Courtesy: Penn Athletics
PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania’s head coach of men’s and women’s swimming, Mike Schnur, has announced the hiring of Eli Danson as an assistant coach for the 2022-23 season.
Danson comes to University City from the University of North Carolina, where he served as the volunteer assistant coach for the Tar Heels’ swimming & diving programs for two years. UNC’s women finished 12th at the 2021 NCAA Championships and 14th at the 2022 NCAAs. Danson trained multiple NCAA ‘A’ finalists and more than 20 Tar Heels swimmers who qualified and competed at the 2021 Olympic Trials including two semifinalists and one finals swimmer.
“I am thrilled to welcome Eli to the Penn Swimming & Diving family,” said Schnur. “His experience coaching at the University of North Carolina and with the North Carolina Aquatic Club makes him an ideal person to work with our student-athletes here at Penn.”
In addition to his role as a volunteer assistant at UNC, Danson was the head age-group coach for North Carolina Aquatic Club (NCAC) and the National group’s sprint team. During his time with NCAC, Danson oversaw the growth of the age-group program that rose from outside the top 150 nationally into a top 30 program. Additionally, Danson helped lead the senior program to set multiple North Carolina swimming records and qualify for Olympic Trials, Junior Nationals, and high school All-America status.
Originally from Wausau, Wis., Danson made the move to UNC in 2015 to earn a master’s degree in exercise physiology with an emphasis on immunology and oncology. Prior to that, he received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry with a concentration in biochemistry at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., earning the school’s Charles Carlin Prize in chemistry.
As a member of the Carleton swim team, Danson was a team captain and two-time ‘A’ finalist in the 200 butterfly at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Championships. As a senior, he earned the MIAC’s Sportsmanship Award as well as Carleton’s Ted Mullin Award for hard work and dedication to the team.
Outstanding Coach and Person.
PENN got one of the best.
A fine young coach, who certainly helped UNC-CH & NCAC develop….congratulations.
Good hire. Hope he knows how to hit delete on any and all hateful emails he may receive this year and following years.
Congrats Eli!