Today, those marks rank fourth, third and fourth, respectively, in the GW swimming and diving all-time record book with the Colonials still on top of the A-10 list in all three events.
A dual-sport student-athlete who starred in both swimming and water polo, Zenk has become used to seeing his records fall amid an unprecedented run of success for both programs.
Thanks to a slew of record-breaking performances, GW has combined for five conference titles between the two sports over the past four years, much to the delight of Zenk, now a doctor practicing internal medicine in his hometown.
"It's great to see," said Zenk, who was inducted into the GW Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016. "Every record, they say, is set to be broken. I think that when you get those records up there, it's great to see them come down at some point because that means the program is continuing to evolve and progress."
"Seeing both programs have so much success, I'm just really proud. I kind of feel that maybe there is some small part that I may have had to draw people in there and help them get even better."
Coming out of St. Louis Country Day School, Zenk knew he wanted to pursue both sports at the next level, and he was given that chance in the nation's capital by coaches Dan Rhinehart and Scott Reed.
His interest in medicine, fostered by a knack for science and a neighbor in the field, helped sell him on GW and its biology program in the Columbian College of Arts & Sciences, as well.
"That was a big part of the decision," Zenk said. "I wanted to go to a great school with the prestige that would look excellent on a med school resume."
Zenk's legacy in the pool at GW is secure.
In the fall, Zenk was devoted to water polo. As a junior in 2007, Zenk became the first GW water polo student-athlete to earn All-America honors. By the time he graduated, he was atop the program's rankings in assists (158), steals (269) and field blocks (35). (He's now fourth, second and eighth, respectively.)
By early November, he'd turn full attention to swimming and focus on peaking for the A-10 Championships in February. He's the only three-time Most Outstanding Performer on the men's side in conference history, and he remains among the program's all-time top 10 in seven different events.
It was demanding work balancing his sport responsibilities with his pre-med track, but he reaped the rewards during a historic run in Buff and Blue, making unforgettable memories and lasting friendships within both programs.
"It's like being part of two different fraternities," Zenk said. "Normally, people are just in one at a time, but I had this really unique experience that was a lot of fun. I had the whole swimming clan, the whole water polo clan and then sometimes we'd get everybody together."
For Zenk, the time management lessons proved useful in medical school at A.T. Still University of Health Sciences in Kirksville, Mo. He did his residency at Mercy Hospital in St. Louis from 2013-16 before landing his current position as an adult general practitioner within the same hospital system.
Zenk's days are filled with wellness check-ups and appointments helping patients managing chronic conditions.
"It's very focused on relationships and building those relationships," Zenk said. "I could potentially see the same person for 30 years. That was the biggest draw.
"If you have a bad knee, you go in and get a new knee, and you never see that doctor again. With what I do, we're trying to get people controlled on their medications and then change their lifestyle to hopefully get off of medications, just stay as healthy as they can for the rest of their lives."
Amid the COVID-19 global pandemic last spring, he had to adapt on the fly. With his office shut down, he handled all his appointments virtually for nearly two months.
At the beginning, he set up a card table at home and filmed on his phone, doing what was necessary to continue caring for his patients.
"It showed me a lot of resiliency in our medical program," said Zenk, whose office has returned to regular operations with additional safety measures in place. "The fact that they were able to essentially put together an entirely new way of doing things in just a week or two was pretty impressive to see from our company. It was challenging, for sure, but really rewarding and exciting at the same time."
Zenk stays plenty busy raising sons Carter and Hudson with his wife Kelley, but he still finds time to play water polo. He competes in club tournaments with Clayton Water Polo, including a memorable matchup with a team of Olympians last year at an event in Texas.
"I'm definitely not as quick as I once was, not as in-shape, but it's still a lot of fun to get out there," Zenk said with a chuckle.
Though he hasn't been back to Foggy Bottom since his Hall of Fame induction weekend, Zenk stays connected to his alma mater as best as he can. Last year, he made the short trip to SLU with his family to watch men's basketball take on the Billikens.
Zenk tracks games and meets from his former programs online, relishing their continued rise. It was particularly special to watch the water polo squad's 2018 run to the NCAA quarterfinals where the Colonials took their place alongside the traditional powers of the sport.
"It's on another level now," Zenk said. "Watching the success of the swim team and the water polo team over the years and seeing how far they've come has been really, really incredible."
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Where Are They Now? David Zenk - George Washington University - Official Athletic Site
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