Dane Pedersen, fresh off leading the James Madison swimming and diving team to its fifth consecutive top-two finish at the Colonial Athletic Association Championships, has been promoted from interim head coach to head coach, as announced by Director of Athletics Jeff Bourne on Thursday afternoon.
"I am pleased to appoint Dane Pedersen to a multi-year contract as head coach over our women's swimming and diving program," Bourne said. "He shares our commitment to student-athlete well-being and maximizing their development academically and athletically. Most of all, he is fully supportive of their social development and ability to serve as leaders in their chosen profession after graduating from Madison."
Before serving as interim head coach in 2014-15, Pedersen worked with the Dukes as an assistant coach for seven seasons, serving as an integral part in building JMU's program into the perennial contender that it is today.
"I am excited and honored to be able to lead the JMU swimming and diving program in the upcoming years," Pedersen said. "JMU is such a special place, and I feel very blessed to be a part of this program. I want to thank Mr. Bourne and Mrs. Phillips for the opportunity and for their support in my role as head coach. I also would like to thank my family for the endless and unconditional love they provide."
This past season, the Dukes notched their third-straight runner-up finish at CAA Championships after racking up an 8-3 dual meet record during the regular season and beating seven consecutive opponents after the opening meet of the year.
At the CAA Championships this year, JMU took home nine individual All-CAA honors and had four of its five relay teams earn medals. The Dukes capped the championships with a meet-record time in the 400 freestyle relay, en route to the gold medal. JMU added in a trio of NCAA B-cut times on the weekend, as junior Camilla Czulada earned one in the 100 freestyle and senior Sin Hye Won met the criteria in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke.
Pedersen was also integral in helping JMU win the program's sixth Colonial Athletic Association Championship in 2012. The Dukes dominated the nine-team event, finishing with 771 points, 146 more than their nearest competitor. Madison swimmers set 15 school records, including two CAA marks, and won eight total events in the four-day meet.
In his first season in the purple and gold in 2007-08, Pedersen helped the Dukes improve from one win the previous season to an 8-4 record in dual meets and a seventh-place finish in the CAA meet. JMU broke nine school records, including eight in swimming events.
"[Dane] has served as an assistant coach and interim head coach with our program, roles in which he developed a strong sense of culture and respect of our student-athletes," Bourne said. "I am confident he will lead our young women to continued levels of success going forward."
"I feel so fortunate to work with such an amazing group of women who teach me so much every day," Pedersen said. "Coaching them is the best part of my day and I am excited to be their coach for years to come. This team has many exciting, new challenges ahead of them and I can't wait to conquer them together alongside an amazing staff in Becky [Benson] and Jacy [Dyer]. Go Dukes!"
The Dukes will lose just four seniors from this year's squad that took home runner-up honors at the CAA Championships. Eight All-CAA performers, who combined to take home 18 medals at this year's conference championships, return to JMU for the 2015-16 campaign.
