Kerry Smith Named Head Coach at Stony Brook

STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Stony Brook Director of Athletics Shawn Heilbron has named Kerry Smith as the head women’s swimming & diving coach, the athletic department announced Monday.

“This is an exciting day for the future of Stony Brook Swimming and Diving as we welcome Kerry Smith to the Seawolves family,” Heilbron said. “We are committed to building a championship program and have complete confidence in Kerry’s ability to lead our women forward.”

Smith joins the Seawolves family after she spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach with the Yale swimming and diving program.

“I would like to thank Director of Athletics, Shawn Heilbron and Associate Athletic Director Stephen Clacherty for the trust they’re placing in me to lead the Seawolves into the future,” Smith said. “I’m extremely excited and honored by the opportunity to join the Stony Brook family and can not wait to get started.

“Stony Brook offers incredible academics and an athletic department with a vision and support to compete at the highest level,” added Smith. “New York has an incredible base of talent for swimming & diving and I am excited about the possibilities of what lies ahead for this program.”

During her time at Yale, Smith helped the team achieve back-to-back undefeated Ivy League dual meet seasons and claim their first Ivy League Championship in nearly two decades. She worked for head swimming coach Jim Henry and head diving coach Chris Bergere.

Smith’s prior collegiate coaching experience includes experience at the Division I and Division II levels. She spent two seasons with the University of Virginia, where she primarily worked with the middle-distance swimmers, and helped lead the team to the ACC Championships in 2014 and 2015, as well as 11th and fifth-place finishes at the NCAA Division I Championships in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

Before the University of Virginia, Smith coached the sprint and middle-distance swimmers at Wingate University in North Carolina, leading the team to a conference championship and a sixth-place and 11th-place finish at the NCAA Division II Championships for the women’s team and men’s team, respectively. Wingate also had multiple All-Americans during Smith’s time as a coach. Also at the Division II level, Smith coached the distance swimmers at Truman State University during the 2011-2012 season.

In 2008, Smith was named an ASCA (American Swim Coaches Association) Fellow. She completed research into the survival of swimming and diving programs across the country to determine how best to limit the number of teams that get dropped from the varsity athletics departments at colleges and universities.

Smith competed at the collegiate level for Penn State. She was named the team captain in 2005 and was a member of the Big Ten Championship team in 2002 and 2005.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING…

“Kerry Smith is an excellent choice to lead the Stony Brook program. Her wealth of experience along with her ability to connect with her students will transform the Seawolves team. She will do a great job making everyone around her better.”

Jim Henry – Head Swimming & Diving Coach, Yale University

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

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