Cyndi Gallagher (2025) - Hall of Fame

Cyndi Gallagher

Induction:
2025

Cyndi Gallagher totaled 38 years as a UCLA student-athlete, assistant coach and head coach and ended her 31-year tenure as head coach as the winningest coach in program history with a 202-107-2 overall record in dual meets. Gallagher led UCLA to Pac-10 titles in 2001 and 2003 and steered UCLA to top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships in nine separate seasons. She was twice named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year, first in 1990 when the Bruins finished fifth at the NCAA Championships and then again in 2003 after UCLA secured its second league championship in three years. Her tenure in Westwood produced a number of internationally renowned swimmers and divers, including 11 Olympians, 21 conference champions, and 91 All-Americans who won a total of 205 All-America awards. She coached UCLA's first-ever NCAA individual swimming champion, Annette Salmeen, who won the 200 Fly in 1996 and went on to win Olympic gold in 1998. Gallagher was an All-American herself as a swimmer and was selected UCLA's Most Outstanding Athlete in women's swimming and diving in 1980-81. She also won a bronze medal in the 800m Free at the 1979 World University Games and competed at two Olympic Trials.