Dan Laak-2017

Dan Laak has been the Head Diving Coach at the University of Georgia for over 30 years. As a student, Laak was a diver at University of Wisconsin – La Crosse where he earned multiple All-American and All-American Honorable Mentions.

Laak has had a successful coaching career leading divers to NCAA titles, SEC titles, SEC Diver of the Year honors, and National Diver of the Year honors. In 2006, 2008, and 2014, Laak was chosen as National Coach of the Year. He also earned four SEC Coach of the Year honors between 2001 and 2014. Most recently, Laak served on the coaching staff for the 2016 Brazil Olympic Team. Previously, he had been a member of the USA Olympic coaching staff during the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games.

In addition to coaching at the national level, he has also been a judge for international diving competitions. From 1997-2000, Laak served as the Chairman for the NCAA Diving Rules Committee.

Career Highlights

• 3x National Coach of the Year
• 4x SEC Coach of the Year
• 2x USA Olympic Diving Team Coach
• Brazil Olympic Diving Team Coach
• Coached divers to 5 NCAA titles
• Coached divers to 12 SEC titles

Paige Wilson Penze-2017

Paige Wilson Penze is an Athens, GA native who grew up swimming for Athens Bulldog Swim Club before going on to swim for the University of Georgia in the early 1990’s. At the age of 17, Penze became the first ever Olympic Trials qualifier for Athens Bulldog Swim Club. In high school, she set state records in the 100 Backstroke three years in a row and in the 100 butterfly two years in a row.

At UGA, Penze earned SEC Championship titles in the 100 butterfly in 1991 and 1992, and the 200 backstroke in 1992. Penze earned multiple All-American honors and still holds two Top 10 times at UGA, in the 200 backstroke and 200 butterfly. She was the 1991 National Champion in the 200m backstroke and 100m butterfly. Penze went on to earn two more National Championship titles over the next two years.

Penze became a Women’s NCAA Post-Graduate Scholar, an award achieved by only 30 female athletes, from any sport, across the entire NCAA each year, for her outstanding academic performance.

Career Highlights

• 1993 Pan-Pacific Team
• 1993 World University Games Team
• NCAA Post-Graduate Scholar
• 8x All-American
• 13x All-American Honorable Mentions

Elizabeth Hill Newman-2017

Elizabeth Hill Newman is an Atlanta-native who swam for Dynamo Swim Club and later the University of Georgia, in the mid-2000s. Newman earned a gold medal at the 2003 Pan-American Games in the 400 freestyle while still in high school, breaking the record from 1978. While at UGA, Newman was a co-captain for the Lady Bulldogs as an upperclassman. She was a member of the 2005 National Championship team and the 2006 SEC Championship team. Newman earned NCAA All-American honors and was an American Record holder.

Career Highlights

• 2005 World University Games gold medalist
• 2003 Pan-American Team 2x gold medalist
• 2002 Pan-Pacific Team gold medalist
• 7x All-American

Sabir Muhammad-2017

Sabir Muhammad was the first African-American to medal in swimming at an international competition and is one of the most decorated African-American swimmers. At the 2000 Short Course World Championships in Athens, Greece, Sabir won silver and bronze in the 4x100m freestyle relay and the 50m butterfly, respectively. In 2004, Muhammad qualified and competed at the US Olympic Trials in Long Beach, CA. He finished fourth in the 50m free and eighth in the 100m free. In November 2009, Sabir broke the American Record in the 50m short course freestyle at the FINA World Cup in Berlin. Sabir has broken a total of 10 American Records in his career, is a two-time Short Course World Championship medalist, a four-time US Open champion, a five-time World Cup Swimming champion and a two-time runner-up at US Nationals.

An Atlanta-native, Sabir went on to swim for Stanford University on a full scholarship where he was the first African-American to compete for the varsity men’s team. Sabir finished his collegiate career with seven Pac-10 championship titles, 25 All-American honors and three NCAA, US Open and American Records. Muhammad graduated from Stanford as an Academic All-American with a degree in International Relations.

In addition to his work in the pool, Muhammad holds an MBA from Goizueta Business School at Emory University and is a seasoned professional having worked in industries such as investment management, sports marketing, biotech, technology and venture capital. He currently works in the Marketing Futures group at Coca-Cola and coaches for a local swimming team.

Career Highlights

• 3x NCAA Record Holder
• 3x US Open Record Holder
• 3x American Records Holder
• 2x Short Course World Championship medalist
• 7x Pac 10 Champion
• 25x All-American

Fred R Lanoue-2017

Frederick “Fred” R. Lanoue was the Head Swimming Coach at Georgia Tech for 27 years. Prior to coaching, Lanoue attended Springfield College in Massachusetts where he was a diver. He completed his bachelor’s degree in 1932 and his master’s degree in 1934. While at Springfield, he was the New England Diving Champion and the mechanics of diving became the topic of his master’s thesis.

Lanoue became the Head Coach at Georgia Tech in 1938. While serving as Head Coach at Tech, he coached the Yellow Jackets to SEC Men’s Championships in 1942, 1948, 1949, and 1950. Since there were no SEC Swimming Championships between 1943 and 1947 because of WWII, this could be considered a 4-peat. Lanoue’s 1942 and 1947 teams were captained by Georgia Aquatics Hall of Fame member and Lanoue’s successor at Georgia Tech, Herb McAuley.

In addition to coaching, Lanoue is best known for inventing and naming the aquatic survival technique called “drownproofing”. Drownproofing classes became a requirement for all Georgia Tech freshmen students beginning in 1940. The course was required for graduation until the late 1980’s. Lanoue was said to have taught drownproofing to over 20,000 students. The technique was also adopted by the Peace Corps and the US Navy Seals, who are still using it today.

Lanoue has also been inducted into the Georgia Tech Athletic Hall of Fame, the Springfield College Athletic Hall of Fame, and the Helms Foundation Hall of Fame.

Fred Lanoue passed away in 1965.

Career Highlights

• Led Yellow Jackets to four SEC Men’s Championships
• Developed of Drownproofing