Brett Hawke enters into his first full season as head coach for the National Champion Tigers swimming and diving program after serving as co-head coach for the 2008-09 seasons and assistant coach for two seasons prior. Under Hawke's direction, the Auburn men came away with their eighth national title, capturing the 2009 Men's Swimming and Diving NCAA Championship. During the three-day event, Auburn recorded 54 All-America honors and had one individual and four relay champions. The Tigers also set three US Open, three NCAA and 17 school records en route to the title. Hawke returned to The Plains in the summer of 2006 as an assistant coach for the program. Hawke, a native of Sydney, Australia, was a 17-time All-American swimmer for Auburn from 1997 to 1999. As a member of the coaching staff, Hawke works directly with the Auburn sprinters. Under his direction, Cesar Cielo provided one of the top highlights from the 2008 NCAA Championships as he became the fastest swimmer in the world with his 18.47 in the 50 free. What made the mark even more impressive was not that he did it once, but he reached the mark three times. He won the 50 free with a time of 18.52 after qualifying with an 18.79 in the preliminary. His time of 18.47 came as the 200 free relay leadoff. In all, Auburn sprinters won six All-America honors with Cielo sweeping the 50 and 100 freestyle titles. He also became the first swimmer to break the 41-second barrier in the 100 free with a 40.92. For his efforts, Cielo was named the NCAA Swimmer of the Year for the second year in a row. During the 2009 World Championships, Hawke served as an assistant coach with the Brazilian national team and coached Cielo to two gold medals in the 50 and 100 freestyles. Cielo became the fastest swimmer in the world in the 100 free when he touched the wall in 46.91. Other Tiger sprinters medaling at the championships were Fred Bousquet (silver - 50 free, bronze - 100 free, 4x100 free relay) and Matt Targett (silver - 50 fly, bronze - 4x100 medley relay). Overall, Auburn swimmers brought home 15 medals and set three world records during the meet. Hawke also had the opportunity to coach Cielo at the 2008 Olympic Games. Serving as an assistant coach with the Brazilian national team, Hawke mentored the South American star as he won a bronze in the 100m free and a gold in the 50m free with an Olympic record time of 21.30. Other Auburn sprinters trained by Hawke at the 2008 Olympics included Targett, George Bovell, Bousquet, Jakob Andkjaer and Alexei Puninski. Targett and Bousquet both brought home medals after their performance on relay teams. Auburn sprinters overall were very impressive at the 2007 NCAAs with 13 swimmers advancing to finals. In the men's 50 free, Auburn took the top two spots with Cielo taking the title and Targett right behind him. Scott Goodrich and Bryan Lundquist also made the championship final. In the women's 50 free, it was Kara Denby leading the team in eighth. In the 100 free, Cielo picked up another NCAA Championship with a time of 41.17. Targett followed in sixth place as three other Tigers trailed in the B final. In the women's 100 free, it was Denby again leading the team in fourth place, followed by Emily Kukors in fifth. During his time in Auburn, Hawke captured nine NCAA titles to go along with seven SEC crowns. In 1997, Hawke became part of Auburn history as he was a member of the first NCAA Championship team. At the 1997 NCAA meet, Hawke won four titles, including one as part of the 200 medley relay team that set a new U.S. Open and NCAA record. Hawke split an 18.62 on the freestyle leg, which was then the fastest split ever recorded. At the same meet, Hawke claimed Auburn's second ever 50m free title. He duplicated the relay performance the following year with the medley relay team that took the crown in a NCAA meet, NCAA and U.S. Open record time. In 1999, Hawke helped lead the Tigers to their second NCAA team title en route to capturing four titles of his own at the meet. During his three years as a student-athlete, Hawke was also part of three SEC team championships. A two-time Olympian, Hawke finished sixth in the 50m free in Athens. Hawke has three Commonwealth Games medals in his collection, including silver in the 50m free from 2002. Adding to his long list of international experience, in 2001 and 2003, Hawke was a World Championship finalist in the 50m free and at the 2002 Pan Pacific Championships, Hawke won bronze in the 50m free. A five-time Australian champion, Hawke is the former Australian record holder in the 50m free with a time of 22.07 that he set at the 2004 Olympic Games in the semifinal round. Hawke is married to the former Trudi James and the couple have four children: Kirra (10), Kobe (6) and newborn twins Yasmin and Lily. James was a member of the Auburn University soccer team from 1994-97. Hawke is currently working towards his bachelor's degree in psychology. |
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