The Week That Was is sponsored by
This was another big week in coaching news, with another huge job opening up in the NCAA just as two more were filled. Check out the latest from those coaching changes and the other biggest stories from the week in the week that was below!
The Week That Was #5 – Northwestern Set To Combine Men And Women’s Programs
Photo Courtesy: Ailish Dougherty
Northwestern University has posted a job opening for “Director of Swimming and Diving (Men’s/Women’s),” indicating that they will be combining their men’s and women’s teams next season. The head coaches of both programs resigned within a few days of each other, with women’s head coach Abby Steketee stepping down just two days before men’s head coach Jarod Schroeder. Schroeder had been with the program for 16 years, including the last 9 as head coach, while Steketee had been the head coach for the last 3 years. That will leave Purdue as the only school in the Big Ten to have a split swimming and diving program. Other Big Ten schools that recently combined include Minnesota, Michigan, and most recently Ohio State.
The Week That Was #4 – Andrew And Geer Take Home $4,000 At TYR Pro Derby
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
The 2018 TYR Pro Derby was underway this weekend at the University of Louisville, with plenty of big names showing up to race in the three round, shootout style 50 freestyle. Michael Andrew and Margo Geer ended up as the big winners of the weekend, earning $4,000 for finishing first after advancing through three rounds of a shootout style format. Andrew ended up touching the wall in 21.84 in the final round, while Geer was 24.91 to take the top spot for the women. Both Andrew and Geer were remarkably consistent through each of the three rounds, and you can see a full recap of how the three rounds played out here. In addition to the big names competing in the water (which you can see here), Olympian Ryan Lochte was on hand to act as the event’s emcee and Sam Kendricks served as the announcer.
The Week That Was #3 – Russians Throw Down Strong Performances To Close 2018 Nationals
Photo Courtesy: Gian Mattia Dalberto/Lapresse
The 2018 Russian National Championships came to a close in Moscow this week, with a few national records falling and several more athletes coming close to existing records. Svetlana Chimrova won the 200 fly on the third night of the meet in 2:07.54, breaking the Russian record and utterly dominating the field. Another record fell in the same session, with Andrey Zhilkin taking down the 200 IM Russian record in 1:58.17. Vladimir Morozov finished off his meet with another victory in the men’s 50 freestyle, just missing his national record by .03 with his winning time of 21.47. Evgeny Rylov also was just a tenth off of his own European record in the 200 back, winning in 1:53.71. Rylov also won the 100 back on the third day of the meet (52.67).
The Week That Was #2 – Auburn And TCU Announce New Hires
Photo Courtesy: Sarah D. Davis/theACC.com
One of the biggest questions in the current head coaching carousel was answered late last week, when the swimming world learned that Gary Taylor would be taking over as the new head coach for Auburn. Taylor will be coming to Auburn from NC State, where he was the Associate Head Coach and responsible for the college’s distance group and mentored NCAA champion Anton Ipsen and National Team member Hannah Moore. In another big coaching hire, Texas Christian University also announced this week that James Winchester will be the new head coach of the men’s and women’s swimming and diving program at TCU. Winchester will be taking over for recently departed Sam Busch, who resigned in February after being placed on administrative leave in his first season with the program. Winchester will arrive at TCU after leading the swim and dive program at George Washington University for the past three seasons. During his short tenure there he was named A-10 Coach of the Year twice and won the first conference title in program history for the men. In other coaching hires this week, Alabama announced that Chris Collier would be added to the Crimson Tide as an assistant coach following five seasons as an assistant with the University of Wisconsin, where Yuri Suguiyama was recently named head coach.
The Week That Was #1 – Gregg Troy Retires From Collegiate Coaching
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
On Wednesday this week Florida head coach Gregg Troy sent shockwaves through the college world by announcing he would be stepping away from college coaching after leading the Florida Gators for the last 20 years. During his time at the helm of the Florida program, Troy has mentored numerous Olympians, NCAA Champions, SEC Champions, and All-Americans, including recent Florida graduate and short course record breaker Caeleb Dressel. Troy was also the Head Coach for Team USA at the 2012 Olympic Games and also served as an assistant in 1996 and 2008. Overall, he has coached 47 Gator Olympians who have gone on to win 23 Olympic medals, 11 of them gold. While Troy is stepping away from college coaching, he is planning to stay on with the Gator Swim Club as their high performance coach to work with those training for the 2020 Olympic Games.
