Dartmouth College men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams, which under head coach Jim Wilson is one of the last combined programs in the Ivy League, have announced the hiring of two new assistants for the 2015-16 season: Eliot Scymanski and Blaire Bachman.
In a press release put out by Dartmouth Athletics, Wilson stated, “We are really excited to have two new coaches join the staff. Blaire brings a wealth of knowledge from the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics), while Eliot has spent the last six years at Franklin & Marshall, first as a member of the team and then as an assistant coach.” He went on to add, “Everyone is looking forward to what we can do next season.”
Bachman will head north to Hanover, New Hampshire from Gainesville, Georgia, where she was head coach of the Brenau University women’s swimming team. Bachman became the youngest head coach in the nation when she took over the Tigers’ program in July, 2010. Since then, she has been named Appalachian Swimming Conference Coach of the Year four times (2012-2015) and was the NAIA’s Swimming and Diving Co-Coach of the Year for the 2013-14 season. The Tiger women placed third at the 2015 NAIA Nationals behind Oklahoma Baptist and SCAD Savannah, their highest finish in team history. During her tenure, Bachman coached 16 individual All-Americans and six All-American relay teams.
Scymanski will make the journey from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. After four years of varsity swimming at Franklin & Marshall College, in which he was captain as a senior and MVP in both his junior and senior seasons, Scymanski transitioned into the role of assistant coach and aquatics director in December of 2012. He also served as the Diplomat Swim Club senior age group coach during that time. Scymanski is coming off a strong 2014-15 season at F&M; he helped lead the Diplomats’ men’s team to an undefeated January and a third-place finish at the Centennial Conference Championship, and the women’s team to six dual meet victories and a second-place finish at conference.