Abby Steketee Resigns as Northwestern’s Head Women’s Coach

Northwestern head women’s swimming and diving coach Abby Steketee has resigned, the school announced on Wednesday morning. She spent 3 seasons as the team’s coach after coming from Nevada, where she was the 2015 Mountain West Coach of the Year.

“We’re extremely thankful to Abby and Steve for their contributions to the program over the last three years,” said Vice President for Athletics & Recreation Jim Phillips. “Our Northwestern family wishes them nothing but the best moving forward.”

No reason was given for the resignation.

The Wildcats’ best year under Sketekee was the 2016-2017 season, where Sketekee recruited 2016 Olympian Valerie Gruest, who broke school records as a freshman in the 500, 1000, and 1650 yard freestyles. That year, the Wildcats women broke 10 school records, and diver Olivia Rosendahl won the NCAA Championship in platform diving – the school’s first ever women’s swimming & diving title. Rosendahl repeated in that event in 2018.

Northwestern finished 7th out of 13 teams at the 2018 Big Ten Championship with 528 points; they took the same position and almost exactly the same number of points (534) in 2017, and were 8th with 467 points in 2016. Prior to Steketee’s arrival, the team hadn’t finished higher than 8th since 2012, and were just 10th in the year immediately preceding her hire. The last time the team placed higher than 7th was 2008.

Abby’s husband Steve was also listed as a volunteer assistant. No announcement has been made about the fate of the rest of Northwestern’s staff, and their coaching page has not yet been updated.

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