Shaun Zitani Added to University of Miami Swimming Staff

CORAL GABLES, Florida, May 13. HEAD swimming coach Christie Shefchunas announced the hiring of Shaun Zitani to the University of Miami swimming and diving staff on Thurs., May 13, welcoming Zitani as an assistant coach to the Hurricanes swim program.

"I'm thrilled to have someone of Shaun's caliber with a proven past joining our staff here at the University of Miami," stated Shefchunas. "With him added to our staff, the future is certainly bright for our program."

Zitani, a 2002 graduate of the University of Kentucky, arrives to UM after serving the past year as the sprint coach for British Swimming in Manchester, England. While serving in Manchester, Zitani was responsible for recruiting and coaching elite-level swimmers throughout England, as well as helping to coach Olympic Games and World Championship medalists. He served as coach at the National Team Camps.

Prior to his brief stint in Manchester, Zitani spent four years at his alma mater in the form of assistant coach (2005-07), as well as associate head coach (2007-09).

While at UK, Zitani was responsible for the Wildcats sprint program, and helped guide the women's 200-free relay team to a school-first Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championship in 2007. The same relay took fifth in the nation in 2008, the highest finish ever for a relay team at UK. Wildcat sprinters have earned seven All-America distinctions under his tutelage. Zitani was also a valiant recruiter and brought some of the top recruits to Kentucky in his four seasons.

"I am extremely excited about the opportunity to coach at the University of Miami," expressed Zitani. "There is no doubt Miami Swimming and Diving is a program on the rise. I look forward to helping Miami make some noise at the NCAA level."

Other distinctions for Zitani at Kentucky included recruiting and signing the top male high school sprinter in the country (2006), in addition to the 15th-ranked recruiting class in the nation (2008).

"I knew he was a great coach because I watched the Kentucky sprinters rise to the top of the country while he was there," said Shefchunas. "His swimmers were some of the best in the country, and I knew he would be a great hire for us here, and for what we are trying to accomplish."

Zitani is no stranger to the state of Florida. Before arriving at UK as an assistant coach, he spent three years as an assistant coach with the men's and women's swimming program at Indian River Community College in Ft. Pierce, Florida from 2002-05. Zitani helped continue the tradition of excellence for the 31-time national-champion Pioneers, leading Indian River to three national titles while coaching the sprint swimmers to seven national-record finishes. At Indian River, Zitani coached Tim Patrick, who eventually broke Zitani's 50-yard freestyle record after transferring to Kentucky. Zitani coordinated all dry-land and weight-room programs for the Pioneers and served as the head age-group coach for the River Rats swim team.

He assisted head coach Sean Kelly in coaching several Olympic and World Championship qualifiers, including notables Keri-Ann Payne, James Goddard, David Carry, Michael Rock and Cassie Patten. He coached the 2008 Bahamian Olympian (50-meter free), as well as the 2007 South African National Champion (100 butterfly).

In the water as a student-athlete for the Wildcats of Kentucky, Zitani collected five All-America honors from 1997-2001. He brings a wealth of experience as a former student-athlete in addition to his coaching expertise. He placed 12th in the 50-freestyle for the Wildcats at the 2000 NCAA Championships to earn an honorable-mention All-America selection, and swam on the first Kentucky men's relay teams to compete at the NCAA Championships in 2001. Zitani helped lead the Wildcats to a 13th place showing in the 200-medley relay and the 800-freestyle relay, 14th place in the 200-freestyle relay and 15th place in the 400-freestyle relay to collect four more honorable-mention All-America honors.

Zitani is also an advocate of the word "student-athlete" picking up SEC Academic Honor Roll awards in 2000 and 2001, while also being named as a PNC Bank Scholar Athlete of the Week in 2000.

Shaun Zitani served as a member of the Treasure Coast Sports Commission from 2002-05, and is an active member of the American Swim Coaches Association, and the College Swim Coaches Association. He received his degree from Kentucky in May 2002, earning a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology.

For more information on the University of Miami Swimming & Diving team, please log on to www.hurricanesports.com. Once there, you will find up-to-date news, results and information regarding the Hurricanes Swimming & Diving program.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x