Duke Adds Eileen Bringman To Swimming And Diving Staff As Assistant Coach

Duke University announced the hiring of Eileen Bringman to the university’s swimming and diving coaching staff on Friday, July 18. Bringman joins the Blue Devils as an assistant coach after serving at Cornell University since 2021, where she was promoted to an assistant head coach following the 2023-2024 season.

During her tenure at Cornell, Bringman helped guide the team to 20 school records and 95 program top 10 performances. In 2023, she was selected to the U.S. coaching staff at the World University Games in Chengdu, China.

Bringman brings over a decade of high school and club coaching experience. In 2021, she served as a senior assistant coach at Lakeside Aquatic Club in Keller, Texas, coaching the club’s top athletes aged 11-18. As head coach of Lake Shore Swim Club in Cleveland (2012-21), she grew the program from 80 to 200 athletes and produced the club’s first Olympic Trials and Junior National qualifiers. She was named Lake Erie Swimming Senior Coach of the Year in 2020.

Concurrently, at Fairview High School (2012-18), Bringman built the program from 11 to 40 athletes and led the team from last place to top-10 regional finishes. Multiple athletes qualified for state championships and broke team records under her guidance.

She has also coached camps at the U.S. Naval Academy and Northwestern University and served as Team Ohio Mid-State All-Star Coach three times (2017-19) and Team Lake Erie Zone Coach in 2012, 2018, and 2021.

As a swimmer at Pacific University, Bringman broke six program records, including individually in the 100 and 200 backstroke, her primary events. She served as team captain and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee president, and graduated in 2010 with a degree in exercise science.

Bringman joins a staff led by head coach Brian Barnes, who just wrapped up his second season at the helm. The staff includes Riley Boulden and Kate Moore, who were recently promoted from assistants to associate head coaches, along with head diving coach Nunzio Esposto. Fellow assistants Coleman Stewart and Daniel Graber also appear on the university’s publicized staff.

The Duke women finished 11th out of 15 teams at the ACC Championships this past season, while the men were 12th out of 15 teams. A year prior, the women were 5th out of 11 teams, while the men were 10th out of 11 teams.

At this year’s NCAA Championships, the men didn’t have anyone qualify for the meet, while the women were 21st out of 43 teams. The Blue Devils were led by junior Kaelyn Gridley, who scored 26 points via her two ‘A’ final performances in both breaststroke events. She touched the wall 8th in the 100 breaststroke before elevating to 4th in the 200 breaststroke on the final day of action. Senior diver Margo O’Meara accounted for the university’s other seven points with a 10th-place finish in 1-meter diving.