USA National Team Coach / Nine-Time CSCAA Coach of the Year / 12-Time Bluegrass Mountain Conference Coach of the Year/ 2019 Jimi Flowers Coach of the Year
U.S. Marine Corp Commerical featuring Jeff Dugdale
Human Touch featuring Jeff Dugdale
Going D1 featuring Jeff Dugdale
Royals Rise Announcement on WCNC Charlotte featuring Jeff Dugdale
Jeff Dugdale is in his 14th year in charge of the Queens University of Charlotte men's and women's swimming programs in 2023-24. His accolades include:
14 Team NCAA Championships
124 Individual NCAA Championships
735 All-American Swims (351 Men; 384 Women)
142 Scholar-Americans
6 NCAA DII Honda Award Athlete of the Year Finalist
3 Elite 90 Award Winner
CCSA Conference Champion (Men)
CCSA Coach of the Meet Men’s
CCSA Swimmer of the Meet Men and Women
CSCAA National Invitational Champions (Men)
CSCAA N.I.C Coach of the Meet Men’s
CSCAA N.I.C Male Swimmer of the Meet
16 BMC Championships
268 Individual BMC Championships
12 NCAA Swimmer of the Meets
11 BMC Coach of the Year Awards
19 BMC Swimmer of the Year Awards
Additionally, Queens swimming has had four athletes compete across three Olympic games (London, Rio, Tokyo) and one compete in two Paralympic Games (Rio, Tokyo).
2022-23
The Queens men's and women's swimming programs were faced with a new big challenge — competing at the Division I level against some of the nation's best. Both squads transitioned seamlessly and were well-prepared for postseason swims. The first competition either team faced was competing in the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) Championships. The men's side dominated the competition throughout the four-day event and came out on top the rest, claiming 933.5 points en route to a first-place finish. Coach Dugdale was named Coach of the Meet, along with Alex Kunert who was named Most Outstanding Men's Swimmer of the Championship and Daniel Meszaros who was named Most Outstanding Men's Freshman Performer. The women's team would conclude the tournament with a third-place finish, finishing the week with 1,119 points. Danielle Melilli was named the Most Outstanding Women's Swimmer of the Championship, and Annika Huber was named the Most Outstanding Women's Freshman Performer. The two teams combined for 12 broken conference records, and 3 broken school records throughout the championships.
After a successful weekend at the CCSA's, both squads sent a combined 21 swimmers to the National Invitational Championship in Elkhard, Indiana. The men's team, who had been dominant all season, once again found themselves atop the podium at the conclusion of the event, tallying 674 points and finishing ahead of Tennessee and Ohio State who claimed second and third, respectively. Alexander Bauch, who contributed to seven first-place finishes and four broken records, was named the Swimmer of the Meet. Queens broke an astounding 14 N.I.C. records and six more school records during the competition.
Outside of postseason swims, Jan Delkeskamp was named a Walter Byers Post-Graduate Finalist for a second-consecutive year, Matej Dusa finished as a semifinalist at the short course World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, and alumnus Kayla Tennant was an NCAA Woman of the Year finalist, finishing within in the top-nine.
2021-22
The Queens men's and women's swimming programs emerged victorious at the NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships securing their seventh straight title each. At the Championships, Queens posted a combined 84 All-American swims, including 50 All-Americans and 34 Honorable Mention All-Americans. Coach Dugdale also swept the Men's and Women's CSCAA Coach of the Year honors for the third time in his storied career. Coach Dugdale and the Royals produced a pair of CSCAA Swimmers of the Year, including Danielle Melilli who was awarded the praise for the second straight year. On the men's side, Alex Kunert was named the Men's Swimmer of the Year.
Queens also swept the Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championships for the eighth straight year. Alex Kunert and Danielle Melilli were named BMC Male and Female Swimmer of the Year.
In the classroom, both programs were named CSCAA Scholar All-America. Prior to the Championships, Jan Delkeskamp and Kayla Tennant were awarded the Elite 90 award, which is given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA competing at the Championships. The honor is just the third and fourth time a Royal has received the honor, and Delkeskamp becomes the first male athlete at Queens to be given the praise.
2020-21
The Queens men's and women's swimming teams each secured their sixth straight NCAA Division II Swimming Championship following the cancellation of the 2020 Championships due to COVID-19. At the meet, Queens tallied a combined 84 All-American swims, including 61 All-Americans and 23 Honorable Mention All-Americans. Additionally, Dugdale swept the Men's and Women's CSCAA Team Coach of the Year honors for the second time in his career, while CSCAA Female Swimmer of the Year honors went to sophomore Danielle Melilli.
