LSU Hires Lance Asti, Brandy Collins as Assistant Coaches

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, June 7. FORMER Clemson assistant coach Lance Asti and former Arizona graduate assistant coach and Ford Aquatics age-group coach Brandy Collins have joined the LSU swimming and diving staff, co-head coach David Geyer announced Monday.

"We are thrilled to have Brandy and Lance as well as his family be a part of the LSU Tiger family," Geyer said. "We look forward to Lance's background with recruiting and coaching at Clemson as well as Brandy's time on deck with the University of Arizona to help elevate LSU swimming and diving to consistent top-20 rankings in the NCAA.

"With Lance's competitive background in the SEC and Brandy being a member of Arizona's national championship team, both understand the commitment and time that goes into developing athletes at a high level."

Asti served as the sprint coach and recruiting coordinator for the Clemson men's and women's programs the past four seasons, where he helped numerous sprinters enjoy significant success and led the program to two consecutive top-25 recruiting classes.

During his time at Clemson, Asti helped sprinters qualify for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials, 2009 World Championship Trials and NCAA Championships. In 2008-09, he guided women's swimmer Rachel Regone to her third straight Atlantic Coast Conference silver medal in the 50-yard freestyle and a school-record time of 22.24 seconds, while also helping the women's 200 free relay attain honorable mention All-America status and a school-record time.

In 2007-08, he coached the women's 200 free relay to its second consecutive ACC title with an ACC-record and NCAA automatic qualifying mark of 1:30.60.

On the men's side, Asti led Eric Lane to a school record in the 100 breaststroke and numerous swimmers to program top-10 times. During the 2007-08 season, the men's 200 free relay recorded a school record and the fastest time in the conference for the season, while three of his sprinters placed in the top-eight at the ACC Championships in the 100 free.

No stranger to Southeastern Conference competition, Asti was a decorated swimmer and student-athlete at the University of Tennessee, where he earned NCAA honorable mention All-America honors, Academic All-America status and was a finalist for the prestigious SEC H. Boyd McWhorter Scholarship. He graduated from Tennessee with a degree in Child Development in 2001.

After his career at Tennessee, Asti enrolled in Ohio University, where he earned a Master of Science in Coaching Education and served as a graduate assistant coach with the swimming and diving team. Following his tenure with Ohio University, Asti gained experience on the club level, coaching for the Lexington (Ky.) Dolphins program.

Asti is married to the former Elizabeth Flynt, and the couple has three children.

Collins, the captain of Arizona's first and only NCAA championship team in 2008, comes to Baton Rouge after serving as a graduate assistant coach for her alma mater and the Silver Group head coach at Ford Aquatics in Tucson, Ariz.

This past collegiate season, Collins worked with the breaststroke and individual medley groups and assisted former Arizona assistant and new Missouri head coach Greg Rhodenbaugh, who coached Annie Chandler to the NCAA title and a new NCAA record in the 100 breast as well as NCAA champions Cory Chitwood (200 backstroke) and Clark Burckle (200 breast).

During her tenure as Silver Group head coach at Ford Aquatics, Collins oversaw the day-to-day operations of the group as well as the training and development of more than 50 swimmers from ages 9-14, while also serving as the head coach of Tucson Tri-Women, playing an integral role in their training for the swimming aspect of their triathlons.

As a student-athlete, Collins was a member of three Pacific-10 championship teams at Arizona in addition to its 2008 NCAA championship team as a sprint butterfly and freestyle performer. She was also an Olympic Trials and NCAA qualifier and was once ranked in the top 20 in the world in the 50-meter fly with a time of 26.7.

A Pac-10 Post-graduate scholarship recipient in 2008, Collins graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies and is currently pursuing a master's in Educational Leadership.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

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