Towson head coach Pat Mead has reached into his own recent history to hire the newest member of his staff. Two-time team captain Adrienne Phillips was named on Saturday as the program’s new assistant. This is the second new assistant that Towson has hired this off-season, replacing the outgoing Laura de Gore with Phillips and Mike Smiechowski.
That means the program will now expand to a four-person staff: Mead, his wife Maureen the head diving coach, Phillips, and Smiechowski. In the past, it has been a three-person staff.
“Adri was one of our hardest-working student-athletes while on our team,” said Mead. “Her work ethic, passion and knowledge will enable her to contribute a tremendous amount to the growth of our team. She loves Towson University and loves the sport of swimming. I can’t think of a better combination to lead our program forward.”
Phillips graduated from Towson in 2013, and was a part of three Colonial Athletic Association (CAA titles). As an athlete, she was a distance freestyler/200 butterflier/IM’er, which is not a great surprise given that these are the events in which Towson, as a program, has excelled for years.
Since retiring as an athlete, she has stayed close by. Last year, she worked as an aquatics director for the YMCA of Central Maryland located in the town of Towson, and has been a coach for the Eagle Swim Team in nearby Owings Mills.
