University of the Pacific Women's Swimming

Richardson will enter his fifth year as the Tigers Head Coach in the 2016 season. In 2015, Richardson helped the Tigers send a swimmer to the NCAAs for the second year in a row as sophomore Kenna Ramey broke the school record in the 100 Fly and won the conference with a 52.57.  That was one of ten new school records set under Richardson in 2015 alone. That year, the Tigers also had 20 NCAA provisional cuts. The Tigers broke the school record in the men's 200 Medley Relay (1:26.80), the men's 800 Free Relay (6:28.52), the women's 500 Free (Jana Burkard, 4:49.61), the women's 200 IM (Whitney Jorgensen, 2:00.91), the men's 200 Free Relay (1:18.92), the men's 400 Medley Relay (3:12.77), the men's 200 Breast (Yahav Shahaff, 1:58.54), the men's 400 Free Relay (2:55.15), the men's 100 Back (Makoa Haneberg, 48.15), and the men's 100 Breast (Yahav Shahaff, 52.97).  Richardson also coached MPSF Freshman of the Year Yahav Shahaff. In each season, the women's team has scored nearly 100 more points total than the year before since Richardson joined the program, with the men's team breaking every relay record as well.  The Tigers have sent six swimmers to the U.S. Olympic Trials under Richardson. Peter was named the Tigers' Men's and Women's Swimming Head Coach on March 23, 2012 as the former Pacific swimmer returned home. In just two years, the Pacific womens swim team has gone from 8th (season prior to Richardsons tenure) to 5th (2013-2014) at the MPSF Championships.  Freshman Margaux Verger Gourson broke the school record in the 500 freestyle last year (4:47.13) and the 2014-2015 Tigers boast their best team in the last ten years.  The mens team has enjoyed similar success under Richardson.  Three of the five relay school records have been rewritten along with two individual records broken last year.  His most recent recruiting class included three junior college state champions, two high school state champions and an Israeli National record holder.        Prior to Pacific, Richardson had been the head swimming coach at Fresno Pacific University since the program's inception in 2007.  In just the fifth year as a program, Richardson has turned the men's and women's swimming team into perennial NAIA powers.   The Fresno Pacific men's swimming program won back to back NAIA National Championships in 2010 and 2011, while the women's team won the National Championship in 2012. The men's team finished sixth, second, first, first and second in the five years as a program, while the women's team has finished fifth, fourth, third, second and first.   Under Richardson's tutelage, FPU swimmers have won 31 individual national championships and 18 championship relays; while setting 24 NAIA national records. Richardson has been named the NAIA National Coach of the Year in each of the past four seasons (08-09 Men's, 09-10 Women's, 10-11 Men's, 11-12 Women's).  Richardson turned FPU into a great program that compared with the best teams in the country, regardless of division.  In the 2011-12 season alone, Fresno Pacific had 15 NCAA DI B cuts, one A cut and seven Olympic Trial time standards. Richardson's success at FPU includes developing 2010 NAIA National Swimmer of the Year, Cheyenne Coffman.  Coffman came to Fresno Pacific as a 24.4 50 freestyler and 1:01 backstroker.  In 2010, she qualified for the Olympic trials and was ranked 17th in the country in 50 LCM freestyle (25.74).  She swam the 50 yard freestyle in 22.29 and the 100 backstroke in 52.41 in her senior season with the program. Both of those times would have scored at the 2012 NCAA Division I Championships.  In the summer of 2010, Richardson helped four Sunbird swimmers qualify for USA Nationals in Irvine. In 2011, Richardson took not only individual qualifiers, but also relays to USA Nationals at Stanford University. He helped Carl Weigley to a 22nd place finish at the USA Nationals in the 100 LCM Butterfly. In 2009, FPU swimmers Cheynne Coffman, Weigley, Seamus Alger, and Jared Gilbert swam under Richardson at the US Open in Federal Way, Washington. At the US Open meet, Richardson also coached Cal-Berkeley's NCAA Champion Josh Daniels and USC NCAA qualifier Jeff Daniels to lifetime bests in the 50M and 100M LC freestyles while representing Clovis Swim Club. At this past summer's US Olympic Trials, Richardson coached four swimmers, two of which finished the summer as some of the nation's top athletes. Carl Weigly finished the summer ranked 19th in the 100 LCM Fly and 32nd in the 100 LCM Free. Cheyenne Coffman finished 10th in the 100 LCM Back.  Peter started his swimming career at Buchanan High School in Clovis, Calif. and continued with Clovis Swim Club where he helped the Clovis Swim Club men's team win Summer Junior Nationals in 1999.  After high school, Richardson attended University of the Pacific where he earned his Bachelor's degree and teaching credential. While at Pacific, he was the team captain his junior and senior seasons.  During those two years, the Tigers won back-to-back Big West Conference Championships in 2002 and 2003. In his senior season, Richardson received the Pacific Leadership Award for all athletics.  After college, Richardson was the assistant National Team Coach with Clovis Swim Club and the head men's & women's swim coach at Sanger High School where they won four league championships in three years. Richardson earned his Master's degree in 2007 from Fresno State. His degree is in teaching with an emphasis on multicultural education in the classroom.  Richardson and his wife, Jonelle, have four children, Gabrielle, Brooklynn, Juliette and Peter II.  

