Duke Hires Nunzio Esposto As Head Diving Coach

DURHAM, North Carolina, June 4. DUKE swimming and diving head coach Dan Colella has announced the addition of Nunzio Esposto to the Blue Devil coaching staff. A successful coach on the Olympic, national and collegiate levels, Esposto will serve as the program's head diving coach.

“We are thrilled to have Nunzio Esposto as our new head diving coach,” Colella said. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the program and we have no doubt that he will carry on with the level of excellence that has been established over the last six years under the guidance of Drew Johansen. Nunzio has ACC experience both as a diver and coach and this will serve him well in the coming years. He is a perfect fit for Duke University and we are excited to have him as our newest staff member.”

Esposto returns to the collegiate coaching ranks after previously serving as the head diving coach at North Carolina from 1998 to 2002. During that time he also was the head coach of the North Carolina Aquatic Club Diving program, guiding his athletes to senior and junior nationals qualification as well as multiple North Carolina high school state titles.

Following his tenure in Chapel Hill, Esposto served as the head coach of the Blue Devil Diving club program from 2003 to 2007. He directed current Duke diver and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Nick McCrory to a spot on the USA Diving Junior National team, as well as a junior national championship and a silver medal at the Junior World Championships in 2006.

Esposto has also been a part of the USA Diving national team coaching staff on several occasions, including at the 2011 FINA World Series in Dubai, UAE, the 2006 Junior World Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and the 2005 Junior Pan American Games in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

After a short period away from coaching, Esposto returned to the sport as a coach at The American School for Diving in Durham in 2011, overseeing several junior national qualifiers. Throughout his coaching career he has also worked as a regional practice administrator in radiation oncology at Rex Healthcare in Raleigh, N.C.

“It feels great to be getting back into diving full-time after taking some time away,” Esposto said. “I am very excited to be taking on the team Drew Johansen has built into a nationally-known program in diving and I hope to continue his success moving forward.”

An 11-time junior nationals finalist during his own diving career, Esposto earned a scholarship to North Carolina, where he was an All-ACC performer in each of his four seasons. He qualified for the NCAA Zone Diving Championships each year, garnering a trip to the NCAA Championships as a senior in 1991. Esposto was also named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll on three occasions and was the recipient of the Osterneck Award as the team's unsung hero his final year. He graduated from North Carolina with a degree in radiologic science in 1991.

A 1987 graduate of Butler High School in Butler, Pa., Esposto was inducted into the Butler, Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.

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