The Royals also swept the Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championships for the seventh consecutive year as Alex Kunert and Melilli were named BMC Male and Female Swimmer of the Year. Dugdale was also named BMC Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year.
Academically, both teams were named CSCAA Scholar All-America teams while 21 individuals were named CSCAA Scholar All-Americans. In addition, Jan Delkeskamp was named the Pamela Davies Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Queens also had representation at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games as Marius Kush (Germany) and Felix Duchampt (Romania) qualified for swimming and triathlon, respectively. Additionally, Hanna Aspden qualified for the Tokyo Paralympic Games making it her second time competing in the global event.
2019-20
During the 2019-20 season, Queens was poised to win yet another National Championship on both the men's and women's sides before the Championships were cut short due to COVID-19. The Royals collected their sixth consecutive men's and women's Bluegrass Mountain Championship titles while 18 women combined for 60 all-america honors while the men saw 12 athletes collect a combined 41 all-america awards.
For the third straight season and fifth time overall, Dugdale was named the BMC Women's Head Coach of the Year after leading Polina Lapshina to her second straight BMC Female Swimmer of the Year honor. Additionally, Alex Kunert took the BMC Men's Swimmer of the Year title for Queens.
2018-19
Queens University of Charlotte continued its historic run of national dominance, winning both the men's and women's NCAA Division II National Championships for the fifth straight year.
Dugdale was honored for the second straight season as the CSCAA Women's Swimming Coach of the Year, bringing the total to six such honors. Additionally, he was both the men's and women's Bluegrass Mountain Conference Coach of the Year.
Senior Marius Kusch was selected as the CSCAA Male Swimmer of the Meet for the third straight year after winning a total of seven event championships, including four individual events and three relay races. Kusch was also a part of four NCAA record swims, setting the mark in the 100-Yard Backstroke (44.09), 100-Yard Butterfly (44.32), 100-Yard Freestyle (41.73), and swimming the first leg of the 400-Yard Freestyle Relay (2:49.98).
Junior Polina Lapshina was named the CSCAA Female Swimmer of the Meet, the first such award for a Queens swimmer since Patricia Ortega won the award in 2014-2015 and 2015-2016. The Ekaterinburg, Russia native won four individual events and was a member of three relay wins.
Lapshina was a part of five NCAA record swims, setting benchmarks in the 100-Yard Backstroke (52.07), 100-Yard Butterfly (52.16) and 100-Yard Freestyle (48.16), while also swimming the first leg in both the 400-Yard Freestyle Relay (3:18.04) and the 400-Yard Medley Relay (3:35.70).
In total, the Royals collected 23 event crowns and set 11 NCAA Division II records during the four-day meet. The women's team now holds a total of 14 NCAA Division II records, and the men hold 14 of the 19 NCAA Division II top marks.
Queens also tallied 83 All-American swims, including 60 All-Americans and 23 Honorable Mention All-Americans to set a new program benchmark.
Kusch, Alex Kunert, Bobbie Gichard, and Erico Cuna each competed internationally for their home countries at the 2019 FINA World Championships. Hannah Aspden and Carson Sanocki also appeared on the inernational stage, competing for Team USA at the Parapan American Games Lima 2019.
The Royals also won the men's and women's BMC titles for a fifth consecutive year as both Kusch and Polina won their respective Swimmer of the Year awards from the conference.
2017-18
For the fourth consecutive season, the Queens University of Charlotte men's and women's swimming teams were crown NCAA Division II Champions.
After the conclusion of the NCAA Championships, Dugdale was honored with his fourth Coach of the Year award as the CSCAA selected him as the recipient of the Women's Swimming Coach of the Year. The award is the fifth national coaching award for Dugdale who was named both the men's and women's coach of the year in 2014-15 and the men's coach of the year following the 2016-17 season.
Junior Marius Kusch also earned national accolades as he was selected as the NCAA Male Swimmer of the Year for the second straight season. The Kassel, Germany native won a total of seven event championships, including four individual events and three relay races. Kusch was also a part of two NCAA record swims, setting the mark in the 200-Yard I.M. (1:41.61) and swimming the third leg of the 200-Yard Medley Relay (1:24.83)
In total, the Royals collected 17 event crowns and set seven NCAA Division II records during the four-day meet. The women's team now holds a total of 10 NCAA Division II records, while the men hold 13 of the 19 NCAA Division II top marks.