Katelyne Herrington was named the head coach at Pacific in the fall of 2019, returning to the campus where she had served as an assistant coach. The 2026-27 season is her eighth as the Tigers' head coach. During the 2024-25 campaign, Herrington led the Tigers to their first-ever MPSF Team Championship, giving her MPSF Men's Swimming Head Coach of the Year. Pacific won a conference-high 11 MPSF Men's Swimming titles and placed in the top three in all but one of the swim events. Herrington represents Pacific's first-ever MPSF Swim Coach of the Year recognition. The Tigers also sent 21 swimmers to the National Invitational Championships, setting a new program record in that regard. In 2022-23, Pacific participated in the National Invitational Championships for the first time with 14 swimmers and nine relays qualifying for the event. Junior Dylan Parente had the best finish for the Tigers, placing 10th in the national event. At the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships, the women's team finished seventh of the 10 teams. The men's team placed eighth. Caitlin Tan and Paige Sondergroth both earned All-MPSF honors. Six swimmers earned College Sport Communicators Academic All-District honors and appeared on the Academic All-America ballot. Nineteen earned MPSF All-Academic honors, and both teams were honored by the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) as Scholar All-America Teams.    In the 2021-22 season, the program returned to a full schedule following a COVID-abbreviated season in 2020-21. The women’s season was highlighted by a dual meet win over San Jose State and finishing first in the Pacific Invitational. At the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championships, the women placed ninth and the men, sixth. Seven men and six women were named to the MPSF All-Academic Team. The honored student-athletes have a minimum of a 3.00 cumulative GPA, at least sophomore status, completed a full academic year at Pacific and competed in at least 50 percent of the competitions.   In the 2020-21 season, due to COVID-19 protocols, each squad had only one dual meet and the MPSF Championships. The men finished seventh at the MPSF event; the women, sixth.   In her first season at the helm, Herrington guided the women’s team to an impressive win over UC Santa Barbara, one of four dual meet wins. At the MPSF championship event, the women placed seventh of eight teams; the men, sixth. Senior Angela Gagliardo was named first-team All-MPSF in three events, including the 400 IM where she earned an NCAA B-cut (4:16.74). She also set the 200-yard breaststroke record. Diver Mackaby Pennington also was named first-team All-MPSF in platform diving. Fourteen women and six men earned MPSF All-Academic Team honors. Herrington returned to the Chris Kjeldsen Pool after spending the 2018-19 season as the head coach at Fresno Pacific. In 2018-19, both the men’s and women’s Sunbird teams finished third at the Pacific Collegiate Swimming and Diving Championships. The program had four All-Americans and three honorable mention All-Americans at the NCAA Division II level.   Prior to her move to Fresno, Herrington served as an assistant coach for the Tigers during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons. She helped guide the Orange and Black to 40 school records. The Tigers had a qualifier for the NCAA Division I Championships in back-to-back years. The 200-free relay team also surged to an NCAA Division I top-10 regular-season ranking in 2017-18 under her tutelage.    Herrington comes from a Pacific family as her father, Todd Herrington, was a member of the Pacific football team, playing linebacker from 1985 to 1987.    Before Pacific, Herrington was the director of operations for the swimming and diving program at New Mexico for the 2015-16 season. She also coached the Logo Aquatics Club. In 2014-15, she was an assistant coach at her alma mater, UNLV.     As a Rebel, Herrington was a two-time Division I All-American. Competing from 2010 to 2014, she was a two-time Mountain West recordholder, and still holds the conference mark in the 100 fly (51.48). She also swam at the 2012 Olympic Trials. She was a four-time Mountain West Academic All-Conference honoree.    Herrington received her bachelor's degree in hotel administration from UNLV in 2014 and is currently working towards a master's degree in Health and Exercise Sports Science at Pacific.    THE KATELYNE HERRINGTON FILE Coaching Experience 2019-Present: Pacific, Head Coach 2018-19: Fresno Pacific, Head Coach 2016-18: Pacific, Assistant Coach 2015-16: New Mexico, Director of Operations 2014-15: UNLV, Assistant Coach Awards 2025 MPSF Men's Swimming Head Coach of the Year Head Coaching History  Year School Position 2025-26 Pacific Head Coach 2024-25 Pacific Head Coach 2023-24 Pacific Head Coach 2022-23 Pacific    Head Coach 2021-22 Pacific Head Coach 2020-21 Pacific Head Coach 2019-20 Pacific Head Coach 2018-19 Fresno Pacific Head Coach