University of Georgia

Stefanie Williams Moreno, a 28-time All-American and four-time national champion for Georgia, enters her first season as the head coach of the women's swimming and diving team. Williams Moreno previously served for four seasons as Associate Head Coach after serving six years as a Bulldog assistant, working primarily with the backstroke and middle distance groups. In the 2020-21 season, Williams Moreno's middle distance swimmers formed one of the Bulldogs' strongest groups, led by an third-consecutive SEC championship from All-American Courtney Harnish (500 freestyle) and an NCAA championship from Jake Magahey (500 freestyle). In the backstroke, senior Javier Acevedo won his second SEC individual title (100 backstroke), while four Bulldog men qualified for NCAAs in backstroke events. In the 2021-22 season, freshman Matthew Sates and Magahey finished 1-2 in the 500 freestyle at NCAAs, while sophomore Luca Urlando set an American Record in the 100 backstroke. Additionally, under Williams Moreno’s watch, freshmen Duné Coetzee, Eboni McCarty, and Abby McCulloh all earned All-America citations. In 2017, she was inducted into the UGA Circle of Honor, which recognizes extraordinary student-athletes and coaches who bring honor the university and themselves by their performance and conduct. Before returning to Athens, Williams Moreno spent four years with the Ohio State women’s team, including serving in 2011-12 as associate head coach. She was an assistant coach for the Missouri men and women for three years after beginning her coaching career at Bloomsburg University in the 2004-05 season. Williams Moreno helped the Lady Bulldogs win three NCAA and three SEC titles during her career from 1998-2002. She earned the maximum 28 All-America certificates (24 First-Team and four Honorable Mention). Williams Moreno was a member of four national championship relays, helping the 200 and 400 freestyle relays set American records in 2002. Williams Moreno was a two-time SEC champion in the 200 freestyle and was on 10 victorious relays at the SECs. She left Georgia with the school mark in the 200 freestyle. A team captain her senior year, Williams Moreno twice was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll and graduated with a degree in Sports Communications. She married Brandon Moreno in May of 2017.

Neil Versfeld, a standout swimmer on both the collegiate and international stages, enters his first season as the head coach of the Georgia men's swimming and diving team. Versfeld previously served for three seasons as Associate Head Coach for Georgia swimming and diving, working primarily with breaststroke and distance swimmers. Versfeld's first season saw one of the strongest breaststroke groups in program history, with Zoie Hartman and Danielle Della Torre finishing in the top two of both breaststroke events at the SEC Championships. Both swimmers posted top-10 national times and earned All-America citations, with Hartman setting a new school record in the 100 breaststroke three times during the season. The pair was joined by fellow All-Americans Sofia Carnevale, who won both B finals at SECs, and Ashley McCauley. On the distance side, Greg Reed earned a silver medal in the 1,650 freestyle at SECs, followed by Walker Higgins and Aaron Apel in the top 10 finishers. In his second season, Hartman and Della Torre continued their dominance, while senior Jack Dalmolin earned an SEC silver medal in the 200 breaststroke and was named an All-American. In distance, freshman Jake Magahey finished second overall at SECs and NCAAs, while Reed and freshman Tommy-Lee Camblong finished top-16 in the mile at NCAAs. In the 2021-22 season, Hartman once again earned All-America honors in both breaststroke events, while Della Torre and freshman Angharad Evans qualified for NCAAs. In the mile, Magahey returned to the podium with a second-place finish at SECs and fourth-place time at NCAA, while freshman Abby McCulloh placed third at SECs and fifth at NCAAs. McCulloh was joined at NCAAs by graduate Peyton Palsha and freshman Rachel Stege. During his career, Versfeld competed for Georgia in 2006, 2007, and 2009. He won the NCAA title in the 200-yard breaststroke in 2009, and he swept the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke titles at the 2009 SEC Championships. When he completed his career for the Bulldogs, Versfeld held the NCAA, U.S. Open, and Georgia record in the 200-yard breaststroke, along with the school mark in the 100-yard breaststroke. Versfeld represented South Africa in several international competitions, including the 2008 Olympics in Beijing where he was a semifinalist in the 200-meter breaststroke. He came in fourth in the 2010 World Championships and was a semifinalist in the 2009 and 2011 Worlds. Versfeld began his coaching career as an assistant for the Seals Swimming Club in South Africa and then spent two years at SwimAtlanta. Most recently, Versfeld was as an assistant coach for four years at Georgia Tech under Courtney Shealy Hart, another former Georgia standout. During his time at Tech, Versfeld coached multiple NCAA qualifiers and ACC- and school-record holders. Versfeld graduated from Georgia in 2010 with a degree in Housing. He was a CSCAA All-American Scholar and a member of the SEC and UGA academic honor rolls. He is married to the former Michelle McKeehan, who was a 10-time All-American for Georgia from 2009-12. She won the SEC title in 200-yard breaststroke in 2012. The couple welcomed a daughter, Charlize, in September 2021.

