College Coaching Changes Announced

August 8, 2001.

Peter Brown Takes the Coaching Reins at Brown

PENN State men's swimming head coach Peter Brown
has announced his resignation effective August 20 according to Penn State athletic department officials. Brown has decided to leave Penn State after 17 years to take over the head coaching position for both
the men's and women's squads at Brown University in Providence, R.I.

"I have been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to coach and teach at Penn State," Brown said. "Every coach should be so lucky.

"The hardest thing for me will be leaving a wonderful group of guys who have a bright future. I wish everyone at Penn State nothing but the best and look forward to the challenges that lie ahead."

During his time at Penn State, Brown was named the 1999 Big Ten Coach of the Year after leading the Nittany Lions to the first Big Ten title in the program's history. Brown also led Penn State to its
first top-20 finish at the NCAA Championships in 1999 (20th) and went on to improve upon that national finish during the past two seasons as the squad finished 19th in 1999-2000 and 16th in 2000-2001.

In addition, Brown guided the Lions to four consecutive top-three finishes at the Big Ten Championships from 1998-2001. Along with its success in the Big Ten, Brown also led Penn State to three-consecutive Atlantic-10 Conference titles from 1985-1987.

Brown, who wrapped up his Penn State tenure with an overall record of 124-44 (.738), is the winningest coach in the program's history and never posted a losing season during his 17 years in Happy Valley.

Success in the classroom was also a staple of Brown's program at Penn State, as each of his teams achieved Academic All-America status from 1991-2001. A total of 76 student-athletes have earned All-Big Ten status under Brown since Penn State joined the conference in 1991, while nine different athletes have earned Academic All-America status.

"Peter Brown has left a lasting mark on the Penn State men's swimming and diving program, Penn State assistant athletic director Bob Krimmel said. "His leadership has taken the program to Big Ten and
national prominence while maintaining a focus on the importance of academic performance in the classroom. Peter (Brown) is held in the highest regard by the administration, his fellow coaches and the student-athletes who have been part of his success at Penn State. While we are saddened to see them leave Penn State and the State College community, we wish Peter, his wife Janie and their family the very best at Brown."

Bill Dorenkott To Lead Penn State Swim Program

PENN State women's swimming head coach Bill Dorenkott has been named head coach of the men's and women's combined swimming and diving program, Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley announced yesterday.

Dorenkott, who will fill the vacancy left by the
departure of 17-year men's swimming coach Peter Brown, will continue to lead the women's program in addition to heading up the men's squad.

"I am honored and flattered that the athletic administration has presented this challenge to our staff," Dorenkott said. "The foundation has been laid by Peter Brown and Mike Davidson for a combined program to thrive at the Big Ten, NCAA and international levels.

"Our goals will continue to be the providing of opportunities for the best and brightest student athletes to pursue their dreams in the classroom and the pool at Penn State University," Dorenkott added.

The combining of the men's and women's swimming programs under one head coach makes it the second sport at Penn State to take up the format. The nationally renowned fencing program, which has claimed
eight national championships, also combines the men's and women's squads under one head coach, Emick Kaidannov.

"In researching other top combined programs throughout the country, we found many positives that would enable Penn State to continue to move forward in the collegiate swimming and diving arena," said Sue Scheetz, Penn State assistant athletic director. "Bill Dorenkott's past involvement and tremendous success with our men's and women's program makes him the ideal choice to be the first coach of the combined programs."

Dorenkott has served as the head of the Nittany Lion women's program for the past three seasons and led the squad to its best NCAA (11th) and Big Ten (second) finishes in the program's history in 2000-01. In addition, Dorenkott has been named as an assistant coach for the United States World University Games Team, which will compete in Beijing, China from August 22-September 1.

During Penn State's record-setting 2000-01 campaign, the Nittany Lions boasted six All-Big Ten swimmers, including the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Kristen Woodring. Dorenkott also has stressed academic excellence during his time in Happy Valley, as evidenced by his squad earning team academic All-America status for the past three seasons. Individually, a total of 16 Nittany Lions earned Academic All-America honors since Dorenkott took over the program in 1998-99.

Prior to his appointment with the Penn State women, Dorenkott was an assistant coach for the Nittany Lion men from 1995-1998 and was the men's and women's head coach at Ashland (Ohio) University between 1993-95.

"Bill Dorenkott is one of the most dynamic swimming coaches on the scene today," said Bob Krimmel, Penn State assistant athletic director. "I am delighted that he has accepted this new opportunity to serve as the head coach of the entire Penn State swimming and
diving program. Under Coach Dorenkott's leadership, I believe Penn State will continue to be a power in the Big Ten as well as at the NCAA Championships on both the men's and women's side."

Pablo Morales Takes Nebraska Women's Coaching Job

U.S. Olympic gold medalist and 11-time NCAA champion Pablo Morales was named the head coach of the University of Nebraska women's swimming and diving program, last week.

Bill Byrne, the Nebraska AD who recently killed the 70 yeear-old men's program at Nebraska, said Morales was a perfect fit for the Nebraska program.

"We are thrilled to have someone with the world-wide reputation of Pablo Morales as the new women's swimming coach at Nebraska," Byrne was quoted as saying by the Nebraska Sports Information Dept.

"We are committed to offering outstanding opportunities to Nebraska student-athletes, and Pablo's addition is an excellent example of that
commitment. He will fit well with the outstanding array of current Nebraska coaches.

