Former UNC Swimmer Tanner Gets First College Gig at Wagner College in NYC

Former University of North Carolina swimmer Sarah Tanner has landed her first college coaching job, being named an assistant coach at Division I Wagner College on Staten Island in New York City.

Tanner, who graduated from North Carolina in 2012, spent last year as an assistant at Ohio Swimming juggernauts St. Xavier High School and the Cincinnati Marlins.

UNC SWIMMING AND DIVING V CLEMSON

Tanner was incredibly versatile at UNC, and filled in a lot of spots on a lot of different relays. (Photo Courtesy: North Carolina Athletics)

In college, Tanner was a captain as a senior, and also qualified for the NCAA Championships, for the Tar Heels. There, she was named an All-American as a part of the 15th-place 200 free relay for North Carolina her sophomore year. She was also a stellar academic performer, and was a member of the ACC Conference Honor Roll all four years of her college career.

Wagner is one of the smallest colleges in Division I (7th-smallest as of publication), but that hasn’t hindered the success of the women’s-only swimming program. They finished 2nd at the Northeast  Conference Championships last year, 17.5 points behind Saint Francis, and coach Colin Shannahan was voted the conference’s Coach of the Year.

“She’s very bright, energetic and is very excited about the sport,” Shanahan said of his newest hire. “I’m enthusiastic about her energy, her love for the sport, and what she will bring to our program.”

This was their best finish in the NEC since 2003. Freshman Amanda Lucia was named the Rookie of the Meet, and shared the honor for Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet with Bryant’s Casey Ostrander and St. Francis’ Elise Lofgren.

2
Leave a Reply

Subscribe
Notify of

2 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
NONA
11 years ago

“picturesque Staten Island?”

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

Read More »