One of the most decorated swimmers in the rich history of Harvard's storied program, Stephanie Wriede Morawski ’92 completed her 26th year as the head coach of her alma mater in 2022-23. Under Morawski's direction, the Crimson has captured eight Ivy League championships, including five since 2014, with the most recent coming in 2022.
The Harvard women's swimming record book has been rewritten under Morawski as her teams have broken every swimming record since 2009. Morawski finished the 2022-23 season with a 165-40-1 overall record and a 141-32-1 Ivy League mark.
This past season, Morawski led Harvard to a 6-2 dual-meet record (5-2 Ivy League) and a runner-up performance at the 2023 Ivy League Championships. The Crimson's top-2 finish marked the 20th straight season in which it finished either first or second at the league meet. At the conclusion of the event, Harvard collected nine All-Ivy honors and later sent three athletes to the NCAA Championships, marking the 11th consecutive season the Crimson was represented at the national meet. Harvard was also stellar in the classroom as it earned CSCAA Scholar All-America Team accolades in the fall and spring, an honor it has received for 28 straight semesters.
Morawski led the Crimson to the Ivy League title in 2021-22 as Harvard won nine events at the meet. The Crimson totaled 16 All-Ivy selections and Morawski won Ivy League Coach-of-the-Year honors for the fourth straight season in which the award was given. Felicia Pasadyn ’22 and Elizabeth Miclau ’24 qualified for the NCAA Championships where Pasadyn earned Second-Team CSCAA All-America accolades in the 400 individual medley. Pasadyn also captured the NCAA Elite 90 Award with the top grade-point average among competitors at the finals site.
The Crimson completed an outstanding season in 2019-20 that saw unprecedented success in the pool. Not only did Harvard swimmers and divers capture 14 of 21 event championships at the 2020 Ivy League Championships, but the Crimson registered a pair of automatic qualifying relay times in the 400- and 800-yard freestyle relays. Harvard’s sub-seven, 800-yard freestyle relay time of 6:59.92 ranked in the top-15 nationally. The Crimson did not compete in the 2020-21 season due to COVID-19.
The Ivy League Coach of the Year saw 15 program records fall in 2019-20 as well as see the High Point Swimmer of the Meet stay in the Crimson family for a third straight year. First-year Felicia Pasadyn ’22 was named the High Point Swimmer of the Meet (following Samantha Shelton ’23 in 2019 and Miki Dahlke ’20 in 2018). Additionally, Dahlke was also named the Career High Point Swimmer and was one of five swimmers to qualify for the NCAA Championship meet. Pasadyn, Jaycee Yegher ’21, Kennidy Quist ’21 and Shelton also qualified.
The 2018-19 Ivy League Coach of the Year helped first-year Shelton win the Ivy League Co-High Point Award and Mikaela Thompson ’19 collect the Ron Keenhold Career High Point Diver honor. She also mentored five Harvard student-athletes as they qualified for the NCAA Championships, the program’s most since at least 2009-10. The Crimson collected 17 All-Ivy League honors en route to the conference title, upping to its impressive total to 211 under Morawski. Shelton was a three-time first-team selection while contributing to a pair of first-team relays. Miki Dahlke ’20, meanwhile, garnered four first-team accolades (two individual, two relay).
Morawski was named the 2017-18 Ivy League Coach of the Year for the first time after guiding the Crimson to its second Ivy title in three years, tallying 1,616 points – its most since 2005. After breaking Blodgett Pool records in the 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly at the Ivy League championship meet, Dahlke was named the High Point Swimmer of the Meet. Jing Leung '18, who was honored as the Ron Keenhold Career High Point Diver, secured her third consecutive platform diving title at the NCAA Zone A Championships and represented the Crimson at the NCAA Championships in Columbus, Ohio.
Morawski continued to lead the Crimson to the front of the Ivy League in 2016-17. Harvard was 6-1 during the conference dual meet season and went on to finish second at the Ivy League championship meet, marking the 13th-straight season Harvard finished first or second at the league meet. Her student-athletes earned 10 All-Ivy League individual honors, with four relay teams earning accolades. Leung won the NCAA Zone A Diving Championship on the platform and joined Dahlke, a freshman, at the NCAA Championships as the only two competitors from the Ancient Eight.
In 2015-16, the Morawski-led Crimson captured the 12th conference title in program history with 1500.5 points. Harvard racked up 14 All-Ivy honors in the winning effort, including seven first-team honors, the most of any school. Leung went on to capture first-team All-America honors at the NCAA Championship meet, with Sonia Wang '19 competing in three events at the championships. In the classroom, the Crimson was named a Scholar All-America Team.
