Karin Colby | Head Men's & Women's Swimming Coach
Karin Colby (née Brown) assumed head coaching duties for both the Swarthmore men's and women's swimming programs prior to the 2015-16 academic year.
In 2016-17, Colby and the men's swim team won the Centennial Conference Championship for the first time in program history. The women's swim team finished in third place in 2016-17, the program's best finish since 2011 and first year Clare Cushing was recognized as the Conference’s Outstanding Rookie Performer. Both teams re-wrote the record books, breaking 28 program records. The league recognized Colby as the Centennial Coach of the Year.
During the 2015-2016 season, the team broke 11 program records as the men climbed from sixth (2015) to second (2016) in the conference rankings and the women held onto their fifth place status.
Before her tenure with the Garnet, Colby was the acting head coach at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At MIT, Colby helped the men's and women's programs capture consecutive New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) titles. She took over as acting head coach in January 2015 and guided the women's team to a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championships and the men's squad to a 10th-place standing. The 2014-15 MIT swimming and diving programs set 13 school records and accumulated a combined 47 All-America performances, 23 NEWMAC Academic All-Conference accolades and 22 College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Academic All-America honors. One swimmer was named a Capital One Academic All-American and an Elite 89 award winner.
MIT swimming and diving also flourished in Colby’s first season on the staff as an associate head coach in 2013-14. After sweeping the team titles at the NEWMAC Championships, the men's program placed fifth at NCAAs and the women finished in ninth. The teams combined for 51 All-America performances, 20 CSCAA Academic All-America honors, 19 NEWMAC Academic All-Conference selections and 13 program records.
Prior to her time at MIT, Colby spent five years as an assistant coach at Amherst College. The Lord Jeffs produced 12 individual NCAA champions, three Capital One Academic All-Americans and combined to record nine top-10 team finishes at the NCAA Championships. During the 2012-13 season, the women's squad claimed its first-ever New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) title and finished sixth at the NCAA Championships, while the men's team came in seventh at the national event.
Colby was an accomplished collegiate swimmer as a four-year letterwinner at Carleton College between 2004 and 2008. She was a 15-time All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection, two-year team captain, and a national qualifier.
Colby earned her bachelor's degree in geology at Carleton in 2008 and master's degrees in sports management and business administration from the University of Massachusetts in 2011. A native of Madison, Wisconsin, Colby resides in Wilmington, Delaware with her husband Ryan.
Sam Davy | Assistant Men's and Women's Swimming Coach
Sam Davy begins his first year as Men's and Women's Assistant Coach with the 2017-18 season. Sam will assist head coach Karin Colby with all facets of the program, including recruiting, practice programming, and team logistics.
Prior to joining the Garnet, Sam served as the Director of Quality Control with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. During his tenure with the Volunteers, he assisted the program in recruiting the No. 6 women's and No. 9 men's 2016 recruiting classes, including landing the No. 1 recruit in the country on the women's side. In the pool, the Volunteers placed in the top-25 at NCAA's during both seasons for men and women, highlighted by a sixth-place finish for the men in 2016.
In addition to Sam's work with the Vols, he served as an assistant with the Senior / National Team of Tennessee Aquatics and as Lead Assistant with Hardin Valley Academy. Over his two seasons with Hardin Valley Academy he aided in the development of the 2016 500-freestyle High School National Champion, the 2017 Tennessee High School State Swimming Championships Runners-up, and two National Public High School Record setting performances.
Prior to moving to Knoxville, Sam served as the Volunteer Assistant with the women's program at The Ohio State University. During Sam's season with the Buckeyes he focused primarily on the sprint program. That season the sprint program broke five school records, won four Big Ten Medals and captured three All-American awards.
Collegiately, Sam swam for the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP) from 2008-2012. He was a 16-time All-American over his four seasons, and team captain for his senior campaign.
Sam earned his bachelors degree in health promotion and wellness at UWSP in 2013, and his master's degree in sport management at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in 2017. Sam is a native of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, and currently resides in Philadelphia with his fiancé, Elizabeth.
Karin Colby | Head Men's & Women's Swimming Coach
Sam Davy | Assistant Men's and Women's Swimming Coach