University of Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee Swimming Associate Head Coach Lance Asti Steps Down
April 12, 2021 | Swimming & Diving
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – After nine seasons with Tennessee's swimming & diving program, associate head coach Lance Asti has announced he will step down to pursue outside professional interests.
The move is effective April 30.
"It is certainly difficult to be losing Lance Asti as a coach," director of swimming and diving Matt Kredich said. "For four years as a swimmer, two decades as a coach and nine years as a coach at Tennessee, Lance personified the highest ideals of Tennessee Men's Swimming and Diving. He has changed our team for the better in countless ways and helped us win a lot of races, meets and championships. We are excited for him as he takes his next steps in another career. We are thrilled that he'll keep his family in Knoxville and still be around the team he loves.
"As a team, we'll continue to move forward relentlessly in pursuit of excellence in the pool and in the classroom. We will be thoughtful in looking for a coach who can help us take our best next steps. I have no doubt we'll have a lot of interest from a number of outstanding coaches who want to be part of a group that aims to be the best high-performance staff in the country."
Over the past nine seasons, Asti has worked primarily with the sprint groups and had significant success. The sprinters contributed four NCAA relay titles and posted four NCAA runner-up finishes. The team also won 21 SEC titles in sprint events during his time. Under Asti's guidance, Kyle DeCoursey became the first Tennessee Vol to crack :19.00 in the 50 free and :42.00 in the 100, and Ryan Coetzee went on to become school record holder in the 100 fly (:45.46).
"I am incredibly grateful to Matt, associate AD Dara Worrell and all of our senior administrators for their support throughout my time here at Tennessee," Asti said. "Being able to coach at my alma mater for the last nine years has been a dream come true. Tennessee is in my blood and it is certainly a bittersweet moment for me and my family. I have been blessed in my time here and have so many incredible memories. I will forever cherish seeing our Vols and Lady Vols succeed at the highest level. Having so many of our athletes compete and succeed in the Olympics, world championships and on the national stage is what drove me through my coaching career.
"Watching these young men and women grow from young kids into adults, seeing them graduate and lead successful lives and watching them pursue really big and exciting goals brings me great joy and will be something I miss dearly. In this next phase of life, I am excited to shift more of my priorities to my family and spend time with my children before they go off to college. It's amazing how quickly they have grown and I don't want to miss these last few years we have together.
"The future for Tennessee swimming & diving is incredibly bright and as a VFL, I am excited to continue to be a part of its journey."
Players Mentioned
