Head Women's Swimming Coach
Assistant Natatorium Manager
Phone: 992-8527   Email: lauren.beam@nyu.edu

Lauren (Smith) Beam has completed two seasons as the head coach of the New York University women’s swimming team. Prior to her taking over the helm in the summer of 2004, Beam served as the Violets’ assistant coach for three seasons.

In her second year as head coach, Beam led the Violets to an overall record of 8-0. NYU captured the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship for the second consecutive season and finished a best-ever second at the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships. The Violets also placed 26th at the NCAA Championships. During the season, Beam was named ECAC Championships Coach of the Meet, while she and her assistants were named UAA Co-Coaching Staff of the Year.

Several of Beam’s athletes earned individual honors last season, as well. Senior Erika Norris earned NCAA All-America and Honorable Mention All-America honors, was a two-time UAA Champion, an eight-time ECAC Champion, and was named the ECAC Championships Swimmer of the Meet. Senior Taylor Bayless also earned NCAA All-America accolades, was a two-time ECAC Champion and was a Second Team All-UAA honoree. In addition, 13 Violets earned UAA Winter Sport All-Academic honors.

In her first year as head coach, Beam’s Violets posted an overall record of 10-1 and won the program’s first ECAC Championship. Additionally, the Violets finished third at the UAA Championships and were 36th at the NCAA Championships. For her efforts during her inaugural season, Beam earned ECAC Championships Coach of the Meet honors and UAA Coaching Staff of the Year honors.

In her final year as assistant coach, Beam helped lead the Violets to a 7-3 meet record, a third-place finish at the ECAC Championships, and to a fifth-place finish at the UAA Championships. A 1999 cum laude graduate of NYU’s Steinhardt School of Education with a degree in nutrition and dietetics, Beam was a four-year member of the Violets’ swimming team. She earned Academic All-America honors twice and established various individual and relay records in her specialties of the breaststroke and individual medley. Beam also received the NYU Founder’s Day Award for Outstanding Athletic and Academic Achievement, and was named NYU Freshman Athlete of the Year in 1996.

Prior to joining the NYU coaching staff, Beam spent one year as an assistant at the University of San Diego. She has also accumulated coaching experience in Master’s Swimming and U.S.S. Age Group.

Beam, who is also an assistant manager at the Palladium Athletic Facility Natatorium, earned a master’s degree in sports business administration in 2006 from NYU’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies.