Three-Time NCAA D3 Champion Tracy Menzel Named Head Coach for DePauw Women

NCAA Division III DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, has named Tracy Menzel as the new head women’s swimming & diving program. She replaces Shea Davisson, who left to become associate director of athletics at Southwestern University. Menzel will also serve as the schools aquatics director.

Menzel spent the last 3 seasons as a men’s and women’s swimming assistant at Division 3 powerhouse Kenyon College. While DePauw does sponsor both men’s and women’s programs, they are one of the rare Division 3 programs that have separate head coaches.

“Tracy separated herself from other candidates with her plans to develop a positive, inclusive, and growth-oriented student-athlete experience,” said Stevie Baker-Watson, DePauw Associate Vice President for Campus Wellness and Theodore Katula Director of Athletics.

“She routinely shared that she wanted a program culture built on caring relationships as she firmly believes this is key to competitive excellence. We are thrilled she is coming home to Greencastle, following her own experiences as a stellar student-athlete and coach at a top-tier liberal arts institution.”

Menzel takes over a DePauw program that finished 4th out of 9 teams at last year’s North Coast Athletic Conference Championship meet. That’s the same conference that Kenyon is in (their women were 2nd last season) as well as another Division 3 powerhouse, Denison University.

The program has a long history of success at the NCAA Division 3 Championships. They have scored at the national meet 25 times since it was first held in 1982, including an 8-year run from 2010 through 2017. Their highest finish was 7th placed in 1985, where Dianne Smyth won the program’s only individual national title when she won the 100 yard backstroke in 59.92.

In the last 3 years at Kenyon, which is her alma mater, Menzel was part of one of the most successful collegiate swimming programs in the country.

She helped lead the men’s and women’s teams to four top-three NCAA Division III finishes and over 100 individual all-America performances. Included in that were two Division III Swimmer of the Year honorees, three individual national champions and two national champion relays.

Prior to her time at Kenyon, she was an assistant coach at Rutgers University for 3 seasons. She also served as a graduate manager for the Cal women’s swimming & diving team while working on a Masters of Arts in cultural studies of sport in education.

Now she’ll return home to Greencastle, where she grew up before attending Kenyon. During her time at Kenyon, she was a two-time NCAA Division III champion in the 100 yard breaststroke, an NCAA 200 medley relay champion, and a member of 3 NCAA team titles. She finished her college career as a 16-time All-America honoree, and was an NCAA Woman of the Year finalist.