the Meet honors. He set a pair of school records and was a two-time All-America honoree after finishing fourth in the 200 freestyle and 14th in the 100 freestyle at the NCAA Championship, helping W&L to a 21st-place finish. Following the year, he received the 2004 W&L Outstanding First-Year Male Athlete Award.
Ginder’s sophomore season saw him set or lower four school records, as he once again earned BMC Co-Swimmer of the Meet honors. At the NCAA Championship, he received All-America honors three more times, placing second in the 200 freestyle, third in the 50 freestyle and 10th in the 100 freestyle, as W&L finished 18th overall.
As a junior, Ginder set or lowered three more school records while racking up All-America laurels another five times. Buoyed by his second-place finish in the 200 freestyle and fourth-place finish in the 200 backstroke, along with a sixth-place finish on the 800 freestyle relay and 14th-place finishes with the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams, W&L finished 14th overall at the NCAA Championship meet.
Ginder’s senior season did not disappoint as he earned six more All-America certificates while helping W&L tie program records for dual meet wins in a season (10) and for the best finish at the NCAA Championship (8th). He set a new school record in the 100 backstroke and also helped W&L establish new school record times in all five relay events. Personally, he finished fourth in the 200 freestyle and ninth in the 200 backstroke, while also swimming on the second-place 200 freestyle relay, the third-place 800 freestyle relay, the sixth-place 400 freestyle relay and the 15th-place 400 medley relay at the NCAA Championship meet.
Following his stellar swimming career, Ginder was presented with the Pres Brown Award as the Most Valuable Senior Male Athlete at W&L.
