The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Women's Swimming and Diving
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Has led Texas to NCAA top-10 finishes in 10 of her 12 seasons* with the Longhorns (2nd in 2022-24, 3rd in 2021, 5th in 2017 and 2019, 6th in 2018, 7th in 2015 and 9th in 2013 & 2014)
- Has led the Longhorns to 12-straight Big 12 team titles (2013-2024)
- Molded Madisyn Cox into a bronze medalist (200m IM) at the 2017 FINA World Championships and Laura Sogar into a NCAA champion (200-yard breaststroke) in 2013
- Head Coach for Team USA Women at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships, 2017 World University Games and 2013 Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool
- Assistant Coach for Team USA at the 2013 World University Games and 2022 FINA World Championships
- 10time Big 12 Conference Women's Swimming Coach of the Year (2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
*2020 Championships were canceled due to COVID-19 Pandemic.
Carol Capitani completed her 12th season as the head coach of the Texas Women’s Swimming and Diving program in 2024, guiding the Longhorns to a third consecutive national runner-up finish at the NCAA Championships. The three consecutive runner-up results marked the best three-year stretch for the Longhorns since 1990-92. Capitani has served as the head coach for the U.S. Women’s National Team three times, most recently at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships, as well as an assistant with USA Swimming, most recently during the 2022 FINA World Championships. She became the 10th head coach in the history of the Longhorns program in June 2012.
During her 12 seasons at Texas, she has led the Longhorns to 10 top-10 finishes, including a four top-three finishes the last four seasons and seven top-five results in the last eight national meets held. Tabbed as one of the 100 Greatest College Coaches by the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America’s (CSCAA) during the organizations Centennial Celebration in 2021. Capitani has guided UT to 12 consecutive Big 12 Conference Championships and earned conference coach of the year honors 10 times. All told, 56 Longhorns have earned All-America accolades during Capitani’s tenure at Texas and three student athletes have won NCAA Championships – Laura Sogar (2013, 200-yard breaststroke), Lydia Jacoby (2023, 100-yard breaststroke) and Emma Sticklen (2023-24, 200-yard butterfly).
On the national and international stage, she has trained several of Team USA’s top performers. At the 2023 World Aquatics Championships, the United States women's and men's teams combined to win 38 medals (7g, 20s, 11b) – 13 more than any other competing federation – with Kate Douglass (200m IM) and Katie Ledecky (800m freestyle, 1500m freestyle) winng World titles in their respective events. In the relays, the 4x100 medley relay final of Regan Smith, Lilly King, Gretchen Walsh and Douglass also won gold, combining for a time of 3:52.08, with prelim swimmers Katharine Berkoff, Jacoby, Torri Huske and Abbey Weitzeil also earn medals. At the 2022 FINA World Championships, Leah Smith won gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay and collected bronze in the 400m freestyle. Smith followed that with a gold-medal performance in the 200m IM at the United States National Championships, while winning silver in the 400m IM. In 2017, Capitani coached Madisyn Cox to a bronze medal in the 200m IM at the FINA World Championships.
Capitani led Team USA’s women’s team during the 2017 World University Games after previously serving as the women’s head coach at the 2013 Duel in the Pool. She also worked as an assistant coach for the United States at the 2011 and 2013 World University Games, and was an assistant for the Team USA women at the 2016 FINA World Championships – 25m. Capitani was the Singapore head coach for the 2009 Southeast Asian Games in Laos and the 2009 Asian Youth Games in Singapore. She also served as an assistant coach for the U.S. National Team at the 2007 Japan International Grand Prix in Tokyo and the 2005 World University Games in Turkey.
In 2023-24 the Longhorns earned a third-straight runner-up finish at the NCAA Championships, scoring 441 points at the meet, the most for the program since 1992. Emma Sticklen won a second consecutive title in the 200 fly, while the Longhorns established program records in the 100 fly (Sticklen), 200 free relay and 400 medley relay at the national meet. The Longhorns won the Big 12 Conference title for the 12th consecutive year, winning all 18 swimming events at the meet, while Kelly Pash was named the Big 12 Swimmer of the Year and Campbell Stoll was selected the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.
The Longhorns' 2022-23 campaign saw Texas build on the momentum of the prior to seasons, placing second at the 2023 National Championships with the Longhorns scoring 414.5 points, the most for the program since 1994. It marked the second consecutive runner-up finish for Texas and third-straight top-three results – the best three-year run for UT since 1993-95. Jacoby and Sticklen captured national crowns and Texas was one of two programs to place in the top-eight of all five relay races. The Horns featured two individual event national champions for the first time since 2001 and had 11 student-athletes earn All-American accolades. At the conference level, Capitani earned Big 12 Coach of the Year honors after guiding Texas to an 11th consecutive conference crown with Sticklen earning Big 12 Swimmer of the Year honors and Jacoby tabbed the conference newcomer of the year.
Texas’ 2021-22 season was an historic one, as Capitani guided the Longhorns to a runner-up finish at the 2022 NCAA Championships, the program’s best finish since 1994. It marked the third-straight championship meet in which Texas finished in the top five and fifth consecutive top-10 finish (no championship was held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Ten swimmers earner All-American or honorable mention All-American honors at the 2022 NCAA Championships and Texas swept all 21 events at the Big 12 Championships to win a 10th consecutive conference crown. Capitani earned Big 12 Coach of the Year honors, while Kelly Pash was named the Big 12 Swimmer of the Year and Erica Sullivan garnered conference Newcomer of the Year accolades.
