Under the spell of a "victory psyche," in one of the finest seasons in school history, the 1964-65 Franklin & Marshall men's swimming team accomplished something no other team in school history had done when the Diplomats went a perfect 12-0 while capturing the Little Three and Middle Atlantic Conference Championships during that historic winter. That undefeated season was made even more impressive when looking at the competition that Franklin & Marshall faced as it went head-to-head against several Division I institutions with a schedule that featured dual meets against Delaware and Drexel. That success all led up to the team capturing one of its two Middle Atlantic Conference Championships in school history under legendary head coach George McGinness as F&M scored 103 team points at the conference championships.
Among the many outstanding performances, F&M was led by co-captains Nick Hoppner and Bill Smulyan. Hoppner was named the team's most valuable swimmer after setting school records in the 200 backstroke (2:13.0) and 200 individual medley (2:16.6), events where he took a pair of silvers at the conference meet. Smulyan gained his greatest individual success by winning the conference championship in both the 100 and 200 butterfly events. Sophomore Roger Garrison broke the school record in the 100 freestyle (51.1) before winning that event at the MAC Championships. Classmate Peter Eisenberg was renowned for his dominance in the distance events, highlighted by another school record and silver medal in the 500 freestyle. Junior John Hoffman was another record-setting swimmer on that championship team when he reset the school's best mark in the 200 breaststroke (2:31.9).
Members of the 1964-65 undefeated swimming team: Nick Hoppner '65 (captain), Bill Smulyan '65 (captain), Pete Eisenberg '65, Lee Newton '65 (manager), Phillip Dickinson '66, John Hoffman '66, Arthur Hooper '66, Jeffrey Ramer '66, Paul Axelrod '67, Willis Flower '67, Roger Garrison '67, L. Ginsburg '67, Geoffrey Hecht '67, Peter Keller '67, Frank Mercurio '67, Timothy Morse '67, Robert Stein '67, Jay Wolkov '67, John Sherwin '68, George McGinness (head coach).
