A standout student-athlete in the pool at Texas A&M University, Allyson Sweeney was named the head coach of the Georgia Southern women’s swimming & diving program in September of 2022. Sweeney came to Statesboro after serving as an assistant coach on the University of North Carolina swimming & diving staff for the previous three seasons.
In her first season, which began as the Eagles began their season, featured a strong finish despite the lack of preseason training together. Over the course of four days at the CCSA Championships, two school records were set, 29 season bests were posted, eight top-five marks were made and 26 personal bests were recorded.
While at UNC, Sweeney assisted in the training development of all student-athletes, specializing in the Tar Heel distance groups. During her time at Carolina, she guided her student-athletes to qualify for the NCAA Championships and earn All-America status, while also landing athletes on the All-ACC and All-Academic ACC teams. This was highlighted during the 2020-21 season, where both the men & women Tar Heels achieved their highest placed finishes in several seasons at the NCAA Championships, finishing 24th and 12th, respectively.
Before her tenure at Chapel Hill, Sweeney helped lead the Auburn women to a 12th-place finish at the 2019 NCAA Championships as a volunteer assistant, its best showing in seven years. The Tigers had 11 individuals earn All-America honors, and their point total of 146 was their best since the 2012 team placed seventh with 249 points. During her time at Auburn, Sweeney assisted in the training development of the sprint groups.
Sweeney spent the 2017-18 season as an assistant at Florida Southern, where the men’s team placed fourth at nationals and the women took 18th. She also spent time as the head coach of Lakeland Area Swimming, working with the top senior and high school level athletes in the area.
Prior to her move to Florida, Sweeney served as the head age group coach for Swim Atlanta – Midway in Cumming, Georgia. During her two years with Swim Atlanta, she oversaw the development of the location’s age group swimming and strength and conditioning training programs, producing several 14U Georgia state champions and Georgia zone team qualifiers.
Sweeney swam at Texas A&M University for four years and was a member of two Big 12 championship teams. A four-time Texas A&M Scholar-Athlete, three-time Big 12 Scholar-Athlete and four-time CSCAA Scholar All-American, she graduated with a degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in exercise physiology in 2013. She returned to A&M and served as a volunteer assistant and strength & conditioning intern while pursuing a master’s in kinesiology with an emphasis in sports physiology in May 2015.
The oldest of seven children, Sweeney returns to the state of Georgia with her dog, Charlie.