Fernando Rodriguez, a University of Georgia graduate and one of the nation’s top young coaches, is entering his first season as Women’s Swimming & Diving Assistant Coach. Rodriguez joins Georgia after eight seasons at his undergraduate alma mater, Kenyon College, where he served as the senior assistant swimming coach, first working with the middle-distance group for six years followed by two with the sprint group. While at Kenyon, the São Paulo, Brazil native helped guide the Lords and Ladies to two NCAA Division III championships (2022 – women, 2015 – men) and five runner-up finishes, while also earning five North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) championships. Beyond the team accolades, his tenure produced 16 NCAA individual champions, 10 title-winning relays, and 20 NCAA records, as well as four CSCAA Swimmer of the Year honorees, including a sweep of this season’s awards by Bryan Fitzgerald and Crile Hart. Kenyon was also a model program in the classroom under Rodriguez, earning 17 NCAA postgraduate scholarships and four finalists for NCAA Woman of the Year. In addition to his coaching duties, he served as an assistant aquatics director at the Steen Aquatic Center, an academic instructor at the school, and a coach at the Total Performance Swim Camp. Prior to Kenyon, Rodriguez spent one season as an assistant at Richmond, helping the Spiders’ women’s team win the 2014 Atlantic 10 Championship. He also served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Colgate (2013), William & Mary (2009-12), and Wabash College (2004-05). As a graduate student in Sport Management at Georgia from 2007-09, he was an assistant coach for the Athens Bulldog Swim Club senior and masters groups and assisted with the Jack Bauerle Bulldog Swimming Camp, along with his work as a graduate teaching assistant. In his individual collegiate career at Kenyon, Rodriguez was a seven-time All-American who led four-consecutive NCAA and NCAC championship teams and was named a co-captain in the 2003-04 season, graduating in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology.

Jerry Champer returned to the Georgia women's swimming and diving staff in July 2023 after serving one season as the Director of Operations for the men's and women's swimming and diving teams. Champer previously served on the Georgia coaching staff for 21 seasons, including nine as Associate Head Coach. Before becoming a full-time coach in 2003, he was a volunteer assistant for two seasons. Virtually every top performance in the butterfly on Georgia’s all-time list has been established during Champer’s tenure, including Luca Urlando, Camden Murphy, and Chelsea Britt in the 100 and Urlanod, Gunnar Bentz, and Hali Flickinger in the 200. DeScenza (six from 2003-06), Gil Stovall (2008) and Mark Dylla (2011) were NCAA champions under Champer’s tutelage. He also has had 25 SEC champions, including eight by DeScenza and four by Dylla, during his watch. Champer served as the head coach at Western Illinois from 1994-2001. He was named to the WIU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012 as the school’s winningest coach. Champer was named the Mid-Continent Conference Men’s Coach of the Year four times and the Women’s Coach of the Year twice as he led the Leathernecks to five conference titles. Champer earned Southern States Conference Men’s Coach of the Year honors in 1999 and 2000 after leading his team to conference titles. His 2001 men won the Midwest Championships title and he was chosen as the Midwest Championships’ Coach of the Year. He was named the 1998 and 2001 Illinois Men’s University Division Coach of the Year. Under Champer’s direction, Western Illinois produced 44 conference champions and 46 all-conference distinctions. One of his former pupils represented the country of Georgia in the 2000 Olympics. Champer is a 1989 graduate of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, where he was a four-year letterwinner, team captain (1987-88), and an All-American in 1987. Following graduation, he served as an assistant coach for the Eagles for two seasons before departing for Western Illinois. Champer is married to the former Lu Harris, Georgia’s softball coach from 2001-21. The Champers have three daughters: twins Emma and Jenna, and Mya.

