Coaching Experience
• Assistant Head Coach, Cornell University (2022-present)
• Assistant Coach, Cornell University (2018-22)
• Assistant Coach, Ithaca College (2015-18)
• Assistant Coach, Wellesley College (2013-15)
Honors & Accomplishments
• Has helped guide the Big Red to 117 Cornell all-time top 10 marks and 14 school records (10 individual, four relays).
• Coached four league champions at Ithaca College.
• Founding member of the Swim Ithaca Club.
• Ithaca College (2009-13)
• First-team CSCAA Scholar All-American
• Four-time conference champion (100 breast, 200 medley relay, 400 medley relay (2x))
• 11-time individual all-state honoree
Education
• B.S., Sport Management (minor in Business Administration), Ithaca College (2013)
At Cornell
Jake Lichter, who previously served as an assistant coach at Ithaca College for three years, joined the Cornell men's swimming and diving staff in a similar role in August 2018. He became assistant head coach before the 2022-23 season.
During his five seasons on the sidelines for the Big Red, Lichter has helped Cornell notch 117 all-time top 10 marks in program history and set 14 school records (10 individual, four relays). During the 2019-20 campaign, Lichter played a role in helping Paige daCosta '24 to Cornell's first men's 100-backstroke Ivy League title in school history. daCosta also finished as the runner-up in the 200 Backstroke and 200 IM at the championship meet while setting three individual school records (100 Backstroke, 200 IM, 400 IM) throughout the season.
Jack Mahoney '20 and James Huang '21 have also set school records during Lichter's stay. Mahoney set a pair of program bests in the 100 Freestyle and 100 Butterfly at the 2019 Ivy League Championships, while Huang downed the 200 Butterfly school record at the 2020 league championship. Two of those records were rewritten at the 2023 Ivy League Championships. Sebastian Wolff '25 took down the 100 Freestyle record on his way to a second team All-Ivy performance, while Joseph Gurski '25 defeated the 200 Butterfly. Wolff also set the 200 IM record held by daCosta.
During the 2023-24 season, Lichter helped Gurski to become the first Big Red swimmer in 32 years to take home the 100 Butterfly title and first team All-Ivy honors at the Ivy Championship and a second team nod for Julian Correa '27 in the 400 IM. Pietro Ubertalli '26 (200 Backstroke) and Wolff (200 IM) also set new program marks alongside three new standards in the 200 Medley, 400 Freestyle, and 800 Freestyle Relay events.
Prior to Cornell
Lichter had a hand in nearly every area of Ithaca College's men's swimming program, from recruiting and fundraising to practice planning and running the team's social media accounts. He helped the Bombers to a third-place finish in the Liberty League in 2018, helping coach four league champions. He served his alma mater over two different stints in an assistant coaching role.
A founding member of the Swim Ithaca Club team in 2012, Lichter took over as head coach in 2016. In that role, he developed and executed training programs and meet schedules while supervising a staff of five assistant coaches, in addition to fulfilling his own coaching role.
Prior to returning to his alma mater, Lichter was an assistant women's swimming coach at Wellesley College for two seasons. He directed recruiting efforts and supported the head coach in the daily management of the program. Along with his coaching duties, Lichter also was the assistant aquatics director at Wellesley and the aquatics director at Brae Burn Country Club.
Swimming Career
Lichter was a four-year member of the swim team and served as captain during his senior year. He was named a College Swimming Coaches Association First Team Scholar All-America selection in his final season and earned 11 all-state honors during his career. Lichter was crowned the conference champion in the 100 Breaststroke, 200 Medley Relay, and 400 Medley Relay as a sophomore. He helped the Bombers' 400 Medley Relay team repeat as conference champions during his junior campaign.
*Updated April 2024
