Mary Gardner has been the Men’s and Women’s Swimming Coach and Aquatic Coordinator at Lebanon Valley College since the 1997-98 season. She began her tenure at LVC in 1992, teaching physical education swim classes. She graduated from Gettysburg College with a Sociology/Political Science degree in 1977. A 2011 inductee to the Lebanon Valley Sports Hall of Fame, Gardner first instructed swimming in 1974 and has continued doing so at the Annville-Cleona Community Pool and other area pools.
Gardner is the most successful coach in LVC Swimming history, having built a squad full of team pride and exceptional determination. In her first season, with just 20 swimmers, Gardner qualified two swimmers in six events at the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Championships. A year later, as her team grew to 44 swimmers, her qualifiers did as well, qualifying eight in 13 events. In 2002-03, for the first time in school history, Lebanon Valley had at least one swimmer qualify for the MAC Championships in all 26 events.
Ian Lloyd ’18 wrapped up one of the most outstanding four-year careers in program history under Gardner’s watch. He ended 2017-18 with his second MAC Championship in as many years. He won gold in the 200 IM after winning the first conference title of his career in the 200 fly in the winter of 2017. His gold medal-winning effort of 1:53.58 in the 200 IM was the fastest time in both MAC and MAC Championship history in the event. In addition to winning a plethora of silver and bronze medals, Lloyd was an eight-time All-MAC First-Team honoree, a three-time all-conference second-teamer, a former All-MAC Third-Team honoree, and a two-time all-conference honorable mention pick. For his academic prowess, he was named Google Cloud/CoSIDA Academic All-District and the MAC Men’s Swimming Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year. With Gardner’s help, Lloyd finished his time at Lebanon Valley as a program record holder in 15 events.
In 2015-16, graduate student Jan Ikeda ’15, DPT’17 capped her outstanding career by winning a pair of MAC Championships in the 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard butterfly, swimming a pair of NCAA “B” cut times in the process. She was named a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection after being named the MAC Women’s Swimming Scholar-Athlete of the Year; the first LVC swimmer to earn the prestigious honor. As a freshman in 2011-12, Ikeda made history as LVC’s first-ever female MAC champion and NCAA provisional qualifier, winning titles in the 100 and 200 butterfly. She followed that up with two more medals in 2012-13, then repeated her championship double in 2013-14 as a junior. Under Gardner’s tutelage, Ikeda set 15 program records during her career.
Freshman Erica Wise was the third LVC swimmer to clinch a MAC Championship in 2015-16 under Gardner’s guidance, as the rookie won gold in a thrilling 50-yard freestyle race. Wise was one of six men’s and women’s swimmers to earn either First or Second-Team All-MAC honors in 2015-16 under Gardner’s tutelage.
Gardner and her husband, Jim, were presented the Hot Dog Frank Athletic Service Award in 2023 for their dedication to LVC’s student-athletes. In 2009, Gardner was honored by the Annville Rotary for her outstanding community involvement, as she and Jim were instrumental in teaching hundreds of local youth to swim. In addition, her swim teams have been active in local Special Olympics, frequently running swim meets for Lebanon-area Special Olympians.
The Gardners reside in Annville, Pa. Their daughter, Mary Rebecca, is a 2013 graduate and was a four-year swimmer who now serves as an Assistant Coach at LVC; their son, David, preceded her as a 2009 graduate of the College and was also four-year swim team member.