Swimming & Diving Overview

Head Swimming Coach:
David Allen
Phone: 413-538-2314

Head Diving Coach:
Mary Ellen Clark 

The swimming and diving program is dedicated to helping each athlete recognize her potential and then reach it. The season begins in late September and runs through the end of February. In March, athletes who qualify compete in the NCAA Division III Championships. Practice is held five to six days a week in the afternoon. The team also has two morning dry-land practices per week, as well as morning water optional practices. Workouts focus on quality swimming and include dry-land and strength training programs. The team also takes off on a seven to ten day training trip every January, with recent trips including Plantation, Fla. and Acupulco, Mexico. 

The team's schedule is very competitive. New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III opponents include Smith College, Regis College, Elms College, Wheaton College, Simmons College, Westfield State College, Trinity College and Wellesley College. The team also competes in the Seven Sisters Invitational and the NEWMAC Championships.

Swimmers or divers who reach the national qualification mark for their event will also compete in the NCAA Division III Championships. Catherine Herrold '00 and Elena Giordano '03 are recent team members who have made the trip to nationals. Herrold earned All-American honors and also won the prestigious MAIAW (Masschusetts Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women) Achievement Award. Due to Giordano's success at nationals, the team placed 46th in the 2003 championships.

As a Mount Holyoke scholar-athlete, you are driven to excel in the athletic arena as well as the classroom and laboratory. The discipline, sense of accomplishment, and competitive edge that you bring to your sport resonate through every channel of your intellectual life.

The desire to achieve - it's all part of the mind-body connection.