Of the 10 total records for the women, three marks were reached during the NCAAs and a total of four top times were set during the 2017-18 season as senior McKenzie Stevens set a record with her swim in the 200-Yard Butterfly at the Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championships, only to break her own record in the NCAA Championships. For the men, Queens registered four NCAA record swims during the meet.
Queens also tallied 73 All-American swims, including 51 All-Americans and 22 Honorable Mention All-Americans to set a new program benchmark.
The Royals were also crowned Bluegrass Mountain Conference Champions for the fourth year in a row, where Dugdale was named as both the men's and women's BMC Coach of the Year after the meet, his third such award from the conference.
2016-17
The 2016-17 season marks yet another year of success for the Queens swimming programs as both the men and women became three-time NCAA Division ll Swimming Champions. This year the men broke five NCAA records at the championship meet and the women won their first Medley Relay NCAA Championship. Marius Kusch was named NCAA Swimmer of the Year and Dugdale was awarded NCAA Coach of the Year.
Another standout at the championships was Hannah Peiffer. She became the first female to win a different event each year at the championships. Her freshman year was the 100 Butterfly, sophomore year was the 200 Butterfly, junior year was the 100 Backstroke, and this year was the 200 Backstroke. She also broke the NCAA records in these events her freshman, sophomore, and senior years.
Both the Royals men’s and women’s teams were Bluegrass Mountain Conference Champions for the third year running and had multiple students honored with various awards. Dugdale was again named BMC Coach of the Year and Kusch was named BMC Swimmer of the Year.
Outside of the pool, both the men’s and women’s team continue to excel. This year both teams were named Scholar All-American Teams and Dion Dreesen and McKensie Stevens were both named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Teams. Additionally, Dreesen and Peiffer were both honored as Queens Best Male and Female Senior Student-Athletes of the Year.
In addition, Queens had several Royals make appearances at the Short Course World Championships in Windsor, Canada. Kusch came in eighth place in the 100-meter freestyle, Dreesens competed in the 800 freestyle relay, and Dasha Talianov competed in both the 100-meter and 200-meter breastroke.
2015-16
The 2015-16 season was yet another banner year for the Queens swimming programs as the men and women were back-to-back NCAA Division II Swimming Champions. Queens’ men broke three NCAA records at the meet, while the women broke four. Also highlighting the national championship meet were NCAA Swimmers of the Meet Patri Castro Ortega and Dion Dreesens. Ortega was also a Honda Award and Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sports Scholar Award winner and a NCAA Athlete of the Year Nominee.
The Royals also repeated as Bluegrass Mountain Conference Champions on the men’s and women’s side with Castro Ortega and Dreesens winning BMC Swimmer of the Year honors. Additionally, Dugdale and his staff were named BMC Coaches of the Year. Seven conference records were shattered at the meet along with seven national records.
With it being an Olympic year, many Royals kept busy following the season with hopes of attending the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Nic Erikson, Nick Arakelian and Caroline Arakelian all made the USA Olympic Trials, while Hector Tricas (Spain), Marias Kusch (Germany), Paul Pujlet (France), Sude Ozgen (Turkey), Dreesens (Netherlands) and Castro Ortega (Spain) all competed in their home country’s trials. Ortega qualified to represent Spain in the 200 free, 4x100 relay and 4x200 relay, while Dreesens qualified to represent the Netherlands in the 200 free and the 4x200 relay. In addition, former Queens swimmer Matthew Josa made it to the finals of the 100 meter fly at the USA Olympic Trials gaining valuable experience and positioning himself nicely for a run at the 2020 games.
Out of the pool, Queens’ swimming programs excelled in the classroom as well with the women earning the department’s highest GPA award. Twelve women and seven men were named academic all-Americans capping 12 consecutive semesters that Royals have earned the recognition. Additionally, Ben Taylor and Caroline Arakelian were named Queens Best Male and Female Senior Student-Athletes of the Year.
Dugdale had a successful year with SwimMAC TeamElite as well as their Director of High Performance. Assisting 2016 Team USA Women’s Olympic Coach David Marsh in all aspects of his TeamElite program, Dugdale helped place six swimmers (Katie Meili, Kathleen Baker, Anthony Ervin, Jimmy Feigen and Ryan Locte) on the USA Olympic Team. The group totaled six gold, one silver and one bronze medals at the games. Following the games, Dugdale was named one of USA Swimming’s National Team Coaches.
