Samantha Benedict Resigns As Wittenberg’s Men’s And Women’s Swimming And Diving Head Coach

SPRINGFIELD, OH – Samantha Williams Benedict, head coach of Wittenberg Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving since 2021, has resigned her position.

Wittenberg University Vice President and Director of Athletics and Recreation Brian Agler said that a nationwide search for a replacement would begin immediately. Athletics Business Manager Brad Beals will serve as the primary point of contact for the Tiger men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams until new leadership is selected.

"Samantha brought back energy to our program and rebuilt a strong foundation, topping it off with an undefeated season in dual meets by our women’s team during the 24-25 season,” Agler said. “We greatly appreciate her efforts, and we are already looking ahead to completing a search for our next leader for the swimming and diving program.”

During her tenure as the Tigers' head coach, Benedict guided Wittenberg to improved finishes in the extremely competitive North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), highlighted by sixth place for the women in the 2024 and 2025 league championships. Student-athletes on both the men's and women's teams earned academic awards under Benedict's direction, and several women's swimmers posted times that rank among the best in program history.

Benedict came to Wittenberg after two seasons as the head boys’ and girls’ swimming coach at Mount Vernon High School in Mount Vernon, Ohio, where she guided every swimmer to at least one personal best time. She also spent the 2019-20 season as a volunteer assistant coach at her alma mater, Kenyon College, helping the team’s swimmers achieve multiple record-breaking performances before the NCAA Division III Championship meet was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Benedict earned her bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Kenyon in 2016, at which time she already had extensive experience in a wide range of positions related to swimming and diving and athletics administration. Benedict's first college coaching experience came as a volunteer assistant at Kenyon while still an undergraduate at the college. After graduating, her first professional stop came at Wilmington College, where she was the assistant to the director of athletics from 2016-18, followed by one season at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, where she served as the assistant men’s and women’s swimming and diving coach for the 2018-19 season.

Benedict took over Tiger teams that had both finished ninth in the 2020 NCAC Championships, followed by a 2020-21 season that included a small number of dual meet competitions due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.