Courtesy: Georgetown Athletics
WASHINGTON D.C. – Georgetown University Swimming & Diving Head Coach Jack Leavitt has announced the addition of Drew Peterson and Marc VanDyken to the coaching staff. Peterson will serve as the assistant swimming coach, while VanDyken will become the head diving coach.
Peterson comes to Georgetown from nearby Catholic University where he was the assistant swim coach for the past two years, helping lead the Cardinals to two-consecutive Men’s Landmark Conference Championship teams. Peterson and the rest of the Catholic coaches earned back-to-back conference coaching staff of the year awards.
Prior to Catholic, Peterson spent the 2015-16 season as an assistant coach at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. While at Rhodes, he helped coach the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) Freshman and Swimmer of the Year, as well as two NCAA qualifiers. Rhodes’ women’s swimming program won the 2016 SAA Championship and Peterson was part of the SAA Coaching Staff of the Year.
Along with his collegiate coaching duties, Peterson has also coached at the club level. He spent the summer of 2017 as the head coach of the Cheverly Swim & Racquet Club in Cheverly, Maryland. He has also coached the Green Meadow Swim Team and Prime Aquatics in Tennessee.
A native of Boulder City, Nevada, Peterson swam his freshman year at Rider University where he set the program records in the 400-yard IM, the 500-yard freestyle and the 800-yard freestyle relay. He transferred to the University of Tennessee where he was an SEC finalist in the 200-yard IM in 2013. Peterson qualified for the 2012 Olympic Trials in the 200- and 400-yard IM.
Peterson graduated from the University of Tennessee in May 2015 with a degree in recreation and sport management.
“I am very excited to be joining the Georgetown swimming & diving program and would like to thank Lee Reed and Jack Leavitt for this amazing opportunity,” Peterson said. “Georgetown has a rich tradition of success both athletically and academically, and I cannot wait to help these athletes reach all their goals. I am looking forward to helping the program reach new heights in the BIG EAST and on the national stage.”
VanDyken comes to the Hilltop after most recently coaching with youth diving clubs in the Northern Virginia area for the past eight years, including serving as the assistant diving coach for the Alexandria (Va.) Dive Club since 2014.
He was the head diving coach for the Rockford (Mich.) Diving Club from 2004-10, and also served as a high school and middle school diving coach in Michigan for nearly 10 years, earning 2007 Michigan High School Athletic Association (MSHSAA) Region 3 Diving Coach of the Year honors.
In his more than 15 years of coaching, VanDyken has led 35 high school All-Americans, 27 high school all-state selections, 10 national champions and seven Olympic Trials qualifiers.
VanDyken attended Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan and graduated with a major in integrated science and a minor in elementary education. He has also worked as a middle school and elementary school science teacher since 2011.
“I am very excited to be named the diving coach for Georgetown,” VanDyken said. “I am looking forward to working with the great group of Hoya divers and to continue the already successful tradition of Georgetown swimming & diving.”
Only the best for the Hoyas!