Men’s and women’s swimming and diving head coach James Winchester resigned from his position Thursday, GW Athletics announced in a release.

Winchester will serve in the same position at Texas Christian University when he departs after a three-season stint at GW.

“We are thrilled for James and his family to have this opportunity,” Athletic Director Tanya Vogel said in a release. “We will miss him and his outstanding contributions to our program and wish him the best of luck in Texas, while we look forward to recruiting the next head coach who will continue to elevate our program in the conference and national ranks.”

Winchester did not immediately return a request for comment. He announced his resignation on Twitter Thursday morning, thanking athletic department leaders, coaches, athletes and his family.

“As the years pass, I will forget about the records broken, or individual dual meet times – what I will remember are the special people that have helped me call GW home for the last three years,” he said in a post.

The search for a new head coach will start immediately, according to the release.

Both the men’s and women’s programs found success under Winchester since he was hired in 2015.

The men’s program won back-to-back Atlantic 10 Championships in 2017 and 2018 and set 20 program records in the past three seasons. Two swimmers – two-time All-American Andrea Bolognesi, who graduated in 2017, and senior Gustav Hokfelt – made appearances at the NCAA Championship under Winchester.

After a sixth place finish in the A-10 Championships on the women’s side last season, the Colonials took third place at the competition this year and set a total of 17 new program records during Winchester’s tenure.

This year, senior Gustav Hokfelt and sophomore Gemma Atherley both competed in international competitions, representing their home countries of Sweden and Jersey, respectively.