When Augie Busch agreed to leave Virginia and become the swimming coach at Arizona, his plan included hiring one of the most impressive young staffs in NCAA swimming. Not only did he bring former UA All-American and team captain Cory Chitwood from his Virginia staff, he also hired 16-time Arizona All-American Beth Botsford, head coach at the Waunakee Wave swimming school in Madison, Wisconsin. Botsford is one of the top athletes in Arizona history; she was recruited to Arizona by Augie’s father, Frank Busch, after winning two gold medals at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Botsford spent two years on the coaching staff at Wisconsin under ex-UA assistant Whitney Hite before taking over the Wisconsin swimming academy. Sam Busch, Augie’s youngest brother, also returns to the UA from the Virginia (and Auburn) staff. “Sam is already recruiting very tenaciously,” Augie Busch said. “That’s the only way he knows how to do it.” Chitwood is now part of the USA Swimming coaching staff for next month’s World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Contact sports columnist Greg Hansen at 520-573-4362 or ghansen@tucson.com. On Twitter: @ghansen711