Wellesley Names Dawn Dill as Swimming Head Coach
Wellesley College this week hired Dawn Dill as the head coach of its swimming and diving team.
Dill spent last season as an assistant coach at Harvard University, helping lead the Crimson to a runner-up finish at the Ivy League Championships. Dill had previously served as an assistant coach and aquatics coordinator at Wellesley from 2018-23 under coach Bonnie Dix, who retired this spring after 37 seasons in charge.
“I am thrilled to be returning to Wellesley College as the new Head Coach of Swimming and Diving! I am excited to honor the tradition and success of the program, and will continue to foster a culture of excellence, both in and out of the pool,” Dill said in a university statement. “I’ve been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with extraordinary coaches along the way. Now I am eager to bring those experiences and ideas to Wellesley to lead this team of ambitious student-athletes.”
Dill’s roots with Wellesley and Massachusetts swimming go back decades. She was the head coach of the men’s and women’s teams at MIT from 2003-15, leading it to a 152-36 record and 12 total top-10 finishes at the NCAA Division III Championships (eight for the men, four for the women). She was a three-time NEWMAC Swimming Coach of the Year.
Dill graduated from Smith College in 1996. She was a graduate assistant at her alma mater from 1999-2001. In the water, she was a seven-time New England champion, an eight-time Seven Sisters champion, a seven-time All-American and the 1996 New England Swimmer of the Year.
Smith was also an assistant coach for one season and the interim head coach for one season at Vassar College from 2001-03, leading the program to its highest ever NYSWCAA Championships finish.
“I would like to thank Bethany for the opportunity to lead the program into its next chapter,” Dill said. “Thank you as well to Bonnie Dix for her leadership, dedication and commitment to building the swimming and diving program over the last 37 years. Go Blue!”
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