[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 6] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages 8517-8518] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]HONORING DAVID ASHLEIGH ______ HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH of california in the house of representatives Tuesday, May 18, 2010 Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate David Ashleigh upon the dedication of the Modesto Junior College Swimming Center to be named in his honor. The dedication and naming ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 22, 2010, at the Dave Ashleigh Aquatic Center. Mr. David Ashleigh attended Whittier High School in southern California, where he participated in water polo from 1957 through 1961. During his high school water polo career the team won the California Interscholastic Federation, CIF, championship in 1957, 1958 and 1959. In 1960, he was selected for the Helm's Hall of Fame second team (equivalent to the High School All-American teams today). During his senior year, Whittier High School took second place in CIF. He served as the team captain, was the leading scorer, named Most Valuable Player and was selected for the Helm's Hall of Fame first team. Upon graduating from high school, Mr. Ashleigh attended Cerritos Junior College. While attending Cerritos Junior College, Mr. Ashleigh participated on both the water polo and swim teams. He was named team captain of the water polo team and the swim team both years he participated. He was the leading scorer and was awarded Most Valuable Player of the water polo team both years. Mr. Ashleigh was named the Junior College All- American Player of the Year in 1962 and 1963. On the swim team he participated in the 100 and 200 breaststroke as well as the 200 and 400 individual medleys. He set school records in all four events and set junior college national records in the 200 breaststroke and the 400 individual medley. In 1963 Mr. Ashleigh was voted the Cerritos College Athlete of the Year. In 1963 Mr. Ashleigh played water polo and participated on the swim team while attending the University of California, Los Angeles, UCLA. During his first season he was the leading scorer, named Most Valuable Player and was selected as a first team All-American. Mr. Ashleigh red- shifted the 1964 season so that he was able to be a member of the USA Olympic water polo team in Tokyo, Japan. For the U.S. team he played the defensive hole guard and played every minute of every game from the preliminary through the final games. The team placed ninth. Returning to the UCLA team in 1965, Mr. Ashleigh was named team captain and led the team to be the first undefeated sports team in UCLA history. He was named Most Valuable Player and was selected as a first team All-American. Mr. Ashleigh also swam in 1964 and 1965 for UCLA, where he became the first All-American at UCLA in swimming and was the first swimmer in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA, history to flip-turn all turns in the 1650 meter freestyle. Mr. Ashleigh set UCLA school records in the 1650 and 500 freestyle, the 200 breaststroke and the 400 individual medley. Mr. Ashleigh was a member of the 1964 through 1968 U.S. National Water Polo team and was the 1968 U.S. Olympic water polo team co- captain. In 1967 he was the team captain of the Pan-American Team, which was the first U.S. team to win gold in International Competition outside of the United States. For his amazing accomplishments, Mr. Ashleigh was awarded the James Lee Award for the Most Outstanding Player at U.S. Nationals in 1965 and from 1963 through 1968 was named All-American in U.S. water polo, AAU. In 1968 Mr. Ashleigh began coaching water polo and swimming at Modesto Swim and Racquet Club in Modesto, California. During the 3 years that he coached there, he had an overall record of 235 wins and only 43 losses. He coached the boys 14 and under 1971 Junior Olympics National Champion water polo team. Later he coached the boys 12 and under and boys 14 and under swim teams that set national records in the 200 freestyle relay and the 200 medley relay. Mr. Ashleigh began coaching swimming and water polo at Modesto Junior College in 1971. In his 27-year career at the college he compiled an overall record of 827 wins and 272 losses. He had 51 winning seasons out of 54 total seasons and has 27 Conference Championships, between the two sports. Under his direction, the water polo team has an overall record of 487-178. Eighteen of his water polo teams made it to the California State Championship Tournament, 81 athletes were selected as All-Americans, 13 conference championships and 5 NorCal championships. From 1984 to 1990 his swim team was 73-0 in dual meets; from 1977 to 1992 the team was 158-11-1 in dual meets. He coached 78 All-American swimmers. The swim team won 14 conference championships and 4 state championships. In 1991, Mr. Ashleigh began participating in Masters water polo. He played on various teams and won three world championships and placed second three times. While playing Masters, he had the opportunity to play water polo in Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Great Britain, Croatia, Hungary, Italy and India. He was inducted into the California Community College Athletic Hall of Fame in two divisions (coach and player) and was named the 2008 S.O.S. Athlete of the Year. In 1978, Mr. Ashleigh was elected into the U.S. Water Polo Hall of Fame and will be inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend and congratulate David Ashleigh upon his many achievements being honored at the new Dave Ashleigh Aquatic Center. I invite my colleagues to join me in wishing Mr. Ashleigh [[Page 8518]] congratulations on his many accomplishments and many years of continued success. ____________________