Hall of Fame Class of 2010: Ellen Stonebraker
September 04, 2010 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Sept. 4, 2010
MADISON, Wis. -- Every day this week leading up to the induction ceremony, one of the seven members of the University of Wisconsin Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2010 will be celebrated. The Hall of Fame induction is Friday, Sept. 10 outside the Camp Randall Memorial Sports Center. The 6 p.m. ceremony is open to the public. Today's celebrant is women's swimmer Ellen Stonebraker.
The most decorated swimmer in the history of the Wisconsin women's program, Ellen Stonebraker was a 12-time All-American for the Badgers. That total matches Olympic gold medalist Carly Piper for the highest total in school history.
Stonebraker also tallied seven honorable mention All-America awards, with her combined 19 national honors the most ever by a Badger.
The 2001Big Ten Swimmer of the Year swam to 10 conference titles in her career, a total that includes eight individual wins and a pair of relay crowns. Stonebraker went undefeated in the 500-yard freestyle, winning four consecutive Big Ten championships in the event.
In addition, Stonebraker was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten pick.
A U.S. Olympic Trials finalist in 2000 while still competing as a Badger, Stonebraker was a member of the USA Swimming National Team in 1999 and 2000.
She won three medals for the U.S. at the 1999 Pan-Pacific Championships in Sydney, Australia, including gold as part of the team that set an American record of 7:57.61 in the 800-meter freestyle relay. At the time, the Americans' relay performance ranked No. 2 all-time in the world.
She added bronze-medal finishes in both the 200-meter and 800-meter freestyle races.
Stonebraker is the only UW swimmer to earn four All-America honors in the same season, doing so at the 2000 NCAA Championships with fourth-place finishes in both the 200 and 400 freestyle and a sixth-place showing in the 1,500 free. She also paced the Badgers to a runner-up finish in the 800 free relay that matches UW's best-ever showing in a relay event at the NCAA meet.
Remarkably, she scored for UW in a total of six events at those 2000 NCAA Championships, adding honorable mention All-America finishes in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays.
Stonebraker is one of only two UW swimmers to earn three All-America awards at three-consecutive NCAA meets, doing so at the national championships in 1999, 2000 and 2001.
She was twice an NCAA runner-up and scored five top-three finishes at the national meet.
Stonebraker remains the Badgers' school record-holder in the 200-yard freestyle (1:45.88) and ranks second all-time at UW in the short-course 500 free and 1,650 free, as well.
On the long course, Stonebraker still holds the UW school record in the 200-meter freestyle at 1:58.05.
The members of the class of 2010 include football coach Barry Alvarez (1990-2005), football and men's track and field athlete Dan Lanphear (1957-59), men's track and field athlete Dick Houden (1947), football player Don Davey (1987-91), wrestler Donny Pritzlaff (1997-2001) and Stonebraker (1997-2001).
