In a University of Rhode Island Athletics Hall of Fame class that included professional athletes, an NFL head coach and a “Survivor” winner, inductee Lilli Falconer Deering stands out.
Her post-collegiate career led her back to the Tootell Aquatic Center, where she spent four seasons setting records with the swim and dive team.
“I got inducted with a really, really humbling class,” Deering said. “It was a huge honor, and it was something that will mean a lot to me for the rest of my life.”
When she graduated, Deering found her way back to the pool in 2016 as she joined the URI coaching staff as an assistant coach. She was able to make the jump to head coach in 2021, and the team has shown improved results in the Atlantic 10 Championship each year under her leadership.
Deering heard the news of her induction in November just after the decision had been made by the Hall of Fame Committee.
“I was actually on my way to the pool and crossed paths with Thorr [Bjorn] in the hallway,” Deering said. “It was a very sudden, very unexpected moment for me.”
The 2025 class marks the first time in six years that there have been new inductees. With the time off, over 30 nominations were considered before landing on the eight-person class.
With friends and family in attendance, two other familiar faces returned to URI after coaching Deering during her collegiate career. Her predecessor, Mick Westkott, and former assistant coach Colin Shannahan, who is now the head coach of the swim and dive program at Wagner College.
“Being head coach now, I hope that someday I get invited back to see one of my athletes inducted into the hall of fame,” Deering said.
Deering was a constant presence at the top of the Atlantic 10 Conference as an athlete, becoming one of the most decorated swimmers in program history. She was named the 2010 A-10 Most Outstanding Performer alongside her four A-10 All-Conference Performer selections across her career.
“It’s two very different times in my life,” Deering said. “As an athlete, I was really focused on just being the best that I could be for myself…When I am coaching, I am focused on helping the girls achieve what their goals are.”
Despite Deering’s success, she still had hoped for more. Now years removed, she has recognized that being happy with your time as a student-athlete is more important than any physical goal and uses her perspective as a former competitor to help guide her athletes.
“Initially, out of college, I had some regret or disappointment in not reaching some of my bigger aspirations,” Deering said. “14 years out of college, I wouldn’t change anything with my career here at URI.”
In 2010, she captured gold in both the 200 and 400-yard individual medleys at the A-10 Championship, and Deering still holds program records in both events.
“I would love to be able to coach athletes to best my records,” Deering said. “I think that we have some pretty talented [individual medley swimmers] on the team now that have the potential to do that, and that’s an exciting thing for me.”
She has already seen one of her records broken while an assistant coach in 2018, as Nicole Pletta ’19 took down Deering’s time in the 200-yard breaststroke at the A-10 Championship.
“I still get to be a part of that record if I get to be their coach,” Deering said. “I still helped them break that record, and I still get a little piece of it.”
Next season marks Deering’s 10th year with the coaching staff and her fourth as head coach for Rhode Island. The program will look to continue its upward trend from the last three seasons.
