WASHINGTON - If you're looking for hometown heroes to cheer for at this year's Summer Olympics in Paris, American University swim & dive alumnus Tom Ugast (SPA/BS '80) can give you a few names. Ugast has been the Chief Executive Officer of Nation's Capital Swimming (NCAP) for the past 12 years, and a few of the club's notable alumni are part of Team USA in 2024.
 
Did you know seven-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky of Bethesda started swim school through NCAP at six years old, and later trained with NCAP at American University for four years before competing at Stanford? Ledecky will look to add to her total count of 10 Olympic medals this summer when she competes in three individual events and a relay.
 
Two more recent NCAP swimmers—Phoebe Bacon and Erin Gemmell—will also compete at the Olympics. Bacon is making her second appearance and will race in the 200 backstroke, while Gemmell secured her first spot on Team USA alongside Ledecky as both will compete in the 4x200 freestyle relay.
 
Nation's Capital Swimming started as the Curl Burke Swim Club and became NCAP in 2012. Ugast helped the club with that transition and has served as CEO ever since. He's from the area—Chevy Chase—and went to St. John's College High School before attending AU from 1976-80. The University's Reeves Aquatic Center in Bender Arena serves as one of the primary locations for NCAP.
 
"Bender Arena didn't exist," recounts Ugast when asked about his memories of competing for AU swimming & diving. "We were over where the Katzen Arts Center is now and it was old, temporary World War II buildings where the basketball practice area was. We had a four-lane swimming pool, the athletics department offices were over there, and there was a bowling alley."
 
Ugast's memories are of a lot of good friends, a good school, and making it work with a men's and women's team that were just starting to practice together despite having only four lanes.
 
These days, Ugast is helping in a big way to make sure current and future student-athletes have more tools to be successful than he did. Ugast made a $10K gift that was matched to $20K during the Finish Line initiative for AU's "Change Can't Wait" Campaign.
 
"It means a lot (to be able to support the program)," said Ugast. "I've watched Garland and the other coaches over the past years that I've been involved with the swim school. I've seen the entire athletic department and swimming, especially, continue to help student-athletes grow and do what they want to do. I feel like it's time for me at this point, with what we've been able to grow in our relationship with the university and the use of the pool, to give back and help AU Athletics continue to do what you're doing."
 
Ugast gives with the intention of supporting not just varsity athletics but the club teams as well, noting how important it is for all students to stay involved in some kind of activity. Many students at AU, both on the varsity team and others, are instructors for NCAP.
 
"I want to help them, you know, make a little bit of money to put in their pocket to make sure they're doing what they need to do while they're in school."
 
The relationship between NCAP and American spans many decades, since Olympian Sergio Lopez swam for the Eagles in the late 90s and went on to swim for NCAP as well. Breaststrokers and Olympians Rogue Santos and Mike Barrowman were a part of that group as well, along with Jozsef Nagy who was a great breaststroke coach.
 
The small pool next to AU's competition pool was conceived by Ugast's college coach for his vision of being able to conduct swim lessons without draining the main pool down to an appropriate depth for younger swimmers. It has served both AU and NCAP very well in the years since, as both an instruction pool and a warm-up/cool-down space during meets.
 
Many members of the NCAP coaching staff have swum for the club, including AU alum Dory (Isaacs) Halbe who has been with Ugast and NCAP for 13 years as an age group coach. Pop Cassell Hall of Famer Meghan Thiel was also an NCAP coach for many years before becoming an Arlington County Police Officer.
 
"Our coaching staff aspires to help kids get to the highest level of sport, and the athletes themselves have to want to put in the work," said Ugaste. "The effort of training early in the morning and then coming back in the afternoon as you get to be 14 and 15 years old—it's a lot of work. We also stay on them about their academics. They have to be good students and we help them understand how to balance the two… We've just been very blessed and lucky that we've had a lot of swimmers who have wanted to come through our program and have excelled and trained hard and made it to the highest levels of the sport."
 
The connection to American University for many local families is rooted in their involvement with NCAP. Ugast takes that very seriously and wants his club to always be a positive association for those parents and their swimmers.
 
"We're a big part of that facility. Being there and running it and teaching the kids—hopefully it gives a good name to the University."