Melissa Steele, Jack Eichenlaub Join FGCU Women’s Swimming Coaching Staff

Photo Courtesy: FGCU Athletics

Coming off another record-breaking season in his first year with the program, FGCU head coach Dave Rollins has announced the additions of assistant coach Melissa Steele and volunteer assistant Jack Eichenlaub, who recently began their tenures with the Eagles.

Steele joins the Green and Blue after spending the last three seasons at the University of Arkansas, where she served two seasons as a graduate assistant under head coach Neil Harper before being promoted to an assistant coach last June.

Eichenlaub comes to the Sunshine State by way of Miami University (Ohio), where he served as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the RedHawks men’s and women’s swimming programs during the 2016-17 campaign.

Collectively, Steele and Eichenlaub bring six years of collegiate coaching experience and eight years of collegiate swimming experience to the program.

DAVE ROLLINS ON MELISSA STEELE

“We received an incredible amount of interest in our assistant coach position, and we are very excited to have Melissa joining our Eagle family. Her experience is exactly what we were looking for, and we cannot wait to have Melissa help the program reach new heights.”

DAVE ROLLINS ON JACK EICHENLAUB

“Having someone of Jack’s experience and knowledge is more than we could ask for in our volunteer position. His passion for our sport will help our program continue to grow and reach new levels of success.”

MELISSA STEELE BIO BLAST

During her time at Arkansas, Steele assisted with on-deck coaching as well as administrative duties that included team travel, meals, equipment inventory and recruiting activities. A total of eight school records were broken under Steele’s guidance, and she helped 15 swimmers advance to the NCAA Championships in her three seasons with the program.

Most notably, Steele helped Nikki Daniels earn All-American Honorable Mention honors in the 100 breast at the 2015 NCAA Championships and saw Anna Mayfield become the first swimmer in program history to qualify for four straight NCAA meets. Additionally, she coached Jessie Garrison to 2016 Olympic Trials qualifying marks in the 200 fly, 200 IM and 400 IM.

Prior to Arkansas, Steele served as an assistant age group coach for the Bolles School Sharks in her hometown of Jacksonville, Fla., from 2013-14. She also served as a camp counselor from 2012-14 at the University of Texas Longhorns Swim Camps. With both the Sharks and Longhorns, Steele had the opportunity to work with numerous Olympic and U.S. Junior National Team coaches as well as Olympic athletes.

Steele graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from the University of Louisville in 2012. A four-year letterwinner with the Cardinals, she earned Big East All-Academic Team honors following each season and helped Louisville to a Big East Championship in both 2011 and 2012. Capping off her career, Steele ranked third all-time in the 1,650 free and sixth in the 200 fly.

Additionally, during her grad assistantship with the Razorbacks, Steele earned her Master’s Degree in Sport and Recreation Management in May 2016 and was named the program’s Most Outstanding Master’s Student.

“I’m thrilled to be here at FGCU,” Steele said. I’m thankful to Coach Rollins and the FGCU staff for this wonderful opportunity to be a part of this great program, and I’m looking forward to working with the amazing young women on the team.”

JACK EICHENLAUB BIO BLAST

In his one-year stint with the RedHawks, Eichenlaub focused most of his attention on the distance swimmers and was also responsible for putting together Miami’s 2017 recruiting class that included nine men and five women during the early signing period. He guided the distance swimmers to eight top-eight finishes and 11 top-16 finishes at the 2017 MAC Championships, where both the men and women finished fourth.

Prior to Miami, Eichenlaub served as a graduate assistant for the Nova Southeastern men’s and women’s swimming programs. With the Sharks, he primarily worked with the mid-distance and distance freestylers in addition to handling numerous day-to-day operations within the program. Eichenlaub helped guide the Nova Southeastern men to a fourth-place finish at the 2016 NCAA Division II Championships. Also under his tutelage, the women’s team won the 2015 Sunshine State Conference Championship and finished fourth at the NCAA Division II Championships that season.

Originally from Ambler, Pa., Eichenlaub began his collegiate coaching career as a volunteer assistant at his alma mater of Bloomsburg University, where he helped guide the Huskies to 23 team records and numerous top-10 all-time marks. His coaching career originally began when he was the head coach of the Sunny Willow Swim Club.

A four-year swimmer for Bloomsburg head coach Stu Martin, Eichenlaub was named a senior captain during his final campaign with the Huskies. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies from Bloomsburg in 2014 and is currently working on his his Master’s Degree in College Student Affairs at Nova Southeastern, which he is scheduled to complete next spring.

“I’m very excited to be a part of the FGCU swimming and diving team, and I can’t thank Coach Rollins enough for such a great opportunity,” Eichenlaub added. “The team is bound for success under his leadership, and I can’t wait to get started.”

Steele and Eichenlaub join a FGCU program that has won three consecutive and eight of the last nine CCSA Championships. Two months ago, the Eagles wrapped up the season at the NCAA Championships for the sixth straight season and turned in the team’s third best all-time finish.

Press release courtesy of FGCU Athletics.

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