The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Fetter-Witt, Kendricks selected for induction into Texas Swim & Dive Hall of Fame
02.01.2023 | Women's Swimming and Diving
Leigh Ann Fetter-Witt and Sam Kendricks will bring the total to 30 Longhorns enshrined in the Texas Swimming and Diving Hall of Fame.
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Swimming Legend Leigh Ann Fetter-Witt and "The Voice of Swimming" Sam Kendricks will be inducted into the Texas Swimming & Diving Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2023, the organization announced on Wednesday.
Fetter-Witt was a record-breaking swimmer at The University of Texas (1988-91), winning 15 NCAA championship, including four consecutive national titles in the 50 free, the third woman in NCAA history to win the same event four-straight years. She simultaneously held the American records for the 50-yard and 50-meter freestyle and was the first woman to swim the 50-yard free in under 22 seconds. In addition to her titles in the 50 free, she was a three-time NCAA Champion in the 100 free, winning consecutive crowns from 1989-91.
A 24-time All-American and 18-time Southwest Conference champion, Fetter-Witt was key member of Texas' national championship teams in 1988, 1990 and 1991, earning 1989 National Women's Swimmer of the Year honors and tabbed the Honda Sport Award for Swimming in 1991, for which she was a three-time finalist. Fetter-Witt was also a two-time finalist for the Babe Zaharias National Athlete of the Year and named to the SWC 1980's All-Decade Team.
She represented the United States at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, finishing fifth in the final of the women's 50-meter freestyle. In 2003, she was inducted into the Longhorn Hall of Honor.
Fetter-Witt later became head swim coach for the Greater Nebraska Swim Team and Lincoln Southwest High School men's and women's teams. She currently resides in San Antonio and is the Head Age Group Coach at Alamo Area Aquatics Association-Northside, working at one of the best facilities in the United States. She is married to Mike Witt and has two daughters, Ashley and Kaitlyn.
Kendricks was a former Texas Swimming assistant coach and graduate of The University of Texas who went on to become the most recognizable voice in swimming in the United States.
Kendricks' career behind the mic began unexpectedly as an undergraduate in 1983. While working as a student manager, legendary head coach Eddie Reese called upon him to announce the biggest double dual meet of the year between 1981 NCAA National Champion Texas, 1982 title-winner UCLA and a Florida squad that would go on to capture the crown in 1983. The Longhorns dominated the meet and Kendricks went on to occasionally call meets before his public address announcing career took off a decade later.
A native of Irving, Texas, Kendricks would serve on Reese's staff for five years from 1980-85 before coaching under Richard Quick from 1985-87. He then coached at the club level in Arkansas for eight years. After retiring from coaching, he was asked by club swimming colleagues in Arkansas to announce their summer invite, and from there his announcing career blossomed.
Known for his catchphrase "boomshakalaka" that thundered over the speakers after a big swim, Kendricks created a signature style that stirred an excitement in the crowd that was unmatched.
Kendricks was the primary announcer at every Big 12 Championships from 1997-2021, and over the last decade served as the announcer for the NCAA Division I Swimming Championships. In 1997, he became one of the primary voices for USA Swimming competitions, calling nearly every major meet since, including Nationals, Junior Nationals and five Olympic Trials (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016).
In May 2022, the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) awarded Kendricks the Richard E. Steadman Award, conferred annually to a swimming or diving coach of a high school, club, or university team who has "done the most to spread happiness in Coach Steadman's beloved sport of swimming and diving."
In addition to his career as an announcer, Kendricks he worked as a residential realtor for 19 years in Los Alamos, N.M.
A loyal supporter of the Texas Swimming & Diving Hall of Fame, Kendricks passed away on July 6, 2022, at the age of 59 after a nine-month battle with Merkel Cell Carcinoma.
The Texas Swimming & Diving Hall of Fame Class of 2023 will also include Jody Grant, Susan Ingraham, Cal Loock and Steve McFarland, with Dallas Swimming and Diving receiving Distinguished Team honors. The induction ceremony will take place at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center on April 21.
