Augsburg Hires Former Gopher Standout

Colleen Morgan, a former collegiate swimmer at the University of Minnesota, has been named the new women’s swimming and diving head coach at Augsburg College, the college has announced.

Morgan will replace Tricia Wallace, who resigned to pursue other opportunities following the 2008-09 campaign. Wallace served for two seasons as the Auggies’ head coach.

Most recently, Morgan served as an assistant boys’ and girls’ swimming and diving coach at Roseville (Minn.) High School. She also spent two seasons as an assistant track and field coach at Roseville, coaching the pole vaulters. Previously, she served as an age group coach for the Edina Country Club and Richfield Swim Club, and was a volunteer coach at the University of Minnesota in 2005.

While coaching in the 2008-09 season at Roseville, all of the members of the Raiders’ boys’ and girls’ teams achieved lifetime-best times, with the girls’ squad placing third in its sectional meet. While coaching track and field, two of her boys’ pole vaulters qualified for the state tournament, each placing at the top 12, in 2009.

A native at Elk River, Minn., Morgan competed her first collegiate swimming season at Nevada-Reno, before transferring for her final three seasons (2002-05) at Minnesota. A team captain her senior season, she earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2004-05. In her sophomore season at Minnesota (2002-03), she placed eighth at the Big Ten championships in the 100-yard butterfly (55.16 seconds), and placed 20th in the event in the event at the 2004 Big Ten meet. She also was a part of relay squads that finished sixth twice in Big Ten competition.

In Senior National competition in 2003, she competed in four individual and two relay events. In her high school career, she earned all-state honors in 1998-99 and was named Section Swimmer of the Year in 1997-98.

Morgan earned her bachelor’s degree in art in 2005, and her master’s degree in art education in 2007, both from Minnesota. She has served as an elementary school art teacher in Roseville for three years.

Morgan is the fourth head coach in the history of Augsburg’s women’s swimming program, which will enter its seventh season of varsity competition in 2009-10. Charlie King served as head coach from 2003-05, while Mike Goldman served as head coach from 2005-07 and Wallace was head coach from 2007-09.