Henry Tollefson, Head Coach, Age Group Elite (AGE), Senior Elite (SE)

Henry grew up in the pool and began coaching in 2017, taking over the team in 2022. As head coach at TOLL, Henry works to support our athletes in training and at meets by providing an extensive program for our swimmers in all groups. This includes making certain our swimmers get the training they need in the water and in the weight room, while also ensuring our swimmers are able to attend the most competitive meets for their ability level, including regional and national level meets.

As a Team, TOLL coaches under Henry's guidance are working to prepare swimmers for IMX events in the 14&U age groups, and prepare swimmers for LSC, Zone, Sectional and National level championship meets for all age groups. One of the goals of the AGE group is to have all swimmers qualify for and compete at IMX. The AGE training consists of a comprehensive approach to training: Swimmers 12-14 years old focus on goal setting, practice consistency, building a strong work ethic, and qualifying for finals at championship meets. Henry enjoys helping swimmers learn life-long habits that are built through swimming.

Gigi Gigliotti - Minis, Junior, and Junior Select

Gigi has been with Tollefson Swimming since 2022. Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Gigi has been a competitive swimmer since she was 10, and was also a member of the Brazilian national swim team, competing for Brazil at international meets. A full scholarship to the University of Utah brought Gigi to the US where she excelled as a swimmer, improving times and qualifying for NCAA D1 meets. 

You'll see her on deck organizing and overseeing our stroke and in-water instructors and Training & Endurace (T&E) program. Gigi's goal for her swimmers is to help them develop a great work ethic, sportsmanship, be willing to take on challenges, and create a safe, fun environment for open communication and excellence. Aside from incentivizing them to create their own goals, Gigi will help them develop a plan for those goals to be achieved.In the summer, Gigi coaches for the Kenmont Tsunami and her coaches relay has yet to be beat!

Elizabeth Sudassy - Senior Advanced (SA)

Elizabeth has been dancing on the pool deck since 2003 - working with many of our swimmers through the years, transitioning them from age group stroke classes into full fledged Team TOLL members. Overall, she has more than 25 years of coaching and teaching experience in the pool. Elizabeth grew up competing in MCSL, swimming in high school and all 4 years of college at Loyola University. In the summers, she coaches at Merrimack Park in MCSL. In winter, she coaches St. Andrew's Episcopal Varsity Team. Using her own passion for swimming, she hopes to inspire swimmers to work consistently and patiently on their technique. Elizabeth’s goal for her Senior Advanced group is for everyone to complete the 400IM and 500 free and hopes to get as many as possible to qualify for IMX. In her free time she’s learning to swing dance and paddleboard!

Roger Dent - Age Group Advanced (AGA) and Age Group Select (AGS)

Roger joined TOLL in 2022. He also started swimming as a little kid for Long Island Aquatic Club (LIAC) and eventually was recruited to swim at the University of Maryland.  From there, he has competed at multiple national and international meets, including the 2012 Olympic Trials in the 200 and 100 Fly events. Roger’s goals for his swimmers are for them to develop a love of racing and bettering themselves both in and out of the pool. He wants his groups to learn how to create their own goals and develop a strong work ethic, utilizing effective time management and communication skills to reach those goals and beyond. All his swimmers will have a big focus on IMX events and qualifying for championship-level meets. In summer, you can find Roger coaching at King Farm and competing in open water races himself. Roger’s son Ethan gives the final approval on all his practice sets and is his dad’s biggest cheerleader.

Kevin Fisher - Seniors (S) and Senior Select (SS)

Kevin has been with TOLL since 2023 and is excited to be back coaching his senior swimmers. Kevin is another life long swimmer on our coaching staff who has been swimming competitively since he was 6. This past summer he took over the head coach position at Garrett Park and in winter he’s also the head coach at Wootton HS. Kevin’s favorite part about coaching is being able to help swimmers reach goals in the pool that they didn't think were possible.His aim is for his swimmers to enjoy the process of becoming a better Senior level swimmer, to develop a love for racing, and to set personal goals to strive for at both practices and meets. Kevin encourages his swimmers to be good team mates in and out of the pool, too. Kevin got married this past summer and spent his honeymoon in France eating all the croissants and bread!

Patrick Cox - Age Group (AG)

Patrick hails from Northern Virginia and has been involved in swimming for most of his life, including competing at the Division III level for Roanoke College, where he specialized in mid-distance freestyle and butterfly.Currently, Patrick coaches high school swim and loves working closely with athletes to help them reach their goals. He’s sent numerous swimmers to VHSL state meet finishes, and his boys team broke all three school relay records. These experiences have deepened his passion for coaching and reinforced his belief in the power of swimming to shape confident, resilient athletes.Patrick looks forward to working with AG and other TOLL groups, and collaborating with the coaching staff to help young swimmers build not just speed and skill, but a lifelong connection to movement, health, and personal growth.

Steve Machlin - Assistant Coach

Steve has been a TOLL coach since retiring in 2020 from his federal career as a health statistician. This season he’ll be assisting at various practices and will also coach and provide feedback to TOLL swimmers at selected meets. Steve has long and deep roots in Montgomery County as an MCSL swimmer, coach, swim parent and meet official. In the summer, you can find him coaching at his home pool, Tilden Woods. Steve loves working with kids of all ages and finding ways to facilitate their progress both as a swim coach and math tutor. He enjoys keeping in shape via swimming, biking, walking and the gym. He also participates in a reading group and loves to travel abroad with his wife whenever possible.

Dave Schmidt - Assistant Coach

Dave joined Tollefson in the spring of 2024 after moving to MoCo from Bucks County, PA, where he coached at Pennsylvania Aquatics (PENN-MA) since 1994, holding the title of head coach for 6 of those years. A competitive swimmer since childhood, Dave held an age group record at the Princeton YMCA for decades. At the University of Michigan, Dave swam under former Olympian and Olympic Coach, Gus Stager. Over the years, Dave has been very successful in preparing Middle School swimmers to be competitive on the High School and Senior levels. He has also seen many of his former swimmers have success on a collegiate level and beyond. While Dave will primarily be assisting the other coaches and subbing this year, he looks forward to providing our swimmers with a change of pace in terms of sets they don't usually do or new drills in order to help them get to the next level and achieve their personal goals. A semi-retired corporate finance consultant, you can often find Dave on the golf course or watching Michigan sports when he’s not in the pool. Go Blue!

Rachel Bernhardt - Assistant Coach

Rachel brings great experience to Toll and we’re excited to have her! A former US National team member with three trips to Olympic trials under her belt, Rachel was an NCAA All American at Drexel and voted team MVP all four years. These accolades are even more impressive when you find out Rachel did not swim competitively before high school. She feels that learning about the world of competitive swim as a "big kid" gives her an edge when it comes to teaching and coaching because she remembers how it feels to not know proper technique. Rachel feels developing at age 15 and playing catch-up to her teammates made her the coach she is today. She loves to challenge her swimmers' mental capacity to think differently both in and out of the water. After her undergraduate time at Drexel, Rachel headed to graduate school at Lenoir-Rhyne University and is currently an Occupational Therapist when not swimming. She spent part of her summer traveling with her mom to Zion National Park - a bucket list trip for sure!