The 2020-21 season saw Capitani lead Texas to a third-place finish at the 2021 NCAA Championships, the first top-three finish for the Longhorns since 2001. Nine UT swimmers earned All-American honors at the NCAA Championships and Texas won 17 of 18 swimming events to lock up a ninth consecutive conference crown. Evie Pfeifer brought home Big 12 Swimmer of the Year honors and Kelly Pash was named the Newcomer of the Year, while Capitani was named the conference's Coach of the Year for the fifth-straight year.
In the 2019-20 season, Capitani guided the Longhorns to eighth-straight Big 12 title before the season was cut short by the COVID-19 Pandemic. With adjusted criteria due to canceled NCAA Championships, six Longhorns brought home 26 CSCAA All-America honors. She saw senior Claire Adams win the Big 12 Swimmer of the Year title for the third-straight season, and freshman Kelly Pash was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year.
In 2018-19, Capitani led the Longhorns to their seventh-straight Big 12 title, and a fifth-place finish at the 2019 NCAA Championships. Eleven Longhorn swimmers earned All-American honors at the 2019 NCAA Championships and UT won 19 events at the Big 12 Championships.
Capitani led the 2017-18 Longhorns to a sixth-place finish at the 2018 NCAA Championships in Columbus, Ohio. Coupled with UT's fifth-place national finish in 2017, Texas produced its best back-to-back national finishes since the 2001 & 2002 seasons. Texas swept the Big 12 Championships for a third straight year and won its sixth straight league crown.
The Longhorns finished the 2017-18 dual-meet season at 9-0, which marked their first unblemished regular season since 1988 and their third such 9-0 mark in program history. Under Capitani's tutelage, Joanna Evans shattered UT's 32-year-old school record in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a winning mark of 15:51.74 at the Texas Invitational.
Capitani built the Longhorns into a top-five finisher at the NCAA Championships in 2017, her fifth season on the Forty Acres. Under Capitani, Texas placed fifth at the 2017 NCAA Championships, which marked the Horns' top finish at the national meet in eight years (2009). Notably, Texas finished just one-half of a point shy of fourth place at the NCAA Championships.
Under Capitani in the 2016-17 season, Joanna Evans rewrote a 30-year-old school record in the 500 freestyle, and she produced the fastest 1,650 freestyle swim by a Longhorn in over 30 years. Rebecca Millard shattered an eight-year-old school mark in the 50 freestyle. Tasija Karosas rewrote both of her school and Big 12 records in the 100 and 200 backstroke events, and Madisyn Cox followed suit in the 200 IM while toppling the eight-year-old school mark in the 400 IM, as well. Additionally, Texas rewrote its school and Big 12 marks in three of five relays (800 freestyle and 200 & 400 medley relays).
Capitani's second season on the Forty Acres ended with a ninth-place finish at the 2014 NCAA Championships. Nine Longhorns swimmers earned All-America honors, and Big 12 Conference swimming coaches selected Lily Moldenhauer as the league's Women's Swimmer of the Year.
Texas broke school and Big 12 records in the 200-medley relay and the 100 backstroke under Capitani's guidance in year two. Capitani also led the Horns to their 12th Big 12 Conference title in her second year on campus.
Capitani's first season with the Longhorns culminated with a ninth-place finish at the 2013 NCAA Championships and Texas' first NCAA individual swimming title in 12 years. UT tallied 11 All-America swimming honors at the NCAA Championships.
Capitani molded Laura Sogar into a NCAA champion in the 200-yard breaststroke, as Sogar became UT's first NCAA swim titlist since Colleen Lanné in 2001. Under Capitani's tutelage, Sogar went on to win a silver medal in the 200m breaststroke and bronze medals in the 100m breaststroke and 400m medley relay at the 2013 World University Games, where Capitani served Team USA as an assistant coach.
The Big 12 Conference selected Capitani as the Big 12 Championships' Women's Swimming Coach of the Meet after her Longhorns collected their 11th Big 12 Conference title. Texas totaled 1,051 points at the 2013 Big 12 Championships and outdistanced its nearest competitor by nearly 500 points.
Capitani spent 14 years at Georgia during two different stints. She was an assistant coach for 12 years (1996-2008) before returning to Athens in the summer of 2010 and serving as associate head coach for the last two seasons. Capitani worked as the assistant head coach for the Singapore National Team from 2009-10.
While a member of the Georgia staff, Capitani was a part of four NCAA team titles (1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005) and seven NCAA second-place finishes (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011 and 2012) with the Lady Bulldogs. She was also a part of six top-10 NCAA finishes with the men's team and helped the Bulldogs garner five Southeastern Conference titles.
Prior to her time at Georgia, Capitani had a three-year stint from 1993-96 as associate coach for the men's and women's programs at Villanova University. She helped lead the Lady Wildcats to three consecutive Big East Championship team titles, and several men and women at Villanova scored at the NCAA Championships in each of those three seasons.
After spending her youth in both Utah and Southern California, Capitani spent her collegiate swimming career at the University of California Berkeley, where she accumulated eight All-America honors in the individual medley and breaststroke events. She graduated from the University of California in 1991 with a B.A. in English and completed her master's degree in English at Villanova University in 1999.
She and her husband, Kevin, have two daughters, Carmen Jane (born Nov. 1, 2002) and Tatum Louise (born Dec. 16, 2004).
