Chris Colwill - Women's Swimming & Diving Coach - University of Georgia Athletics

Chris Colwill

Title:
Diving Head Coach
Phone:
706-542-7946
Email:
colwill@sports.uga.edu

Chris Colwill, one of the most accomplished divers in NCAA and United States history, enters his eighth season as diving head coach, having returned to his alma mater to head the program in 2018.

Colwill replaced his longtime college and personal coach, Dan Laak, who was named USA Diving’s High Performance Director.

In the 2024-25 season, the Georgia diving team continued its upward trajectory, qualifying two men’s divers for the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2006. Sophomore Matthew Bray finished 26^th on 3-meter at NCAAs, following a third-place finish on the springboard at NCAA Zones. Junior Renato Calderaro placed 32^nd on 1-meter at NCAAs and sixth on 3-meter at Zones, while also receiving SEC Men’s Newcomer Diver of the Year honors. The pair also reached the 3-meter championship final at SECs, becoming the first duo to do since 2006. Senior Rhett Hopkins reached the 1-meter finals at Zones, while also scoring on both springboards at SECs and setting a new personal-best score on platform. Freshman Bo Bridges also qualified for Zones on both springboards, while senior Allen Mann placed third on platform at the midseason UGA Diving Invitational. For the women’s diving team, junior Hannah Stumpf scored on 1-meter and platform at SECs, with sophomore Michelle Cummo and freshman Nyla Thompson both qualifying for Zones.

In 2023-24, the Georgia diving team turned in its strongest season in a decade, highlighted by senior Meghan Wenzel earning Second Team All-America honors on 1-meter and Mann qualifying for the NCAA Championships. Wenzel finished fourth on 1-meter at SECs, the best finish for a Georgia diver since 2019, as she joined sophomore Hannah Stumpf to score 102 points, the program’s most since 2014. Along with Mann’s NCAA berth, junior Nolan Lewis reached the SEC 3-meter championship final and placed sixth overall. Fellow junior Hopkins and freshman Bray reached the 1-meter consolation final, helping the men score 80 points. During the season, all four male divers posted season-best scores in each of their events, while all seven divers competed at the NCAA Zone B Championships in Athens. Wenzel concluded her career at the U.S. Olympic Trials, finishing 13th in the platform semifinals and nearly reaching the final.

In the 2022-23 season, Wenzel qualified for her second-consecutive NCAA Championships, finishing 38th on 1-meter and 47th on platform. At the SEC Championships, Wenzel finished sixth in both events. Stumpf reached finals on both springboards at Zone B Championships and scored on 1-meter at SECs. On the men’s side, Lewis finished ninth on platform at SECs, while teammates Kevin Li, Hopkins, and Mann all qualified for Zones.

In 2021-22, Wenzel reached the NCAA Championships and finished 22nd on 1-meter, following finals appearances on 1-meter and platform at the SEC Championships. Senior Ellie Crump posted career-best finishes on 1-meter at SECs and the Zone B Championships, while Lewis reached two finals at Zones.

During Colwill’s second campaign, junior Zach Allen became the first male diver in three years to qualify for the NCAA Championships as he finished third on the 1-meter at the Zone B Championships and earned an All-America citation. Allen was joined at Zones by McKensi Austin, Ellie Crump, Josh Getty, Kelliann Howell, Freida Lim, and Raquel Mason with Austin and Lim reaching the Zone final in the platform event. At the SEC Championships, Austin reached two finals, placing fifth on the platform and seventh on the 3-meter.

In his first season as head coach, Colwill guided four divers (Austin, Getty, Howell, Lim) to Zones, with Lim and Austin advancing to the NCAA Championships. Lim placed 15th in the platform event at the University of Texas, earning a Honorable Mention All-America citation.

In 2018, Colwill was inducted into the UGA Circle of Honor, a distinction reserved for extraordinary student-athletes and coaches who bring honor to the university and themselves by their performance and conduct.

During Colwill’s Bulldog tenure, the Brandon, Florida native won three NCAA individual diving titles and totaled the maximum of 12 All-American honors. He took the 1- and 3- meter springboard crowns in 2006 and added another 1-meter title in 2008, becoming the first male student-athlete in Georgia history to win three individual NCAA championships.

Colwill also headlined SEC diving during his career, accumulating five individual conference titles: 1-meter in 2005 and 2006, 3-meter in 2005 and 2006 and platform in 2006. His pair of titles in 2005 marked the first double-championship winner for Georgia since 1967. He garnered SEC Diver of the Year status in 2005, 2006, and 2008, and he was the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2004.

Colwill’s prestige on the diving board extended to the Olympic arena. He represented the United States at the 2008 Beijing Games and in the 2012 Games in London. In addition to taking first on the 3-meter at the 2012 Olympic Trials, Colwill placed fourth in synchronized 3-meter in 2008 with partner Jevon Tarantino.

On the world stage, he accumulated 10 national championships, a collection that began as a 10-year old in 1994 at U.S. Junior Nationals. He also earned the gold medal at the 2007 Italian Grand Prix, the silver at the 2009 FINA World Series, and the bronze in three different 2007 FINA Grand Prix meets on 3-meter.

Colwill graduated from Georgia in 2008 with a degree in Speech Communication. He and his wife, Brittany, welcomed a daughter, Aubrey, in September 2021, and a son, Bentley, in September 2024.