Jennifer Lyman has over 25 years of coaching experience in the sport of swimming locally in CT.  She has trained all levels from the novice swimmer, high school record holders and All-State Swimmers, to an Olympic bronze medalist in the 2012 London Olympics.  Jen is currently the Aquatic Director and Varsity Head Swimming and Diving coach at Hamden Hall Country Day School.

Coaching Affiliations/Committees

• Former Associate Head Coach of Shoreline Aquatic Club (USA Swimming affiliate) 2016-2021
• Former Associate Head Coach of Madison Marlins Swim Team (Park/Rec Yankee League) 2016-2021
• Former Head Coach of Daniel Hand High School Girls Varsity Swimming and Diving Team 2002-2021 (CLASS M Champions 2018, 2021, CLASS M Runner -Up 2019)
• Current Committee Member of CT Swimming Board of Directors (Local Swim Committee of CT Swimming affiliate of USA Swimming)
• Current Camp Director for CT Swimming (Local Swim Committee of CT Swimming affiliate of USA Swimming)

Past 5-year Honors

• 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 New England Men's Swimming & Diving Champions
• 2025 New England Women's Swimming & Diving Runners-Up
• 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 CISAC Women's & Men's Champions
• 2016 -2021 Connecticut Private Summer League Champions
• 2021 Class M Champions
• 2020 Yankee League Champions
• 2019 Class M Runner-Up State Champions
• 2019 NISCA ALL-Academic Team

Martha along with 5 sisters and 2 brothers swam under the legendary Hall of Fame Coach Bob Alexander (Mr A.) on a NY, NJ, AAU merge team.  In 1979 she began coaching with the Hamden YMCA (now HNHS) working with the 8/u swimmers for 6 years. From 1989-2007 she worked with the Hopkins Mariners coaching all levels.  Martha  coached  the North Haven High Girls Varsity Swimming from 2000-2005 and is now back at the helm.  She has two daughters, Kyna Delaney and Colleen (Delaney) McCarthy both of whom she coached their entire swimming careers.  Colleen reached All American status during her high school career.  Martha has been with HHAC since its inception.

Maria has been coaching with HHAC since 2013 and swam competitively for over 20 years. Her previous coaching experiece includes Graduate Assistant coach at Southern Connecticut State University and Assistant coach at SoNoCo Swim Club. Maria attended and swam at SCSU, where she was a two-year captain, Academic All-American, and NCAA All-American in the 400 IM. She is also a former SCSU school record holder in the 100 & 200 breaststroke and the 200 & 400 Medley Relays. Maria swam for the Dominican Republic National Team from 2000-2010, medaling at Caribbean Championships and Central American & Caribbean Championships. She also competed at the Central American Games, Pan-American Games, World Championships, and World Cup events. She held the DR national records in the 50, 100 & 200 Breaststroke in both SCM and LCM.  Maria graduated from SCSU with both a BS and MS in Exercise Science, Human Performace and she currently works at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System in the Research Department as a Project Manager.

Molly Meka, originally from Buffalo, NY, grew up swimming competitively for the Grand Island Piranhas. She swam for the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and with them won three America East championships. Molly graduated magna cum laude with a BA in Psychology. Afterwards, she attained a MS in Elementary Education from SUNY Buffalo State where she was involved with the collegiate swim team as a volunteer assistant coach. Molly is currently a lead teacher in a PreSchool/PreK classroom at Hamden Hall.

Our Head Diving Coach is Amanda Craig. She is a former Amity High School and UConn Division I Diver. Through her continued coaching experiences at the Woodbridge Pool Club and Amity High School, she has comfort with coaching a range of diving abilities from novice to collegiate levels. She has a bubbly, yet technical approach to coaching that she morphs to fit each athlete's unique needs. With being a school social worker by day, she coaches to improve her athletes physical and mental strength, while making sure to keep it fun!

Becky has over 10 years of USA Swimming coaching experience, primarily at the 10&U level. After taking some time to start her family, Becky is rejoining HHAC where she left off and is excited to share her love of swimming with beginner athletes once again.

