Alma Mater: NYU '99 (BS); NYU '06 (MS)
Season as Head Coach: 8th
Career Record: 60-6 (.909)
NCAA All-Americans: 14
NCAA Qualifiers: 15
ECAC Championships: 4 (2004-07)
Coach of the Year Honors: ECAC (3), UAA (3)
In her eighth season as the head coach of New York University’s women’s swimming & diving program, Lauren Beam continues to produce unparalleled results on the deck.
Since Beam took over the NYU program in 2004-05, the Violets have produced four Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championships and a 60-6 record (.909), including perfect records in 2005-06 (8-0) and 2007-08 (11-0).
In 2010-11, Beam led the Violets to a 5-2 dual-meet record. The squad also placed third at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Invitational.
During her tenure, Beam has produced 14 All-Americans and has seen one of her athletes qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships in each of her first seven years at NYU. Last season, one swimmer and one diver returned to the NCAA Championships. Junior diver Kelly Dietz earned Honorable Mention All-America accolades for the second straight year, placing 11th in the three-meter dive. She missed All-America honors by just one place in the one-meter dive, finishing 17th.
Junior swimmer Molly Ripe was NYU’s other qualifier, returning to the Inca’s for the third straight season. She competed in the 1,650 freestyle (20th place), 500 freestyle (36th place) and 200 freestyle.
Overall, NYU finished in 51st place nationally
At the conclusion of the academic year, Beam received NYU’s prestigious Give-A-Violet Award. The award recognizes employees who perform above and beyond the normal scope of their position and responsibilities and includes criteria such as integrity, respect, mentoring, modeling, and motivating. During Beam’s tenure, the team has also become very involved in community events such as Relay for Life.
Perhaps the highest honor received by Beam following the ’10-11 campaign was NYU’s establishment of the “Lauren Beam Inspiration Award”. She was also the first recipient of the award, which is "presented to an extraordinary student, faculty or staff member who, when confronted with an extraordinary or life-altering situation, perseveres with determination, dedication and courage. This individual demonstrates grace under pressure in the face of adversity and serves as a role model to offer hope and inspiration to others."
In 2009-10, Beam helped lead three athletes, swimmers Ripe and Tatum Gormley, as well Dietz, to the NCAA Championships. Ripe (14th place – 1,650 freestyle) and Dietz (12th place - three-meter dive; 13th place - one-meter dive) earned Honorable Mention All-America accolades.
In 2008-09, Rippe earned All-America accolades in the 1,650 freestyle, placing 11th nationally, while Patricia Beck and Chelsea Pfohl each earned berths in the national championships for the second time. Pfohl was a 2008 All-American after finishing seventh in the 100 butterfly.
At the 2008-09 University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships, the Violets’ second-place showing tied for their best ever. Beck earned UAA Swimmer of the Year honors after capturing the 200 backstroke and the 200 individual medley. Pfohl (100 butterfly, 100 backstroke co-champion), Rippe (1,650 freestyle), Danielle Hildebrandt (200 butterfly), and Regina Romain (100 backstroke co-champion) also won individual titles, helping Beam and her staff collect the UAA Coaching Staff of the Year award for the third time. They also earned the honor in 2005 and 2006.
Beam, who also garnered ECAC Coach of the Meet honors three times (2004, 2005, 2007), has guided the Violets to four ECAC crowns (2004-07).
In her first season with the team, Beam’s tutelage paid immediate dividends, as Erika Norris earned All-America honors in the 200 butterfly and 400 IM, while Elizabeth Parker was a NCAA qualifier, as well. Norris added two more All-America accolades (in the same events) the following season.
Prior to becoming head coach, Beam served as an assistant at NYU from 2001-04. An assistant at the University of San Diego in 2000-01, she has also accumulated coaching experience in Master’s Swimming and U.S.S. Age Group.
A 1999 cum laude graduate of NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development with a Bachelor of Science degree in nutrition and dietetics, Beam was a four-year member of the Violets’ swimming team. She earned Academic All-America honors twice and established various individual and relay records in her specialties of the breaststroke and individual medley. Beam also received the NYU Founder’s Day Award for Outstanding Athletic and Academic Achievement, and was named NYU Freshman Athlete of the Year in 1996.
Also serving as an assistant manager at the Palladium Athletic Facility Natatorium, Beam earned a Master of Science degree in sports business administration in 2006 from NYU’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies.
A native of Albany, OR, Beam and her husband Mike reside in Manhattan.
