Erica Belcher has served as an assistant coach of the New York University men’s and women’s swimming teams since the 2015-16 season. She is involved in all aspects of the program, specializing in distance. Belcher also serves as Assistant Natatorium Manager at NYU’s Palladium Athletic Facility (PAF).
NYU did not compete in 2020-21 due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, a total of 16 men and 16 women earned University Athletic Association (UAA) Winter Sport All-Academic honors.
The 2019-20 season featured 26 team members earning 60 All-America honors, all qualifying for the NCAA Division III National Swimming & Diving Championships but unable to compete when the event was canceled due to Covid-19. Individually, Honore Collins and Sydney Catron led the women’s team with seven event qualifications, while Giorgio DelGrosso led the men with four.
The women’s team, which finished the season ranked #6 in the nation by the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA), tied its best finish ever with a second-place showing at the UAA Championships as NYU received UAA Coaching Staff of the Year honors.
The men’s team, which was ranked #14 in the nation by the CSCAA at the end of the season after having risen as high as #6 during the campaign, finished third at the UAA Championships.
Both teams were victorious at both the NYU Fall Invitational and the Ithaca College Bomber Invitational.
In addition to her seven All-America honors, Collins won five UAA titles in 2020 and was named both UAA Swimmer of the Year and NYU Senior Athlete of the Year. DelGrosso won two UAA backstroke events and was named Co-Swimmer of the Year. Both student-athletes earned CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) Academic All-America At-Large honors and were named CSCAA Scholar All-Americans. Jessica Flynn, who was a member of two winning relays at the UAA’s, was named UAA Co-Rookie of the Year and NYU Female Freshman of the Year.
The 2018-19 season was a historic one for NYU as the women finished a best-ever fifth at the NCAA Championships while Collins won three national titles and was named National Swimmer of the Year by the CSCAA. Collins, who captured the 200- and 400-yard Individual Medleys as well as the 200-yard Butterfly at the NCAA’s, was also a member of three All-America relays. In total, nine women combined to earn 22 All-America honors in 2019.
On the men’s side, sophomore Elan Oumarov earned two of the Violets’ four All-America honors as the squad combined for a 28th-place national finish.
NYU also produced both the men’s (Graham Chatoor) and women’s (Rachel Reistroffer) UAA Rookies of the Year. The men finished with a 4-2 dual-meet record in ’18-19, while the women produced a 3-3 mark.
In 2017-18, the men posted a near-perfect 7-1 record in dual-meets while the women ended the season at 4-4. Both teams had numerous qualifiers for the NCAA Championships as the men posted a sixth-place national finish while the women produced a 10th-place result. In addition, both teams achieved second-place finishes at their respective UAA Championships. Ian Rainey became the first NYU male swimmer in program history to win a NCAA Championships event by capturing both the 200-yard and 400-yard IM.
Rainey was just one of a plethora of student-athletes who made their marks at the NCAA’s as the men’s squad earned 17 All-America honors and 14 Honorable Mentions. Rainey finished with six honors and Chad Moody had five while DelGrosso, Tim Kou and Nianzhong Liu each had four. The women’s team captured seven All-America awards and 11 Honorable Mentions. Collins led the team with four total awards (two All-America, two Honorable Mentions), while Grace Wakabayashi earned three honors.
The 2016-17 season was historic for both teams. The women posted a perfect 8-0 dual-meet record and ended the season having won 26 consecutive dual meets, while the men went 4-3. The men finished a best-ever fifth at the NCAA Championships while the women took eighth. In addition, the women placed second and the men took third at the UAA Championships. Collins became NYU’s first-ever swimming & diving National Champion by winning the 200-yard IM at the NCAA’s. Her victory was one of 46 Violet All-America accolades (26 men, 20 women). Kou led NYU with five All-America honors, while Elise Gibbs, Noel Leung and Collins led the women’s team with three apiece. For their achievements, Collins and classmate Carlos Colmenares were named NYU Female and Male Freshman Athlete of the Year, respectively.
Belcher’s first season in 2015-16 was also outstanding for both the men’s and women’s programs. The women went a perfect 8-0 in dual meets and recorded a then-best-ever eighth-place finish at the NCAA Championships, while the men went 8-1 and earned a then-best-ever ninth-place finish. The women earned a collective 25 All-American honors, while the men produced 22. The combined 47 All-American honors were a then-program record for one season. Gibbs and Isabelle Kitze led the way for the women, as each swimmer captured five All-American honors. Kou and Austin Palmer led the men with four each.
Prior to arriving at NYU, Belcher served as an assistant coach for Cardinal Aquatics in Louisville, KY, where she worked with swimmers ages 8-18.
Belcher graduated from the University of Louisville in 2015 with a Bachelor of Science degree in exercise science. She competed her freshman year for the Auburn University Tigers swimming team, before spending her final three collegiate years with the Cardinals.
In 2015, Belcher was a finalist at the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championships. She was named to the Big East and American Athletic Conference (AAC) All-Conference Championship teams in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Additionally, she was a recipient of the 2015 Louisville Swimming and Diving Cardinal Spirit Award and was a member of the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll from 2012-14.
A native of Reading, MA, Belcher resides in Manhattan.
