Nicole Benson joined the Exeter community in 2017 and has been a member of the swimming and diving coaching staff since. Benson has held a variety of roles in her tenure on campus, including boys JV swimming and diving coach, girls varsity swimming and diving head coach, lifeguard, assistant equipment manager, and is currently the head equipment manager in addition to her coaching duties.
Coach Benson has a long, successful history as a swimmer, coach, and educator. Benson was a standout Division I swimmer at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay before completing her eligibility while earning her master’s degree in Sociology at the University of Kansas. After her collegiate career, she immediately jumped into coaching with the Jayhawks before becoming the head coach of the YMCA Green Dolphins Swimming Club in Wausau, Wisconsin while also serving as an assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. She was also an instructor at North Central Community College in Wausau.
After moving to the Seacoast, Coach Benson coached with the Portsmouth High School swim team and spent nine years as an assistant at the University of New Hampshire. She started the swim program at Newmarket High School and coached the Mules for four years. In addition to interscholastic and intercollegiate coaching, she has also been a mainstay in club swimming as she began coaching with Exeter Swim Team in 2011 through the merger with Solo Aquatics in 2017 and is still the head age group coach at Solo.
Benson is the mother of Andrew ’20, Amy ’23, Alison ’25, Anika, and Ada and her husband, Tom, is also a member of the Athletics Department and serves as coach of the boys JV swimming and diving team and the boys JV volleyball team.
