On June 5, Ramsey Vens ‘10 was named the new head coach of Augustana’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs, following the departure of former coach Dan Lloyd. Vens returns to Augustana after spending the past five seasons as an assistant coach at St. Ambrose, where she helped guide the Fighting Bees to three consecutive Liberal Arts Conference Championships.
Now, after years of coaching success, she looks to come back to the Augustana community and continue that winning tradition. During her own career at Augustana, Vens earned team MVP twice, won two CCIW titles and was named the conference’s Most Valuable Swimmer in 2007.
“I love the community, the inclusion, the diversity and all of that,” Vens said. “When I first found out that the position was opening, I kind of panicked a little bit because I didn’t expect it to happen as quickly as it did, but I’m excited to take over and to continue that trajectory of success that the program has been having.”
The hiring process was extensive, with eight candidates in the running for the head coaching position. Athletic Director Mike Zapolski led the search, beginning with virtual interviews before narrowing it to three finalists who were invited to campus.
Despite a competitive field of candidates, Zapolski said what ultimately separated Vens from the rest was her deep connection to Augustana and the Quad Cities community, along with her proven experience across multiple levels of coaching. He also pointed to her wide variety of skills that have proven to be crucial to coaching success.
“She’s been involved in coaching at the youth, high school, club and college level,” Zapolski said. “She has demonstrated a good base of recruiting contacts, and the development of the swimmers at St. Ambrose seemed to indicate a good ability, not only to successfully recruit quality kids, but then develop them when they’re here.”
While Zapolski highlighted Vens’ experience and connection to Augustana, her impact will ultimately be measured by the athletes she leads. For the swimmers and divers, the transition to a new coach means adjusting to new expectations, training methods and team culture.
Vens said she is excited to become more involved in the community and build connections beyond the pool, all while strengthening the program’s presence on campus. One Viking swimmer, senior Genevieve Ryan, is excited for the new opportunities with coach Vens in and out of the pool.
“Our new coach is bringing in some fresh energy, and that’s really exciting, especially her different training strategies,” Ryan said. “I think there’s always an adjustment period, but it’s hard to tell so soon in the season. Historically, we also haven’t been great at getting into the community very much, doing service work. So I think one way she could build, rather than just maintain our success, would be to get help and encourage us to move beyond the pool and our involvement on campus.”
Another area of growth for the program is diving, she said, which has not always been a major focus in the past. With new leadership in place, the team sees an opportunity to finally make full use of the facilities and bring more attention to that side of the program.
Along with a fresh approach to recruiting, a new face leading the program could be the key to strengthening the program as a whole.
“We haven’t had a very big diving program in the past, and, in addition to Ramsey Vens, we also have a new diving coach. His name is Dwight Schwartz,” Ryan said. “That’s exciting, because we really haven’t taken advantage of our diving facility very much. We haven’t tried to expand the diving team, or haven’t had success doing that, and I think having a change in coaching staff and recruitment strategy could be helpful in expanding that.”
The first official practice to kick off the season for the program will be on Sept. 22, just five days before their first meet of the 2025-26 season.
