Artistic Swimming | 8/28/2025 10:17:00 AM

DENTON, Texas (Aug. 28, 2025) – On Thursday, the Texas Woman's Athletic Department and Executive Director of Athletics Sandee Mott announced the hiring of Courtney Griffith as the head coach of the Pioneers Artistic Swimming team.

"I am excited to welcome Coach Courtney Griffith as the leader of TWU Artistic Swimming," Mott said. "I am confident she is the right person to guide us forward in every facet of growth and success. Her passion for the sport is unmatched, and her dedication to student-athlete development is truly remarkable. I am certain she will provide the highest level of support to our student-athletes while also challenging them to excel academically, athletically and as future leaders in their chosen fields."

Most recently, Griffith served as the Head Coach of the Arizona Aqua Stars Artistic Swimming Team in Mesa, Ariz. With the Aqua Stars, she led all aspects of the program, coordinated travel, planned practice and choreographed routines, while putting total athlete support at the center of all activities. She also was committed to overseeing long-term strategic growth for the club.

"I am honored to accept the position of Artistic Swimming Head Coach at Texas Woman's University and to contribute my knowledge, skills and vision to an exceptional and diverse team of athletes," Coach Griffith said. "I am especially grateful to the athletes who have remained committed to this program through times of transition and uncertainty—their resilience is the foundation for the success we will continue to build. The range of cultural backgrounds represented within this team is truly inspiring, and I am confident our collective experiences in the sport will allow us to achieve something remarkable this season. I am committed to leveraging the new scoring system in innovative ways to elevate our program on the national stage, while cultivating a team culture rooted in respect, collaboration and the empowerment of women through sport. I am excited to inspire athletes to reach their highest potential in and out of the pool and elevate TWU's program—and the sport of artistic swimming—to new heights."

Prior to assuming the Head Coach role at Aqua Stars in 2023, Griffith worked as a Junior, Senior and Masters Coach with the Arizona Aqua Stars from 2012-23. In these roles, she developed progressive training programs for each level to ensure the athletes were prepared physically, in technique and in competition. Additionally, she assisted with video analysis, technique refinement and power training to prepare athletes for national competitions.

During her time with the Aqua Stars, Griffith also served as a Senior 1 and 2 Coach with the Crimson Aquatics Swim Team in Whitinsville, Mass. from 2019-23. With Crimson Aquatics, she developed and implemented land and water training programs to help elevate the athletes' skills, while assisting with their National Level group to refine technique.

Throughout her time coaching the Aqua Stars, Griffith led her teams to 10 National Champion Titles. Additionally, she championed a seven-year winning streak in the Combination event.

On a personal coaching note, Griffith guided her mother, who had no previous experience in artistic swimming, to a National Championship gold medal in Figures in just six years of learning the sport.

Griffith grew up as an artistic swimmer with the Arizona Aqua Stars, swimming with the club beginning in 2001. She was a two-time Age Group National Champion in Duet and a one-time Age Group National Champion in Trio.

In 2010, she trained as a United States Team Member and served as the U.S. National Team Captain. Then, in 2011, Griffith was among the Top 32 U.S. athletes to qualify for the the Olympic Team Trials.

Griffith took a step back from artistic swimming during her collegiate career and made the decision to compete collegiately in speed swimming. She swam with UT Permian Basin. In 2014, she set the school record for backstroke in the 200 Medley Relay. Then, she followed it up in 2015 by setting the school record for backstroke in the 400 Medley Relay.

After college, she returned to the Arizona Aqua Stars to swim with the Masters Team. Griffith is a five-time Masters National Champion in Combo and a two-time Masters National Champion in Solo. She also has crowns as the Masters National Champion in Figures and Duet. Along with competing in Masters, Griffith swam with the Aqualillies as a professional artistic swimmer in New York City from 2022-25.

Griffith holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art with an emphasis in Painting and Ceramics from UT Permian Basin. Additionally, she obtained a Certificate in Collegiate Teaching in Art and Design and a Master of Fine Arts, Ceramics from The Rhode Island School of Design.

While coaching artistic swimming, Griffith has also worked as an Adjunct Faculty member. She taught Ceramic Sculpture at The Rhode Island School of Design and Montserrat College of Art in Massachusetts. Then, at Chandler Gilbert Community College in Arizona, she taught Sculpture and 3D Design. Most recently, she taught Drawing at Gateway Community College in Arizona.

From 2023-25, Griffith served as the Swim Department Coordinator at East Valley Sports in Arizona. She worked with club teams and coaches to coordinate meet schedules, meet vendor deadlines and manage orders. She also supervised staff to ensure an efficient and positive working environment.

Griffith becomes the third Head Coach of TWU Artistic Swimming.

"I would like to thank Coach Barb Nesbitt Ng for her service over the past two seasons," Mott said. "Her recruiting efforts significantly strengthened both the depth and quality of our student-athletes, ensuring the program remains on solid footing. I wish her well in her future endeavors."