Trinity College Women's Swimming

Vega enters his third season as the Trinity College Head Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Coach in 2016-17, and has quickly set the Trinity program on a path to a bright future.  The Bantams have seen vast improvements across the board with 22 females and 23 males combining to set 128 lifetime bests, 18 varsity records, and three NCAA-qualifying times and added 59 new times to the programs Top-10 All Time list in the last two winters.  Audrey Butler '15 became Trinity's first-ever woman to finish second in a NESCAC Championship race in Vega's first season, and Nick Celestin added a third-place finish in this year's league championship meet.  Both Bantam swimming and diving programs received College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) academic awards in 2015-16. Vega came to Trinity after several successful years as an assistant coach at Amherst College, Kalamazoo College, and Wellesley College, where he played a major role in the resurgence of the Blue program from 2010 to 2014.   He is a 2003 graduate of perennial swimming powerhouse Kenyon College, where he was a 19-time all-conference selection, conference swimmer of the year twice, and an 11-time All-American honoree, and won five NCAA titles.   Vega owns a bachelor's degree in economics from his alma mater and added a master's degree in sport management from the University of Massachusetts in 2004.  He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Amherst, helping the Lord Jeffs produce five New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Champions, three NCAA Qualifiers, and an NCAA Champion swimmer in 2003-04.  Vega helped revitalize the Kalamazoo program as an assistant coach from 2004 to 2006, recruiting and coaching eight conference champions and nine NCAA Qualifiers for the Hornets, before working from 2006 to 2009 at IMG Golf in a variety of roles. In the summer of 2010, Vega returned to the pool deck at Wellesley, and helped guide that team to third-place finishes in three consecutive New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championships.  Wellesley produced NCAA Championship Qualifiers in 2012 and 2013 and had seven NCAA B cut individuals in 2013-14.  Vega served as the teams recruiting coordinator at Wellesley and had an additional responsibility as the College's coordinator of athletic operations.  A native of Strongville, Ohio, Vega is an assistant professor in the Trinity athletic department.

McDevitt as an assistant swimming and diving coach for both the men's and women's teams for the 2015 season.  A 2012 graduate of Gettysburg College with a bachelor's degree in political science, McDevitt most recently serving as the assistant swimming coach and assistant aquatics director at Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania. In two years with the Lions, he helped guide the team to a pair of conference titles. McDevitt also mentored one All-American and saw swimmers set 34 new school records.

Suydam enters his 16th year as the Trinity diving coach.  An accomplished competitor, setting and still holding numerous records, Suydam has incorporated progressive techniques used by several of the most distinguished coaches across the country. Suydam has helped age group, high school, and collegiate divers reach championship and All-American status for over 35 years. In 2001, Suydam was named the Diving Coach of the Year at the New England Womens Swimming and Diving Championships.  In addition to his responsibilities at Trinity, Suydam works with a varying number of age group and high school athletes registered with AAU Diving.  He mentored 2014 Trinity graduate Emily Johnson, who qualified for the NCAA Division III Regional Championships in 2014 and 2015.