Swimming & Diving

While Bill Farley is entering his sixth season as the head coach of the swimming team at Fairfield University, he has quickly becoming the best in program history.

Farley tied the career wins record on the women's side with 35 victories. On the men's side, he only needs two victories to become the winningest coach in Fairfield history. Likewise, in five season seasons, 35-of-37 women's school-records and 27-of-37 men's school-records have fallen.

Farley also recruited and developed Brittany Hunter, one of the most highly decorated female swimmers in program history. Hunter graduated in 2007 as a part of 20 school records.

In 2006, Fairfield had its first female swimmer capture Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championship as Jennifer Masi completed the task in the 50-yard freestyle. Masi posted a time of 24.24 to not only shatter the school record but eclipse the MAAC record as well. Additionally, Farley guided the men's team to a fifth-place finish at the 2006 MAAC Championships, it highest finish since the 1994-95 season. On the women's side, the Stags placed fourth for the second-straight year.

Farley came to Fairfield with a wealth of international and Olympic experience, serving as head coach of Punahou Aquatics in Honolulu, Hawaii, from 1999-2002. 

A graduate of the University of Michigan, Farley made a name for himself as one of the Wolverine's most decorated swimmers. A ten-time NCAA All-American, Farley competed on the 1964 U.S. Olympic team in Japan, and was also on the U.S. National teams that competed in both Japan and Brazil in 1963. Academically, Farley received an undergraduate degree in education at Michigan in 1967, then moved over to Eastern Michigan where he earned a master's degree, also in education, in 1968.

Farley's coaching experience dates back to the 1971 season where he began his career as the head coach of the men's swim team at Princeton University. He coached the Tigers to six-straight Eastern Seaboard Titles, as well as five Ivy League Titles. In 1972, he led the team to their first undefeated season since 1924, and in 1973 was recognized as the NCAA District II coach of the Year. He had an overall record of 275-79, with a .776 winning percentage in his nine years as head coach. He also coached eight NCAA finalists, one NCAA Champion, and one Pan American Champion.

While at Princeton, Farley also started the women's program, serving as the team's first head coach. It didn't take him long to establish a winning tradition with his novice swimmers, as within three years he led his squad to the Eastern Women's Championship in 1974, a task he would repeat in 1975. During this time he had seven All-American's, two National Champions, and one Olympic Team Alternate.

In 1979, Farley returned to his alma mater, the University of Michigan, where he served as head coach for two years. During that time the Wolverines had two second-place Big Ten finishes. He had an overall record of 23-5 and placed eight swimmers on the NCAA All-American Team.

Farley's coaching experience also includes serving as the Aquatics and Gymnastics Director in the International School of Manila, in the Philippines. He received great international experience as he administered the aquatics and gymnastics programs for over 1800 students as well as supervised ten teachers and coaches. From 1984 to 1989, he acted as president of the Philippine International Association.

Since 1989, Farley has also taken on many business ventures both domestically and internationally. From 1989 to 1994 he was the Recreation Director of the Tokyo American Club in Japan where he oversaw the daily operation of all facets of the recreation department. In 1994, he moved to Hawaii and continued to pursue his business career. He was the owner and operator of Old Hanalei Coffee Company as well as Shave Ice Paradise.

Farley and his wife Andrea reside in Fairfield, Conn.

Dan Vener begins his 18th season with the Stags, having been a member of the swimming and diving staff since the 1990-91 season. His instruction is primarily in the area of diving and he has consistenly turned out strong divers.

In 2007, Vener coached Taylor Stecko to a seventh-place finish in the 1-meter and an eighth place in the 3-meter at the ECAC Championships. It was the best performance by a male diver at the event in program history.

In his second season with the Stags he was named the MAAC Diving Coach of the Year.

He was a four-year member of the Bucknell University swimming and diving team. In his freshman season, Vener was a finalist in the one and three-meter diving events as he helped lead the Bison to the East Coast Conference championship in 1987.

A native of Westport, Conn., he attended Staples High School where he was a diver on the varsity team for four years. Vener graduated from Bucknell in 1990 with a degree in business administration and received his MBA from Fairfield in 2005.

Shannon Hartney joins the Stags for her second season as an assistant coach.

A native of Redding, Conn., Hartney was a four-year letterwinner at Denison University. During her time with the Big Red, the women's swimming and diving team did not finish lower than sixth at the NCAA Division III National Championships. Hartney was bestowed several honors as an undergraduate including the Alumni Award for Leadership and Talent, which she received all four years.

Hartney's coaching experience extends to the youth level as she spent three seasons as the head coach for the Wilton Family YMCA Summer Swim Team while also serving as an assistant age group coach. Most recently, Hartney has been working as the aquatics director of the Rolling Hills Country Club.

A 2006 graduate of Denison with a degree in sociology and anthropology, Hartney is currently pursuing her Master's degree in elementary education at Fairfield.

Travis Brennion joins the men's and women's swimming coaching staff for his first season as a volunteer assistant.

Brennion is an experienced swimmer who enjoyed a successful career at Kenyon College in Ohio. A 13-time All-American, Brennion helped his team to four consecutive NCAA Division III National Championships. As a senior team captain, Brennion captured the national title in the 400 yard individual medley with a time of 3:55.05.

He capped off his career by receiving numerous accolades in 2006. He was named the North Coast Atlantic Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the Kenyon College Student-Athlete of the Year while receiving the Stephen E. Bennett Memorial Award and an NCAA postgraduate Scholarship. He was also selected to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America Second Team.

A native of Chino Valley, Ariz., Brennion graduated from Kenyon in 2006 with a degree in honors economics. He is currently employed by Marketing Consulting Associates in Westport, Conn.

Kim Maher-LoPiano enters her second season as a volunteer assistant coach for the Fairfield swim team. 

LoPiano is a familar face at the RecPlex as she was a member of the Stags from 2001 until 2004. She also played tennis for Fairfield during the 2000 season.

In addition to her experience as a collegiate swimmer, LoPiano spent three seasons as an assistant coach for the Fairfield YMCA swim team.

LoPiano graduated from Fairfield in 2004 with a degree in sociology and anthropology. She is currently employed at Survey Sampling International as an account executive.