Gary Taylor Adds Two New Volunteers To Auburn Coaching Staff

Natasha Lloyd in the 100 yard Breaststroke preliminaries. SEC Championship Swimming and Diving at the James E. Martin Aquatic Center in Auburn, Ala. on Friday, Feb. 20, 2015. Zach Bland/Auburn Athletics

Photo Courtesy: Auburn Athletics

Allyson Sweeney and John Carroll, Jr., will join the Auburn swimming and diving program as volunteer assistants for the upcoming season, head coach Gary Taylor announced on Monday.

Sweeney comes to Auburn from Florida Southern, where she spent the past year as an assistant coach. During her year in Florida, the Mocs established eight new teams records, six by the women and two by the men. Matthew Holmes was named the Sunshine State Conference Swimmer of the Meet and was a national champion at the Division II NCAA Championships, where the men placed fourth and the women 18^th. She also spent time as the head coach of Lakeland Area Swimming, working with the top senior and high school level athletes in the area.

“I’m really excited about Allyson,” Taylor said. “She has experience in the SEC having swum at Texas A&M. Beyond that she has a passion and love for the sport. She knows her stuff both on the swimming side and the dryland and exercise side. She’s has good experience at the club level and then this past year at Florida Southern, a powerhouse on the Division II lever and a place that (current Auburn assistant) Duncan Sherrard worked at as well.”

Prior to her move to Florida, Sweeney was part of the nationally renowned USA Swimming club team, SwimAtlanta, where she served as the Head Age Group Coach for SwimAtlanta – Midway in Cumming, Ga. During her two years with SwimAtlanta, she oversaw the development of the location’s age group swimming and strength and conditioning training programs, producing several 14 & Under Georgia State champions and Georgia Zone team qualifiers.

Sweeney swam competitively for at Texas A&M for four years where she was a member of two Big 12 championship teams. A four-time Texas A&M Scholar-Athlete, three-time Big 12 Scholar-Athlete and four-time CSCAA Scholar All-American, she graduated with a degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in Exercise Physiology in Aug. 2013. She returned to A&M and earned a Master’s Degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Sports Physiology in May 2015.

Carroll comes to Auburn from the Jersey Wahoos Swim Club, where he spent the past two years as the Assistant Senior Coach and Head Age Group Coach. During his stint with the Wahoos there were 32 NCSA qualifiers and over 50 Middle Atlantic Senior Championship qualifiers.

“John is someone that has been around the pool his entire life,” Taylor said “His father is well known in the sport and I think that that love and passion was shared with him growing up. He’s really outgoing, really energetic and I know he’ll be ready to hit the ground running. We are really excited to have him on the staff.”

Carroll was previously an assistant coach at Rowan University, helping the program to one of its best seasons in program history. The 2015-16 season saw 11 male swimmers and divers qualify for the Division III NCAA Championships and the women claiming their highest finish at the Metropolitan Championships in recent history.

Carroll earned his degree in history with a minor in political science from UMBC in May 2016. A four-year letterwinner at UMBC, he was a part two Coastal Collegiate Swim Association Conference Championships (2015, 2016), an American East Conference Championship (2013) and was a team captain his senior season (2015-16).

The above press release was posted by Swimming World in conjunction with Auburn Swimming and Diving. For press releases and advertising inquiries please contact Advertising@SwimmingWorld.com.

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