Our COACHES.
Red Tide is proud to be affiliated with a dynamic group of swim coaches who bring loads of swimming experience and expertise on to the deck each and every practice session. Our coaches come from a wide variety of backgrounds and professions and they all share a love for the sport and for teaching swimmers of all levels the finer points of swimming smart and swimming for fun. Each coach brings a unique perspective to his or her practice session(s) so make sure to check every one out!
BEN RUSSELL
Head Coach
Ben is a lifelong swimmer, which led him to New York City and NYU, where he was a four-year member of the men's swim team and served as captain in his junior and senior seasons. During his time with the team, Ben swam back and IM, and would never say no to a 400 IM practice. Since finishing up his career in the water, Ben has enjoyed experiencing swimming from a different perspective and brings the same enthusiasm he had in the water to the pool deck, leading practices for the team. As a coach, his philosophy is that balance is key, and tries to keep practices new and exciting because a bored swimmer is not a happy swimmer!
SEBASTIAN MOLL
Coach
Sebastian Moll entered his first swimming competition in 1970 at age 5 and a half. The fact that he came in second in that meet may have something to do with the fact that he is still trying to win races almost 50 years later. He went on to compete in the German Olympic trials in 1980 and 1984 and won a National Championship with his club relay in 1984. Sebastian first joined Red Tide in 1990 as a graduate student at NYU. He rejoined the team in 2014 after a 15 year hiatus from the sport, having rediscovered his love of the water while swimming to rehab a shoulder injury. Having competed in triathlons for nearly ten years, he has an appreciation of multi-sport competition.
MEGAN HAPP
Coach
Megan began competitive swimming at age 7 within the YMCA community in Pennsylvania. She finished her high school career at the Upper Main Line YMCA and went on to swim for four years at Boston University, swimming countless laps in the distance lane and captaining her senior year. After graduating from BU in 2013, Megan quickly realized her life was not complete without a pool. And so began her time in the world of Masters swimming.
Megan prides herself in having no fast-twitch muscles. Outside of the pool, she has an affinity for all things Disney and is loving life in Manhattan.
DENNIS WITOL
Coach
Dennis has been swimming since the age of 3, competing in summer swim leagues. He competed throughout the state of Maryland growing up and eventually swam 4 years in college for Division 2 Bentley University. Since graduating college he has coached/taught every level of swimming from getting 2 year olds comfortable in the water to local masters teams. He is currently the lead swim instructor for the New York Athletic club and Head Varsity Coach for Winston Churchill HIgh School in Maryland. When not coaching, you can find Dennis on the golf course, trying to hit the ball straight.
TYRONE HUTCHINSON
Substitute Coach
Tyrone Hutchinson joined Red Tide as a member and coach in 2006.
Tyrone has been the Hunter College Co-head Coach of Women's Swimming since 2022.
Hutchinson comes to Hunter with experience both as a coach and student-athlete. He graduated from St. Bonaventure with a BA in Marketing and a BA in Management where was also a 2x A10 Champion as wll as a Perennial Finalist in the 100m and 200m fly.
In addition, Hutchinson was a Westside Y Marlins age group swimmer, a 2x state champion and a runner-up at Y Nationals.
Hutchinson also is a dedicated Coach of Red Tide Masters Swimming.
KAITLIN HUTCHINSON
Substitute Coach
Kaitlin Hutchinson joined Red Tide as a member in 2007 and coached from 2011-2015. Kaitlin has been the Hunter College Co-head Coach of Women's Swimming since 2022. She previously worked as a group fitness instructor and personal trainer at boutique gyms.
She graduated with a BSBA in Management and a BA in Visual Media from American University in addition to holding and MPS in Retail Management from LIM College.
During her time at American University, Hutchinson set and still holds the record for the 400 yard IM and was also a Patriot League Champion in the 200 yard backstroke in addition to holding numerous spots in the program's Top-10 All-Time records.
