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- Title
- Swimming & Diving Associate Head Coach
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- ajahn@utk.edu
The 2023-24season will beAshley Jahn's12th yearas a coach for the Tennessee swimming and diving program.It is her sixth year as an associate head coach for the team after serving asan assistant coach during her first six years on Rocky Top.
A former collegiate swimmer and water polo player for Air Force, Jahn spent two years as an assistant coach at UNLV and Idaho prior to arriving at Tennessee. She was previously a graduate assistant with the Tennessee women's team for two seasons from 2008-10.
Tennessee has recorded eight NCAA individual and relay titles, 61SEC titles and 437All-America honors during Jahn'stime on staff. The 61SEC titles was highlighted by an incredible 2018 breakout championship meet for Erika Brown, who was part of six SEC titles (three individual - 50 free, 100 free, 100 fly; three relay). Brown would go on to repeat her performance at the 2019 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships.
The 2019-20 season proved to be a special one as the women's team won their first-ever SEC Championship team title in program history and finished the season undefeated for just the third time ever. Once again Brown won the 50 free, 100 free and 100 fly SEC titles and added three relay gold medals for good measure, andbecame the first woman in SEC history to win the same three events in thee consecutive seasons. Brown also set the American Record in the 100 fly (49.38) and became the second woman to ever swim sub 46 seconds in the 100 free (45.83), joining Olympian Simone Manuel.
After helping the Lady Vols bring in the nation's second-ranked recruiting class for the 2021 cycle, which featured seven freshmen ranked inside the top 45 along with three All-American transfers, Tennessee won its second SEC Championship in three years during the 2021-22 campaign,totaling 17 medals won, including seven gold.The Lady Vols followed up the performance by posting its fourth consecutive top-10 finish at the NCAA Championships, as the group hauled in 28 All-America honors and five podium finishes.Freshman Ellen Walshe was named the 2022 SEC Co-Swimmer of the Year and SEC Freshman of the Year for her performances throughout the season. She became the first swimmer in SEC history to win the 100 fly, 200 IM and 400 IM during the same SEC Championships. She won a combined seven medals en route to being named the SEC Swimmer of the Meet and receiving the prestigious Commissioner's Trophy as the top overall points scorer.
During the 2022-23 campaign, the Vols and Lady Vols excelled with each notchingtop-ten finishes at NCAAsin the same season for the first time ever. Both teams also placed in the top three during the SEC Championships. For the Lady Vols, Mona McSharry and Brooklyn Douthwrightled the way, each notching SEC titles as well as national runner-up finishes at NCAAs. Along with them, Josephine Fuller was awarded SwimSwam Breakout Swimmer of the Year honors after earning First Team All-American certificates in the backstrokes and three silver medals at SECs. The men's squad featured Jordan Crooks, the SEC Swimmer of the Year who became the second swimmer to ever swim sub-18 seconds in the 50 free en route to one of his four SEC crowns. Crooks also tallied seven First Team All-American certificates, along with being the NCAA Champion in the 50 free.
In Jahn's first season on Rocky Top in 2012-13, Tennessee enjoyed strong dual meet and championship seasons as a combined program. The women's team won its first three NCAA relay titles on their way to finishing third as a team at the national meet, the best finish in program history. Meanwhile, the Vols took fourth at SECs and 16th at NCAAs.
The men's team returned to the top 10 in the NCAA standings in 2016, taking seventh at the national meet. It was the best finish by the program since taking third in 2001. During the 2022 SEC Championships, the Vols placed tied for second to earn their best finish in the conference standings since the 2001 season as well.
On the international stage, Jahn has coached Tennessee swimmers who have won medals at the Olympics, World Championships andWorld Short Course Championships. During the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the Lady Vols enjoyed a program-record six Olympic qualifiers, as Erika Brown (USA), Tess Cieplucha (Canada), Mona McSharry (Ireland), Cherelle Thompson (Trinidad & Tobago), Kira Toussaint (Netherlands) and Ellen Walshe (Ireland) represented their countries at the Summer Games.
Brown brought home a pair of medals, winning silver in the 400 medley relay and bronze in the 400 free relay, whileWith her performance, Brown became the sixth Vol or Lady Vol swimmer to win two medals in a single Olympics, joining Jeremy Linn, Christine Magnuson, Tripp Schwenk, Melvin Stewart and Matt Vogel.Making her second Olympic appearance, Toussaint competed in three different event finals for the Netherlands, highlighted by a fourth-place finish in the 400 free relay.McSharry became just the second Irish swimmer ever to compete in an Olympic final, advancing in the 100 breaststroke. She bested her Irish National Record in the 200 breast, touching the wall in 2:25.08.
Jahnwas also a part ofthe 40-under-40 class announcedby The Greater Knoxville Journal in 2017, which includes business leaders, educators and scientists.
PRIOR TO TENNESSEE: Jahn was part of an entirely new coaching staff at Idaho in 2011-12, where the women's team broke 12 school records and finished seventh at the Western Athletic Conference Championships.
When Jahn was a graduate assistant with the women's program at Tennessee, the Lady Vols had 23 NCAA qualifiers, 15 All-Americans and seven SEC individual champions.
EDUCATION & FAMILY: Prior to her coaching career, Jahn spent four years as a member of Air Force's water polo squad and three seasons on the swimming team, graduating in 2003 with a degree in social sciences. She then spent five years with the US Air Force as a Medical Service Corps Officer before starting graduate school at Tennessee.
Ashley Jahn is married to Nick Jahn. They have two daughters: Faith (3) and Chloe (1).