The 2014-15 campaign saw the Crimson go 6-0-1 in regular-season meets against the Ancient Eight. At the annual HYP meet, Harvard dispatched of Yale and concluded a thrilling meet in a dead heat with Princeton. Harvard went on to take second at the Ivy League Championships, with senior swimmer Stephanie Ferrell ’15 and senior diver Schuyler Moore ’15 earning the Career High Point Swimmer and High Point Diver awards, respectively. Academically, six individuals earned spots on the CSCAA All-Academic Team, while the entire roster was named a Scholar All-America Team.
In 2013-14, Morawski and her Crimson claimed the Ivy League Championship after a thrilling finish to the three-day event. Harvard finished the season 6-1 overall, winning every dual meet against its Ancient Eight foes after the first weekend of the season.
Morawski led the Crimson in 2012-13 to its second straight 7-0 Ivy League dual record and a 9-0 dual mark overall. Harvard qualified two swimmers for the NCAA Championships, Sara Li '14 and Courtney Otto '15, and broke 10 school records over the course of the season (eight individual, two relay). The Crimson also swept Princeton and Yale at the annual HYP meet for the second time in as many tries with a 100-point win over Princeton and a 209-89 blowout over Yale at the Tigers' DeNunzio Pool.
In 2011-12, Morawski led Harvard to the Ivy League dual-meet championship with a perfect 7-0 record against the Ancient Eight and to the program's 10th Ivy League Championship with a wire-to-wire performance at the league meet. It was the third Ivy League title of Morawski's head coaching career as her athletes earned a total of 12 All-Ivy honors.
Another 2011-12 highlight came at the HYP meet as Harvard defeated Princeton, 190-110, to secure the Ivy League dual-meet crown, and end the Tigers' streak of 43 consecutive wins and its run as the five-time reigning dual-meet champs.
In 2009-10, Morawski led the Crimson to second-place finishes at both the ECAC and Ivy League Championships. Alexandra Clarke '10 and Kate Mills '11 qualified for the NCAA Championships and Clarke attained All-America status in the 1,650-yard freestyle event. Morawski also saw her team garner CSCAA All-Academic honors and top the mid-major rankings during the campaign.
Morawski presided over a season of unprecedented success for the Crimson in 2008-09 season. Her team won the Ivy League and ECAC championships, finished the season ranked 25th nationally, set school records in 12 events and sent two competitors to the NCAA Championships. Two swimmers were named CSCAA Scholar All-Americans, and four others were honorable mention.
The Crimson posted a 10-0 campaign under Morawski in 2005-06, winning all seven Ivy League dual meets for its second straight dual-meet title. Her squad also won its first five meets of 2006-07, extending its winning streak to 25 dual meets.
Morawski completed a full circle in the 2004-05 season, leading the Crimson to a 10-0 record and its first team title at the Ivy League Championships since she captained the 1992 title squad. She also coached the first two Harvard All-Americans since she earned the honor as a senior. The 2004-05 team went 7-0 against Ivy League foes to become the first Crimson squad since 1995-96 to win a league dual-meet crown.
Morawski has coached one national champion, 2004 U.S. 200 butterfly champion Noelle Bassi, who also finished sixth at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials. Bassi additionally owns two of the six All-America honors achieved under Morawski. She achieved All-America status in the 200 fly in both 2005 and 2006, while Jaclyn Pangilinan '08 was a 2005 All-American in the 200 breaststroke and Alexandra Clarke '10 earned the honor in the 1,650 freestyle in 2010. More recently, Leung was an All-American in platform diving after finish in eighth place at the 2018 national meet and Felicia Pasadyn '22 (400 IM) joined the list in 2022.
Morawski also coached U.S. Paralympian Beth Kolbe ‘08, who set 13 American records and one Parapan American Games record. Kolbe won four medals in the 2007 Parapan Am Games, including a gold in the 50 backstroke, and was selected to a pair of U.S. Paralympic teams.
Before taking over as Harvard's head coach, Morawski was an assistant coach with the Crimson for two years, working with head coach Maura Costin Scalise '80. She played an integral part in Harvard's 1996 Ivy League dual-meet championship as an assistant coach.
Morawski compiled a long list of accolades as a student-athlete before entering the coaching ranks. A former team captain, she was a two-time All-America selection, a three-time NCAA Championships qualifier and two-time Olympic Trials qualifier. Her school-record time of 2:15.06 in the 200-yard breaststroke stood until 2005, when Pangilinan broke it at the NCAA meet on the way to All-America status. Morawski helped Harvard to a combined dual-meet record of 33-3 in her four years with the Crimson.
Morawski was the 1992 Eastern Women's Swimming League Swimmer of the Year after she accounted for 57 points in Harvard's championship effort. She shared the Radcliffe College Alumnae Association Award as Harvard's top female student-athlete.
Before joining Harvard's coaching staff, Morawski spent two years as an assistant at The Peddie School in Hightstown, N.J.
Morawski earned her undergraduate degree in economics from Harvard in 1992 and added a master's degree from Harvard's Graduate School of Education in 1999. She is married to Michael Morawski and has two daughters, Madeleine and Meriel.
