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Asti is certainly no stranger to the Southeastern Conference, as both a student-athlete and a coach. He swam for the Vols from 1998-2001 and has spent two seasons as the recruiting coordinator and sprint coach for the men's and women's swimming programs at LSU prior to arriving at UT. He previously held the same position at Clemson from 2006-10.
"Lance Asti is one of the brightest, most respected, and most accomplished assistant coaches in the country," Kredich said."He's a fantastic role model and is known as an innovative and energetic teacher.Lance's character, expertise, and competitiveness makes him a tremendous addition to our program."
In Asti's first season back at Tennessee, the Vols and Lady Vols enjoyed strong dual meet and championship seasons as a combined program. The Lady Vols won their first three NCAA relay titles on their way to finishing third as a team at the national meet, the best finish in program history. Meanwhile, the Vols took fourth at SECs and 16th at NCAAs, an improvement of six places from a year ago.
As a former Vol himself, Asti has played a key role in maintaining program ties with swimming and diving alumni.
The LSU swimming programs enjoyed considerable success during Asti's two seasons in Baton Rouge. The men's team finished in the top five in the SEC in back-to-back seasons for the first time in 12 years, and the women put forth their best conference performances since the SEC meets in 1993 and 1994.
In his first year with the Tigers, Asti's sprinters produced five NCAA first-team All-America honors, an SEC individual title and record, four All-SEC selections and 11 medals at the conference meet.
Among the standout swimmers Asti coached at LSU are: Jane Trepp, an SEC record holder in the 100 breaststroke and a FINA world championship finalist; Amanda Kendall, a Pan-American Games record holder and a four-time gold medalist; and Hannes Heyl, an NCAA finalist in the 100 butterfly.
While Asti earned honorable mention All-America accolades for the Vols as part of the 200-yard medley relay team in 1999, he was even more successful in the classroom, where he was named Academic All-America and was a finalist for the SEC H. Boyd McWhorter Scholarship, the highest academic honor given by the conference.
Asti's wife, the former Lizzy Flynt, was a standout diver for the Lady Vols herself. She was a three-time All-American in addition to being a two-time Academic All-American at Tennessee. The couple has three children: Bryden, Gaines and Campbell.
"Lance is also a Vol for Life," Kredich said. "He was a model student athlete when he swam here and his wife Lizzy is also one of the all time great Lady Vol student athletes."
