Grinnell College Athletics Hall of Fame
Beth Tsuha ’17 made a lasting impact on Grinnell College swimming and diving, as evidenced by her name appearing in the program’s record book an impressive 43 times.
Tsuha is among the most dominant swimmers in program history, claiming 21 Midwest Conference titles during her career while helping lead the Pioneers to four consecutive conference championships. She made an immediate impact as a first-year, winning three titles in the 200-yard freestyle and as a member of the 400 and 800 freestyle relay teams. In 2015, she added titles in the 200, 400 and 800 freestyle relays, as well as the 400 medley relay.
Her success continued in 2016, when she captured seven conference titles by winning the 100, 200 and 500 freestyle events and contributing to first-place finishes in the 400 and 800 freestyle relays and the 200 and 400 medley relays. She matched that performance as a senior, again winning seven titles in the same events. For her efforts, she was named the Midwest Conference Outstanding Swimmer in 2017.
Tsuha’s versatility is further demonstrated by her presence on the program’s all-time top-10 list 17 times across a variety of events. She ranks second in the 200 and 500 freestyle (1:54.10 and 5:05.54), fourth in the 100 and 1,000 freestyle (53.10 and 10:48.96), sixth in the 1,650 freestyle (18:04.57), seventh in the 200 individual medley (2:11.16), and eighth in the 200 breaststroke (2:29.41). She is also a member of three second-ranked relay teams: the 400 freestyle (3:32.60), 800 freestyle (7:42.71), and 400 medley (3:53.47).
Tsuha majored in biology and earned her teaching certification in both biology and chemistry. After graduating from Grinnell, she moved back to her home state and started her teaching career in Honolulu, Hawaii at Niu Valley Middle school. In 2019 Tsuha married her partner Samuel Ross ’16. After a brief stop in Seattle, Washington in 2021, Tsuha moved with her husband to Iwakuni, Japan where she currently works as a DoDEA teacher at Matthew C. Perry High School as a science teacher. In April of 2024, Tsuha and Ross welcomed their daughter Cassandra ’46 to the world. In her free time, Tsuha helped build the Tsunami Swim Team up to 50 swimmers strong as their head coach, setting many team records along the way.
