Courtesy: Brown Athletics
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Head coaches Kevin Norman and Kate Kovenockhave announced the hiring of Agnes Gerlach-Miller as the diving coach of the Brown men’s and women’s swimming & diving programs on Friday. Gerlach-Miller joins the Bears after spending the previous 23 seasons at Boston University as the Terriers diving coach.
“It is an honor to be joining the Brown University swimming & diving teams,” said Gerlach-Miller. “I would like to thank Kate and Kevin for the opportunity and the warm welcome. I am looking forward to working with both of them and getting to know my new team!”
A six-time America East Diving Coach of the Year, Gerlach-Miller coached 17 conference divers of the year and three ECAC divers of the year and swept the accolade on the men’s and women’s side in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011, helping the Terriers garner AE Coaching Staff of the Year honors from 2008 to 2010.
“Bringing Agnes here to Brown is a significant step forward for our program,” said Kovenock. “She’s a proven talent within the coaching ranks and a thoughtful, innovative teacher. I’m thrilled to have Agnes join our coaching staff and cannot wait for our current student-athletes to begin working with her.”
“The addition of Agnes Gerlach-Miller to our staff is a major step in taking Brown Swimming & Diving to the next level,” said Norman. “She comes to Providence with unbelievable experience, a stellar career as a coach as well as an athlete, and is extremely well-respected in the diving community. I could not be happier for our program and for our divers.”
Under Gerlach Miller’s tutelage at BU, Kyra Tatlow earned 2017 Patriot League Diver of the Meet honors and became the first Patriot League diver to win both the one and three-meter dives since 2011.
In 2014-15, Gerlach-Miller coached freshman Lizzie Tillo to a Patriot League Diver of the Meet title. Tillo earned an individual championship in the 3M and took fifth overall on the 1M board.
Prior to the move to the Patriot League, Gerlach-Miller coached one of her most successful female divers, Hungarian Melinda Matyas. She qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2010 and 2011, placing 17th overall on the springboard in 2011, the highest-ever finish for a Boston University diver. Matyas claimed America East Diver of the Meet as a freshman, sophomore and junior, sweeping the 1M and 3M boards in all three seasons. With the Terriers ineligible for the conference tournament due to the conference transition, Matyas helped the Terriers win their second-ever ECAC Championship with an individual title on the 1M board.
Boston University dominated the America East diving competition from 2008-2012, during which the women’s squad won every individual title in the 1M and 3M events while the men’s team completed the same feat from 2008-2011. During this span some of the programs best divers emerged, including Andre Watson, who is just the second male diver in program history to reach the NCAA Championships and the first in 27 years when he qualified in 2009. He left Boston University having broken six of eight possible school and pool records for the Terriers.
Watson also won three America East individual titles after transferring to BU from Rutgers and was named the AE Diver of the Year in 2008 and 2009. Teammate Tanner Knorr surfaced as one of Gerlach-Miller’s most accomplished male divers after Watson graduated, winning five individual America East titles and sweeping the 1M and 3M boards in 2010 and 2011.
Tess Waresmith reset the standard for BU in 2008 when she became the first diver in 26 years to reach the NCAA Championship, where she competed in both the 1M and 3M events. She earned America East Diver of the Year recognition in 2008 and 2009 when she swept the 1M and 3M boards in both seasons. Waresmith currently holds every school and pool record at BU.
Gerlach-Miller, who attended NC State for her undergrad, joins head coach Bill Smyth, who attended rival Virginia during the same time span, on the ACC Swimming and Diving 50th Anniversary team.
In addition to training for five years at the Division I level, Agnes was a member of the Hungarian National Team for 10 years, representing Hungary at the 1988 (Seoul) and 1992 (Barcelona) Olympics on the 3M springboard. She was also a finalist in the 1993 World University Games, (1M and 3M), 1990 World Cup (3M), 1985 and 1991 European Championships (3M), and the 1986 World Championships (3M).
A competitive diver since the age of four, Agnes comes from a family with a strong history in diving. Her father, Istvan Gerlach, was her coach while he led the Hungarian National Team and was also the National Team coach in Qatar. Her uncle, Joe Gerlach, represented the University of Michigan during his years in the United States and placed fourth at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics on the springboard. In addition, her brother was a Junior European Champion and placed fourth at the Junior World Championships.
A two-time NCAA All-American and three-time ACC Diver of the Year at NC State, Gerlach-Miller was a three-time ACC champion on the three-meter and also claimed a one-meter title.
