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Head Coach Christopher Ip has put his stamp all over the Clemson Swimming and Diving programs during his first five seasons. Since joining Clemson in 2002-03, Ip has led both the men's and women's programs among the most well-rounded in the country. Ip's programs routinely score highly in the pool and the classroom.
In the water, Ip has coached the Tigers to seven individual ACC titles, two relay titles, and two Tigers to Honorable Mention All-American honors three times. In 2006-07, Ip's women 200 free relay squad set an ACC meet record and pool record at UNC's Koury Natatorium. Ip has also coached 24 All-ACC Selections, including seven in 2006-07.
During his ten semesters, Ip's students have also achieved success in the classroom, with the men checking in at a 3.03 average GPA mark and the women at an impressive 3.33 clip. The women's team puts an average of 28.3 students on the Clemson honor roll per semester, while the men contribute 14.8 students per semester. Both teams typically rank at the top of the Clemson Athletic Department and have garnered national attention for their high GPAs.
The 2006-07 season marked big strides for both squads, with the men posting a 9-3 mark and 4-3 in the conference. The women went 10-5 and were 4-4 in the ACC. Several Tigers placed at the ACC meet, where the Tigers finished fifth overall for both the men and the women. The Tigers set four new school records in 2006-07, and the previously mentioned ACC meet record.
During the 2005-06 season, the Lady Tigers finished strong as they won their last four meets to finish 5-6 (3-4 ACC). Clemson finished 6th at the ACC Championships, led by Kim Routh who won a gold and three silvers, as well as Michelle Parkhurst who picked up two silvers and a bronze. Parkhurst shattered both backstroke records for Clemson, while Routh broke her own school mark in the 1650 freestyle. The Lady Tigers went on to finish in a tie for 28th at the NCAA Championships. Their total of 19 points was the third highest total of all the ACC women's teams.
The men finished the season 5-5 (3-4 ACC), and placed seventh at the ACC Championships. The Tigers won the 2005 Nike Cup in Chapel Hill, and broke three school records in the process. Mark Vahle broke the 50 freestyle record (19.66), and qualified for the NCAA Championships, the fourth year in a row that the men's team has sent a swimmer there. Attila Ruszka also broke the 100 breaststroke record, and the 200 medley relay of Joel Johnson, Ruszka, Vahle and Regone broke the old mark.
The 2005-06 season was the first that the ACC picked an Academic All-Conference team, and Ip made sure that the Tigers were well represented. Eleven different swimmers and divers were named to the team, six for the Lady Tigers, and five for the men. The women ranked 20th in the nation with a 3.42 GPA, and placed five members on the NCAA Academic All-America team. Three of the five were freshman. The men ranked 55th in the nation, and had two athletes on the President's list, and four more on the Dean's list.
During the 2003-04 season, Ip's men's team posted a Clemson single season record 13 dual meet wins and boasted the second best winning percentage (.844) in program history. Three swimmers competed at the 2004 NCAA Championships and two earned Honorable Mention All-America honors for their performances. Ip's men's team posted the highest GPA on record for the program, recording a 3.26 cumulative team GPA for the spring semester.
In 2002-03, his first season with the program, Ip coached four athletes to appearances at the 2003 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships. He also coached Mark Henly to his first ACC title in the 200 back and the Tiger women's 200 medley relay team to a share of the ACC Championship in the event. Jenna Burtch was named a Verizon Academic All-American in 2003, while Eric Shulick garnered Academic All-America honors from the CSCAA for the season.
Prior to arriving at Clemson, Ip coached at Indian River Community College in Fort Pierce, FL for 13 seasons. Incredibly, the Swarthmore, PA native won the national championship in both men's and women's competition all 13 years he served as head coach at Indian River Community College, which still stands as the longest consecutive streak of national championships in any sport.
Ip has been honored as the National Coach of the Year at the junior college level for men's swimming 10 times, including seven years in a row between 1992-98. He has been named the women's National Coach of the Year four times and was named the National Coach of the Year in both the men's and women's swimming programs in 1998 and 2002.
Prior to his career at Indian River, Ip served as the Head Men's and Women's Swimming Coach at the University of Delaware. He led the men's program to conference championships in each of his last two years (1988 and 1989). His 1988 team had a 10-1 dual meet record. The Delaware women's program won the East Coast Conference title in 1989. Overall, his swimmers combined to win 42 individual East Coast Conference championship titles in his five years leading the program. Twelve of his swimmers were USS Senior National qualifiers.
Ip began his college coaching career as the men's assistant coach at East Stroudsburg State in 1978, followed by two years as the assistant women's coach at Springfield College before heading to Brown University in Rhode Island. The women's program won the Ivy League Championship in 1984, his only season with the program.
Ip also has considerable international coaching experience. He served as head coach of the Jamaican National Swim Team for the 1994 World Games in Rome, Italy. He also coached the same team at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria, British Columbia that same year. In the spring of 1997 he was a member of the Venezuelan coaching staff for the FINA Short Course World Championships at Gothenburg, Sweden.
Many of his athletes have gone on to success at the Olympic level. He had a total of 10 athletes represent their respective countries in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, and the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. While a swimmer at Indian River, Ricardo Monasterio won the 1500 meter freestyle at the 1998 US Open and was the bronze medallist in the 1500 meter freestyle at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada.
In terms of administration, Ip has served two terms as NJCAA Swim Coaches Association President, and served in the Florida Swimming Association. He held the rank of assistant professor for 10 years.
He was named a Distinguished All-America swimmer twice. Ip earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology from East Stroudsburg State in 1978 and a Master of Science degree in exercise physiology from Springfield College in 1984. Ip is married to Dr. Loreto Jackson who is the Director of Student-Athlete Performance at Clemson. They reside in Clemson with their two yellow labs, River and Newt.
