By James Sutherland on SwimSwam
A new era of swimming & diving at Penn State will commence next season as the university has announced Hollie Bonewit-Cron as the sixth head coach in program history.
Bonewit-Cron will join the Nittany Lions from Miami University (Ohio), where she’s been the head coach for the past eight seasons and brought the team to new heights with a wide array of success.
Bonewit-Cron will take over the position from Tim Murphy, who was fired in early April after being placed on unspecific leave midway through the season.
“I would like to first thank Dr. Kraft, Rhian Davis, Vinnie James, and the rest of the search committee at Penn State University,” said Bonewit-Cron.
“Their vision is very exciting and I am thrilled to lead the swimming and diving programs in their academic and athletic pursuits. This program has a history of success and I am looking forward to being part of the Nittany Lion family!”
Excited to announce Hollie Bonewit-Cron as our new head coach !
#WeAre pic.twitter.com/VHCwO8Lafj
— Penn State Swimming & Diving (@PennStateSWIM) May 28, 2024
During her time with the Redhawks, Bonewit-Cron became the first female head coach in Mid-American Conference (MAC) history to lead a men’s team to a conference title in 2019, as Miami rolled to their championship title in 13 years.
They’ve continued to be a dominant force in the MAC, winning four consecutive conference titles from 2021 to 2024, with Bonewit-Cron winning MAC Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year honors all four seasons (and in 2019).
The women’s team has also found success at Miami under Bonewit-Cron, coming off a runner-up finish at the MAC Championships after three consecutive third-place showings.
Bonewit-Cron played a prominent role in the success of Nicole Maier, one of the best mid-major swimmers in recent memory who won the ‘B’ final in the 400 IM at NCAAs in 2023 and was named the MAC Co-Swimmer of the Year that same year after she earned Freshman of the Year honors in 2021.
Prior to arriving in Oxford, Ohio, Bonewit-Cron spent seven seasons as the head coach at Nova Southeastern, building the Division II program from the ground up, landing her in the school’s Hall of Fame in 2022. She guided the men’s team to a 4th place finish at D2 NCAAs in her seventh season at the helm, and she also served as the head Olympic coach for Grenada in 2012 while coaching Nova swimmer Esau Simpson.
Although she hasn’t been there for eight years, Bonewit-Cron put the building blocks in place that ultimately led the Nova Southeastern women to the NCAA Division II title this past season.
Prior to Nova Southeastern, Bonewit-Cron spent one season as a volunteer assistant at the University of Miami (FL).
At the beginning of her coaching career, she served as an assistant, and eventually interim head coach, at Georgia Southern University while completing her master’s degree. She then worked as an assistant at the University of Florida from 2002 until 2008.
A decorated swimmer in her own right, Bonewit-Cron swam for Ohio University from 1996 until 2000, earning NCAA All-America honors in the 200 breaststroke as a senior and winning six individual MAC titles during her career.
“We are thrilled to welcome Hollie as our next swimming & diving head coach,” said Penn State Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Patrick Kraft. “She has a long history of building programs and coaching winners. We look forward to her leadership of our program and the bright future the Nittany Lions have with her at the helm.”
The Penn State men placed 7th out of eight teams at the Big Ten Championships in February while the women placed 9th out of 12 teams.
The Nittany Lion men qualified three male swimmers for the 2024 NCAA Championships—Cooper Morley, Victor Baganha (who ended up scratching) and Mariano Lazzerini, while the women’s team didn’t send any.
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