Morales, who becomes the fifth women's swimming and diving head coach in school history, said the opportunity to lead Nebraska's rich tradition with
10 top-20 NCAA team finishes and 10 individual Olympians over the past 17 seasons was too good to pass up. However, the women's program is in disarray, following the University's decision to kill the men's program, allegedly for financial reasons.

Furthermore, rumors have it that Byrne, who eliminated the men's program while he was AD at the University of Oregon, may have decided to kill the women's swim program as well.

Despite the program's unhappy and insecure state, Morales said: "I am happy and honored to assume the head coaching position for the women's swimming and diving program at the University of Nebraska. It's an exciting decision for me and my family to make the move
to Nebraska. What drew us to the program was the championship legacy of the University, not only in athletics, but specifically in the swimming and
diving program. With the swimmers and the success they've had in the past, I definitely look forward to leading and building the program back to national
prominence and the challenges of competing in the Big 12."

According to the University's SID, Morales said: "One of the most important factors in our family's decision to move to Nebraska was the sense of family in the Lincoln community and the athletic department. From Bill Byrne all the way down through the other
administrators and the other coaching staffs we felt that sense of family, and that feeling was definitely important to us. We also liked the sense of excitement and support from the University, the Lincoln community and the state of Nebraska for the athletic department.

Morales first won Olympic gold in Los Angeles in 1984, helping the United States to a victory in the 400-meter medley relay. He added two silvers in the 100-meter butterfly and the 200-meter individual medley in Los Angeles.

He set the world record in the 100-meter butterfly in 1986 at the World Championships in Madrid with a time of 52.86. He also set the American record for 100 yards fly at 46.26, a time which stood for 13 years before being broken at the 1999 NCAA Championships.

Morales returned to the pool after a three-year layoff from competitive swimming to win the gold medal in the 100-meter butterfly at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. He served as co-captain of the U.S. Olympic men's
swim team at Barcelona and was later named the U.S. Olympic Committee's "Sportsman of the Year." He was elected into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1998.

In between his Olympic stints, Morales captured 11 NCAA
individual event titles, the most by any individual in NCAA history. (Unfortunately, no male swimmer will henceforth have the opportunity to win even one NCAA title.) He also helped Stanford to three NCAA titles (1985, 1986, 1987) in men's swimming and two more in men's water polo.

Along with his impressive honors in the pool, Morales also earned academic All-America honors at Stanford,
graduating with a bachelor of arts degree in English in 1987. He earned his juris doctorate degree from Cornell Law School in 1994.

Morales has spent the past three seasons as the head coach of the San Jose State women's swimming and diving team. He earned Western Athletic Conference "Coach of the Year" honors in 2000. He also served as the associate head coach of the San Jose Aquatics club program from June 2000 until July 2001.

"We'll have great memories of San Jose State and the
student-athletes that I've had a chance to work with, and there is a sadness in leaving," Morales said. "But we are excited to look ahead to the opportunities at the University of Nebraska."

Before taking over the San Jose State women's program, Morales spent one season as an assistant coach with Stanford men's program in 1997-98. He also spent one season as an assistant with San Jose Aquatics in 1995-96 after serving as a graduate assistant coach of the Cornell men's and women's swimming teams during the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons.

Morales and his wife, Viviana, are the parents of two sons, Sam, 2, and Benjamin, seven weeks.

Northwestern Names Heather Johnston Assistant Coach

NORTHWESTERN University women's swimming coach Jimmy Tierney has named Heather Johnston as his top assistant for the upcoming season.

Johnston comes to Evanston from Louisiana State University, where she has been an assistant coach with the Tigers' men's and women's swim teams since last September. Prior to that, she spent a year at the University of California at Berkeley as a volunteer
assistant with the women's program. Johnston has also served as an assistant coach with the men's and women's programs at Arizona State (1998-99), the women's program at Oregon State (1995-98), and the
men's and women's programs at Wisconsin-Stevens Point (1992-94).

In addition to her collegiate duties, Johnston has been an assistant coach with the World Sprint Team (Phoenix Swim Club) since August 1999. The World Sprint Team is a unit that earned three gold and two silver medals and had 10 men compete at the 2000 Olympic Games. Anthony Ervin earned two individuals golds and a relay bronze at this year's World Championships. Eight of their sprinters – six male, two female – will be competing at the World University Games this summer.

Johnston is a 1991 graduate of Whittier (Calif.) College, where she lettered in five sports (swimming, water polo, soccer, lacrosse and track). She also holds a master's degree in education (athletic administration) from Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Simon Fraser names Joanna Linardis Head Diving Coach

SIMON Fraser University Head Swimming & Diving coach Liam Donnelley has named former NAIA National Diving Champion Joanna Linardis as the Head Diving Coach for the 2001-2002 season.

Lindardis will be reviving a program, which has produced many NAIA Champions and National level divers such as herself. Last season, Donnelley was forced to red-shirt his three divers, Rhonda Byers, Kirstin Lindquist, and Ian Higginbotham, and shelve the program after his diving coach quit mid-season.

"I am extremely excited to have Joanna aboard as our new diving coach", said Donnelley. "She's a builder, I know she is going to come in here and make a difference."

Linardis is a graduate of Simon Fraser, and a former NAIA champion member of the SFU Diving Team. Most recently, she has been involved with the SFU Diving Club as a coach. "She has all the skills and knowledge to be a great coach, and she understands what we are trying to accomplish here at SFU. She has Clan blood flowing in her veins," added Donnelley.

This move revives the SFU diving program, and will help SFU in it's quest for two more NAIA National Titles (men's & women's). The Clan has swept the Nationals for the past two years, and are three time defending champions on the men's side.

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