Sylvie comes to the team with a wealth of expereice as a former internationally ranked swimmer from France.  She also has expereice as a swim parent with both her daughter in the sport in the from her youth to college and then to the Olympics!!!  She is excited to bring her knowledge and expereice to both the swimmers and parents.

Kelly, a lifelong swimmer, has always loved all things involving water. She pursued swimming as her  sport of choice at an early age and continued into high school and throughout college where she attended Villanova University on a swimming scholarship. Over the years she has held positions as lifeguard, swimming instructor, swimming coach and summer camp aquatic director. She has taught in Connecticut public schools for 7 years and holds a Master of Science in Education and a certification in Remedial Reading and Remedial Language Arts. Kelly looks forward to working with the Hamden Hall Aquatic Club, sharing her expertise and love of the water.

Philip began swimming with the Retriever Aquatic Club in Baltimore, MD. After high school, he swam for the University of Maryland, Baltimore County where he helped the team win 3 CCSA and 1 America East Championship. After graduating, he continued swimming post-collegiately with Nashville Aquatic Club, where he trained to represent the country of Nigeria at the TYR Pro Swim Series, All African Games, and the Short Course World Championships.

Philip is currently an MD/PhD student at Yale School of Medicine where he is developing AI models to improve patient care quality. He is passionate about swimming and excited to bring his broad experience to Hamden Hall Aquatic Club

Colleen was introduced to swimming at a young age by her father who was a lifelong swimmer and coach. Colleen has competitively swam since age 5 for the Episcopal Academy Aquatic Club outside of Philadelphia. She was recruited to swim at the College of the Holy Cross where she swam all four years and was a captain her senior year. Her specialties were distance freestyle primarily the 1000 and the 1650. She graduated with degrees in political science and Africana studies. She is currently  on the pre-law track. Colleen for years has held jobs as a lifeguard and a coach. She is excited to join us on the deck this fall!

Maddie Bergin recently wrapped up her 15 year competitive swimming career and is ready to apply her love and knowledge of the sport to the coaching side of things. She was introduced to the water when she was seven years old at Ridge Top Club and soon after began swimming under coach Martha Phelan at HHAC. Maddie then swam for North Haven High School where she was part of the 2019 State Championship winning team. She was also able to achieve All-State and All-Conference all four years along with being named North Haven’s first ever Scholastic All-American. Maddie then swam for Fordham University, specializing in sprint freestyle events and was named captain her senior season. She graduated in May ‘25 with a degree in Communications and Culture with a concentration in Media Studies and a minor in Journalism.
Having experience working a summer club swim coach and Aquatics Director, Maddie is excited to coach the next generation of Hamden Hall swimmers.

After completing a 16 year competitive swimming career, Riley Jooss is ready to be a part of Hamden Hall Aquatic Club in a coaching capacity. She started swimming at the age of 6 as a part of Ridge Top Club, where she then went on to be a part of HHAC in 2010. She swam for North Haven High School under coach Martha Phelan and was able to achieve All-State and All-SCC honors, and a State Championship title throughout her 4 years there. Riley swam collegiately at Merrimack College, specializing in Mid-Distance freestyle and IM. Riley graduated from Merrimack with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting and is currently pursuing a Masters of Science in Accounting. Having been a part of this team since she was 7, Riley is excited to give back to the program that shaped her, helping the younger swimmers of HHAC reach their full potential in and out of the pool.

Noelle Bergère is a Wellesley College alumni, where she coached and competed in diving, discovering a passion for the 7 sisters community. Bergère began her acrobatics by competing in gymnastics for 13 years, earning All-American and Academic All-American titles 4 consecutive years. Bergère has also won 4 consecutive Connecticut State Championships with her team, an individual State Champion title, and acted as Captain of her gymnastics team. She competed in diving throughout high school and into college, competing at State Championships, earning MVP status, Most Improved status, and honorary Diving Captain. She has coached and competed diving throughout college and has a passion for mentoring youth to reach their full potential. Bergère motivates improvement in coaching through foundational skills building, attention to detail, and energetic enthusiasm.