Courtesy: Vermont Athletics
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Head Diving Coach Cathy Seward announced her retirement after 12 seasons with the Catamounts on Thursday afternoon.
“I want to thank Cathy for all that she has done to elevate the UVM Diving program during her time here,” said Head Coach Gerry Cournoyer. “She has continually developed some of America East’s top divers. I feel extremely fortunate to have worked with her over these years and I wish her the very best of luck in her retirement.”
“Retiring from coaching the diving team at University of Vermont has been a very difficult decision,” said Seward. “It has been my privilege to work with wonderful student-athletes, coaches and support staff at UVM. I will truly miss the people and the intellectual challenge of coaching. Thank you everyone, especially Coach Cournoyer, for your support during the past 12 years. I look forward to cheering on the team from the bleachers. Go Cats!”
This past season Seward and the Catamounts earned their 11th straight third-place finish in America East. In addition, they defeated UMBC at the Championships for the first time ever. In 2020, she coached Emily Murphy as she earned the teams’ Athlete of the Year awards after placing third on the three-meter board to earn All-Conference honors. Murphy earned America East Diver of the week honors four times that season. In 2018 as a first year Murphy placed second overall in the one-meter dive.
At the 2015 America East Championships, Seward helped guide Maggie Preston to the America East title in the three-meter diving event as she became the first-ever Catamount to collect the Most Outstanding Diver Award. In 2016, Preston won the one-meter dive title and placed second overall in the 3-meter event.
Seward is a graduate of Bucknell University, where she was an All-American (small college division) diver for both the 1- and 3-meter events as a senior. She was inducted into the Bucknell Hall of Fame in 1993 and was the diving coach at St. Michael’s College for 13 seasons before joining the Catamounts.