Nate Rhoads was named the University of Georgia men's swimming and diving assistant coach in July 2023, following one season as a volunteer coach for both the men's and women's programs in the 2022-23 season. Prior to joining Georgia, Rhoads served as head coach at Brenau University for seven seasons. During his tenure in Gainesville, he led the Golden Tigers’ women’s team to consecutive Appalachian Swim Conference championships in 2016 and 2017, and consecutive Appalachian Athletic Conference championships in 2018 and 2019. He received AAC Coach of the Year honors in 2019 and 2020. Before Brenau, Rhoads was an assistant coach at Gardner-Webb University for four seasons (2011-15), working primarily with the distance swimmers. His coaching career also includes club positions at Lakeside Aquatic Club (Texas), Quantico Devil Dolphins (Virginia), Jacobs Aquatic Club (Florida), and the Westside Silverfins (Arizona). Rhoads is a Level 5 coach in the American Swim Coaches Association, helping to produce numerous Olympic Trials and National Championships participants. Rhoads earned an MBA from Brenau University in 2019, and completed his undergrad at Arizona State University in 2003. Rhoads and his wife, Sheryl, have two daughters: Lily and Katherine.

Sixteen-time University of Georgia All-American swimmer and former United States national team member Michael Norment was named the school’s men’s swimming and diving associate head coach in May 2023. Norment returned to Athens after serving as an assistant coach at Georgia Tech the past five seasons, including the 2018-19 campaign alongside Versfeld. During his time with the Yellow Jackets, Norment helped produce six individual ACC swimming championships, with seven-time All-American Caio Pumputis winning three titles and the 2019 ACC Championships Co-MVP Award. Georgia Tech scored at each of the last four NCAA Men’s Championships, including 21st-place finishes in 2021 and 2022, along with two scoring performances by the women’s team. Norment was named one of six finalists for the 2022 American Swimming Coaches Association Coach of the Year Award. Norment’s swimmers have also excelled on the international stage, most notably Georgia product Nic Fink, who began training with Norment in fall 2021. In that time, Fink has won 16 combined medals at the FINA/World Aquatics Long Course and Short Course World Championships, including nine gold medals. Pumputis represented his native Brazil at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, competing in the 200-meter individual medley and 100-meter breaststroke. Norment is also the founder of the Metro Atlanta Aquatic Club (MAAC) and co-founder of the Swim with a Purpose Swim School. Prior to founding MAAC, he served as a coach at DeKalb Aquatics for eight years. In his time at MAAC, Norment coached future NCAA champion and World University Games gold medalist Dean Farris, who won two NCSA Junior National championships and a pair of Georgia high school state titles as well. Norment, a native of Hempstead, New York, left a remarkable legacy during his career at Georgia, swimming under legendary head coach Jack Bauerle. Norment earned 16 All-America citations during his career, tied for the ninth-most in program history. He helped the Bulldogs finish third at the 1997 NCAA Championships, the highest men’s team finish in program history. As a freshman in 1994, he won the SEC title in the 100-yard breaststroke, before later winning three more individual silver medals. After earning a spot on the 1992 U.S. Junior National Team, he was twice named to the USA Swimming National Team (1997-98) and competed for Team USA at two Pan-Pacific Championships. In 1998, he finished the international year ranked fifth in the world in the 100-meter breaststroke. Following his collegiate career, Norment graduated from the University of Georgia in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in education. Norment and his wife, Nay, have two children: daughter, Assata Rose, and son, Mozi.