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Kami Gardner Named Old Dominion Athletic Conference Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year Generals’ mentor garners top conference honor for the ninth time in 16 seasons.

SYD_9602_1-600x400 Kami Gardner Named Old Dominion Athletic Conference Women’s Swimming Coach of the YearKami Gardner, director of aquatics and head men’s and women’s swimming coach

Kami Gardner, director of aquatics and head coach of men’s and women’s swimming at Washington and Lee University, was selected as the 2023 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year in voting conducted by the league’s coaches.

Gardner led the W&L women’s program to a 6-1 overall record this winter, claiming the program’s second straight ODAC title after winning 11 of the 18 events at the championship meet. The 24th-ranked Generals have now won 32 conference championships in the last 36 years.

Gardner also led the men’s program to its eighth ODAC championship in the last nine years, finishing with a 6-1 record as well.

W&L now awaits word from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) on whether any men’s or women’s swimmers will qualify for the Division III National Championship, which will be held March 15-18 in Greensboro, North Carolina.

All told, Gardner has posted a 118-35 (.771) overall record in charge of the women’s team and a 73-16 (.820) overall mark with the men’s team.  She’s claimed 11 total ODAC Coach of the Year citations in her 16 years at W&L, nine with the women and two with the men.

Gardner has been a member of the W&L faculty since 2007. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Kenyon College and a master’s degree in sports management from Western Illinois University.