University of Minnesota Athletics
Men's Swimming Profile: Senior Dan Berve
1/23/2007 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
This spring, the University of Minnesota men’s swimming and diving team will have the unique opportunity to capture their fifth Big Ten title in seven seasons next month in Columbus, Ohio on the campus of the Ohio State University. So far this season, the Gophers have re-established themselves as the class of the Big Ten in the pool and will go into Big Tens as favorites to reclaim the conference championship from diving powerhouse Indiana, who won the meet last season.
The Gophers’ impressive 2006-2007 resume includes a dual meet upset of then third-ranked Florida in Gainesville in October and a shredding of the field at the Ohio State Invitational last month at the same pool where the Big Ten meet will unfold in a few short weeks. Minnesota currently ranks seventh in the NCAA dual meet rankings. The Gophers are also looking to finish in the top 15 for the sixteenth straight season at the NCAA Championships this March, hosted at the University of Minnesota’s Aquatic Center.
Leading the charge in and out of the pool for the Golden Gophers is senior captain and Papillion, Nebraska native Dan Berve. A three-time All-American, Berve is a stalwart for the Gophers in the butterfly and backstroke events. Berve swam the backstroke leg on Minnesota’s All-American 200 medley relays the past two seasons as well as the 400 medley relay last year. Recruited by the Gophers as a member of the Nebraska state champion Papillon-LaVista High School team, Berve was a three-time state high school champion in the 200 freestyle. The battle-tested Berve was not highly recruited, but ultimately chose to attend Minnesota over several other top schools.
“One of the things we pride ourselves on here at Minnesota is the ability we have to develop swimmers like Dan,” Gophers assistant coach Bill Tramel said. “Although Dan was a very talented swimmer out of Nebraska, he wasn’t highly recruited. He had to patient his first year or so, but now he is one of our top athletes in the 100 butterfly and the 100 backstroke.”
Last weekend in Madison, the Gophers defeated Wisconsin and No. 19 Purdue at the Big Ten triple duals. Berve captured the 100 backstroke title in 49.37, only .26 seconds off the senior’s career best mark notched at last year’s Big Ten meet. Berve was also a member of the winning 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays for the Gophers in Madison. In addition, Berve logged fourth place finishes in the 100 butterfly and on the second of the Gophers’ 400 freestyle relay squads.
Although Berve has been a consistent contributor to the Gophers’ medley relay success in the past, his effectiveness as a sprint freestyler has allowed coaches to use him as a valuable weapon on the Gophers freestyle relays this season. A significant feather in the cap of the Gopher men this season has been that they have not been beaten in any relay events thus far.
“Ideally, all of our swimmers will be able to contribute in the freestyle relays when necessary,” Tramel said. “However, Dan has shown a special ability to develop in the 50-yard race.”
As a high school swimmer, Berve’s best event was the 200 freestyle and to a lesser extent, the 100 backstroke. After his recruitment to the ‘U,’ Berve’s shift to the butterfly event and an added emphasis on his backstroke training commenced.
“My butterfly really starting coming around right at the end of my high school career,” Berve said. “But I thought when I came to the ‘U’ that I would be distance freestyler. After swimming the 200 free and being fairly successful in high school for three years, that’s what I naturally expected to do. In my very first collegiate dual meet against Florida, I swam [the 200] and didn’t do too well and I haven’t swum it since. I was a little hesitant at first [not swimming the 200]. It was nice that my butterfly had been coming along as well, because I’ve swam that throughout my career here.”
After sifting through the event switch, Berve has risen through the Minnesota system that has prided itself on developing an impressive array of All-Americans and finishing in the top two at the Big Ten Championships each year since the University’s Aquatic Center opened in 1990.
“One thing that makes our team different and a lot ways more special than a lot of other programs in the country is that we have guys that want to be here and to be a part of our team,” Tramel said. “They’re not so much interested in going out and winning a championship on their own. They’re looking to contribute to a team.
“In the environment that we have at Minnesota, it’s not important how talented an athlete is as much their desire to contribute to the team. Each swimmer in our pool wants to be better tomorrow than they are today. When you can gather a group of young men together and put them in that sort of environment, it’s special. We have guys that are contending for national championships working just as hard as guys trying to make the last spot on our Big Ten travel squad. When you have an environment like that, we believe that success breeds success,” Tramel said.
Tramel’s sentiments are echoed by the soft-spoken and team-oriented Berve, who like his coach, is much quicker to talk about team accomplishments than his own impressive accolades.
“Winning the Big Ten championship is our number one goal. Losing it last year to Indiana was pretty bitter. We also have a really good opportunity to do well at the NCAA Championships; I think we’re a deeper team than we were last year and I think our relays are improved,” Berve said.
It is easy to wonder how such an individual sport can be reconstructed by the Gopher swimmers and coaches to become such a team endeavor. When asked about his career highlights and fondest memories, Berve references the last Gopher team to win a Big Ten championship; the 2005 squad that did not clinch the meet until the final leg of the 400 freestyle relay where the Gophers completed a remarkable team comeback.
“It was the greatest sports thrill I’ve experienced, whether I was competing or not. Even the people at the meet that didn’t know a whole lot about swimming were going crazy. I remember that people were jumping in the water after the meet dressed in suits and ties just because everyone was so excited,” Berve said.
Although his swimming future could bring opportunities beyond the conclusion of the season at the NCAA Championships in March, Berve’s goal is to be a part of the Big Ten festivities on the meet’s final day. Berve hopes to qualify for the Big Ten finals in the 200 backstroke, his only individual event scheduled on the final day of the meet.
“Especially after [the 2005 meet], I’ve always wanted to be a part of the last day of competition. Being able to get in and swim for Minnesota on that last day would be a great way to finish my career,” Berve said.
story by Doug Vose, athletic communications student assistant
