Samantha Pitter enters her second year as associate head coach after Head Coach Chase Kreitler added her to his staff on June 3, 2022.
In 2022-23, Pitter helped lead the Panthers to break 31 program records, with 15 student-athletes qualifing for the 2023 NCAA championships, five individuals earn All-American honors, and two divers qualify for the 2024 U.S. Olympic trials.
Pitter came to Pittsburgh after from Harvard where she spent eight seasons on the coaching staff, including four as Associate Head Coach for the men's swimming program. Pitter helped lead Harvard to two consecutive Top 15 finishes at the NCAA Championships and five consecutive Ivy League Championships. During her tenure, the Crimson rewrote 60 school records while five recruiting classes finished in the top-25 nationally.
Pitter coached Dean Farris to tremendous heights during his time at Harvard. Under Pitter's guidance, Farris finished his career as a two-time NCAA Champion and American record holder while earning 23 All-American accolades.
Prior to Harvard, Ritter spent five years at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), including four years as assistant and one year as acting head coach in 2012-13. She helped lead both the men's and women's programs to three consecutive NEWMAC Championships, while guiding the men to four consecutive top-10 finishes at the NCAA Division III Championships. In 2012-13, she led the Engineers to their best NCAA finishes: third place for the men and eighth place for the women. Over the course of that season, the women went on to break 12 school records and the men rewrote 21 of 24 school records, which included three NCAA event titles and one NCAA record. Pitter was named NEWMAC Women's Coach of the Year for the squad's performance at the NEWMAC Championships.
She also has experience coaching at the national level as a three-time USA National Team coach.
Pitter earned a double-major Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Communication at Hamilton College in 2007. There, she was a four-time All-America sprinter, school-record holder, team captain and NESCAC All-Academic recipient. She later earned a Masters of Education in Physical Education Specializing in Coaching from Boston University in 2011.