Bridgewater College Hires First Coach

Bridgewater College announced Monday that Fran C. Smith has been hired as the first head coach of the women’s swim team at the college.

Smith has been involved with the area swim scene for the past 15 year.

She has coached the summer swim league team since 1993 with great success. In the past 10 years, her team has won the league championship meet five times.

She became the first head coach of the Turner Ashby High School swim team in 2004. At Turner Ashby, she has had at least five swimmers qualify for the state championship meet in each of the past three years. In 2006, she coached the men’s 50-yard freestyle state champion.

Since 1975, Smith has taught Physical Education and Health in the Rockingham County School System. She has taught at Montevideo Middle School since 1992 and during her career has also coached girls’ basketball and boys’ and girls’ track and field.

Smith graduated from Turner Ashby High School in 1971 and then attended James Madison University where she graduated in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical and Health Education K-12.

For the first time in its history, Bridgewater College has established a varsity women's swim team that will compete with seven other institutions in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.

Curt Kendall, BC's athletic director, said the team grew out of a swim club that, over the last three years, has become "self sustaining" in terms of student involvement.

"Until that happened, we couldn't consider it as a potential varsity sport," Kendall said. "Now we can. The interest is there, the sport is in place and the search for a head coach has begun."

Kendall said Bridgewater will compete beginning in the fall of 2007, with swim teams from Washington and Lee University, Guilford College, Randolph-Macon Woman's College, Randolph-Macon College, Sweet Briar College, Hollins University and Emory and Henry College. At least once during the 19-week season, said Kendall, Bridgewater will host a meet.

He said the new team will most likely start with between 10 and 15 members.

"I think it's a good sport for us, one we can be successful in, particularly in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference," Kendall said. "Plus, it can help us draw women to the athletic side of life at Bridgewater, where we are somewhat underrepresented."