ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis University Director of Athletics Chris May has announced the appointment of Mary Woods as head coach of the Billikens' women's and men's swimming and diving teams.
 
Woods is entering her fourth year with the SLU swimming and diving program. She spent two years as a graduate assistant, was named assistant coach last summer, and served as interim head coach during the 2022-23 season following the resignation of longtime head coach Jim Halliburton in late August.
 
"Mary did a tremendous job with the swimming and diving teams this year, and we are looking forward to the program's continued progress and success under her leadership," May said. "Mary's ability to lead the program with our departmental values of educating, competing and building community, and especially her caring for our student-athletes during a challenging time, will undoubtedly serve our young women and men well."
 
"I would like to thank Director of Athletics Chris May, Deputy Director of Athletics Dr. Janet Oberle, Associate Director of Athletics for Administration Annie Reis, and SLU President Dr. Fred Pestello for this amazing opportunity to lead the Billiken swimming and diving program," Woods said.
 
"I am so grateful for my time spent at SLU thus far, and I am beyond excited and honored to continue with this team as head coach. I truly believe in the SLU experience and what we can provide our student-athletes from an educational, competition and community-building standpoint. SLU is a very special place to be, and I am so proud to be a part of it.
 
"We picked up a lot of momentum over the past season, and I am eager to continue building upon that and further develop our program," Woods said. "We have a great group of returners and incoming swimmers and divers, and I look forward to discovering what we can accomplish together in this new chapter. Go Billikens!"
 
The Carmel, Indiana, native is a 2019 graduate of DePauw University, where she studied kinesiology and psychology and was a four-year letter winner on the swim team. She specialized in the breaststroke, IM and sprint events, served as team captain, set a school record in the 100 IM, and was a member of the Tigers' 200 free, 200 medley and 400 medley relay teams that established school marks.
 
Woods earned a Master of Science degree in project management at SLU in 2022.