Phillips Academy has named Hillary Kavanagh and David Fox co-head coaches of both the boys' and girls' swimming and diving varsity teams for the 2026–27 season, marking the first time in school history that the two programs will share head-coaching leadership.
The new structure builds on four years of collaboration between Kavanagh and Fox and represents a new chapter for Andover swimming and diving. Both coaches will share responsibility for the boys' and girls' teams, which will continue to train and compete separately this season.
Kavanagh joined the Andover coaching staff in 2022 as an assistant to the boys’ program and became head coach of girls' swimming and diving in 2023. Under her leadership, the girls have compiled a 13–3 dual-meet record, finished second at the New England Championships in each of the past three seasons, earned seven All-American honors, and established 24 records. A competitive swimmer and collegiate varsity rower, Kavanagh brings more than a decade of coaching experience, including work with Team New England, which won the overall AAU team championship in 2022. Her expertise in stroke mechanics, race strategy, and contemporary competitive swimming is complemented by her ability to communicate technical knowledge to swimmers across a wide range of experience and ability. She brings a keen understanding of team dynamics and the ways in which relationships, trust, and individual development contribute to collective success.
Fox joined the Andover coaching staff in 2006 and became head coach of the boys' team ahead of the 2012 season. During his first nine seasons as head coach, the boys won eight New England Championships and two Eastern Championships, remained undefeated against New England opponents, and repeatedly ranked among the nation's top high school programs. Among the athletes Fox has coached are two Olympians: Tim Wynter '14, who competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and Andrew Wilson '12, who won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. In 2025, Fox received the National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association's David H. Robertson Award for Excellence in Coaching. Fox brings particular expertise in competitive preparation, demanding training standards, and the psychological dimensions of championship performance. In addition to coaching, he teaches English and art history and serves as Dean of Abbot Cluster.
During the four seasons in which Kavanagh served as an assistant coach of the boys’ team under Fox, Andover compiled a 25–0 dual-meet record, won four New England Championships and three Eastern Championships, and finished second at Easterns in 2026. During those seasons, Andover boys achieved 36 All-American performances, established 81 records, and consistently ranked among the nation’s top ten high school programs.
Kavanagh and Fox share a conviction that swimming is fundamentally a team sport, in which individual achievement and collective responsibility are inseparable. Their approach combines ambitious competitive expectations with a commitment to developing well-rounded student-athletes whose lives and interests extend far beyond the pool. Both believe that competitive swimming should challenge students to work hard, make sacrifices for one another, and discover what they can accomplish together.