2014-15
In a fruitful year for Coach Dugdale and the Queens swimming program, Queens welcomed home two NCAA National Championship trophies marking the first NCAA championship for both the school and the city of Charlotte. Nationals brought a string of accolades to the program as Queens swept the awards with Coach Dugdale claiming both the men’s and the women’s NCAA Division II Coach of the Meet award in addition to the teams landing the Men’s and Women’s NCAA Division II Swimmer of the Meet awards. Under Dugdale’s leadership, six female and six male student athletes claimed a NCAA title in 17 different events, 12 of which would qualify for national records.
The 2014-15 team, the month prior, made history in claiming the Bluegrass Mountain Conference for the first time since the programs development. Queens would secure the Men’s and Women’s swimmer of the year awards as Coach Dugdale took coach of the year for both sides. The team finished the year with a total of 25 new school records and 15 new NCAA records. Both programs would reach academic all-America with the women holding a GPA of 3.62 and the men holding a GPA of 3.13. The men’s and women’s teams would also have an athlete named Queens Student-Athlete of the Year.
2013-14
Throughout the 2013-2014 season, the Royals men and women ranked second in the nation based on schedule strength and performance. Both teams once again claimed mid-season academic all-America status continuing the streak. The programs exceled in the conference meet as the men finished the year grabbing second at the conference meet as the women’s team made a jump from third to second. Matthew Josa was named swimmer of the meet and Coach Dugdale accepted the Bob Busby Award for Men's Coach of the Year in the BMC. The men swept all relays and the women won two for the first time in Royals history. Twenty two student-athletes qualified for the NCAA Championships in Geneva, Ohio at the Spire Institute.
The NCAA Championships proved to be exciting as the Royals finished third in the women and fourth in the men. Kristin Diemer made the first statement by winning the Elite 89 for the highest GPA at the meet another first for the University. She also became the teams second CoSIDA All American and All District. Matthew Josa made a statement by winning three individual events, was a member of two winning relays, and set four national records on his way to earning NCAA DII Swimmer of the Meet and NCAA (All Divisions) Breakout Swimmer of the Year. The Royals would go on to claim five records on the national stage. The 2013-2014 season concluded with nine national champions, eight national records, 19 school records, 15 academic scholar all-Americas, and two academic all-America programs.
The Dugdale led program leveraged the momentum from the 2012 Olympic year to accomplishing 26 new school records between the men and women, 1st CoSIDA First Team All-America at large swimmer and All-America District swimmer, first men’s and women’s NCAA champions for the school, and 59 all-America honors including those who qualified for honorable mentions. The teams also excelled in conference competition taking their first Bluegrass Mountain Conference Swimmer of the Meet for both programs and the school’s first Bluegrass Mountain Swimmer of the Year again claiming the award on both sides. Both programs would finish in the top ten at the NCAA championships.
2011-12
In his second season at the helm of the Royals, Dugdale saw a great deal of success. There were 42 school record swims, six conference records, 54 all-conference swims, 15 all-America swims and 25 all-America honorable mention swims. In addition, John Long was named the Bluegrass Mountain Conference Co-Swimmer of the Year. Long, along with Joe Skuba and Nic Eriksson, qualified for the 2012 Olympic Trials. To cap off the season, Dugdale was voted by his peers to serve as President of the Bluegrass Mountain Conference.
Background
A native of Kenosha, Wis., Dugdale joined the Royals in the summer of 2010 from the SwimMAC Carolina, where he assisted Head Coach David Marsh in all aspects of running Team Elite whose members included Olympian Cullen Jones and record holders Nick Brunelli, Nick Thoman and Josh Schneider.
In addition to working at Queens, in the summer of 2012, Dugdale started as the Director of High Performance for SwimMAC Team Elite. He assisted in placing five athletes on the U.S. Olympic Team that returned to Charlotte with three gold medals and three silver.
Prior to joining SwimMAC Carolina, Dugdale was an assistant coach at Duke University, where he helped lead recruiting and leadership development. While at Duke, Dugdale had a hand in seeing both the men and women break all but three school records while moving up the ACC and NCAA ranks. In 2008, he spearheaded the merger of two club programs, Tar Heel Aquatic Team and Blue Devil Aquatic into Duke Aquatics, currently a Silver Medal program.
Dugdale was a member of the men’s swim team at Auburn University becoming a three year letter-winner, 1989-1991, before getting his start in collegiate coaching at his alma mater in 1992. Like many of the Queens swimmers have done in this first year, Dugdale helped to transition the Tigers’ program into the one it is today with countless NCAA and SEC Championships.
As a junior, Dugdale was tapped as Marsh’s first recruiting coordinator and helped Marsh recruit the university’s first SEC and NCAA Championship Team. He assisted in coaching 218 All-American honorees, 16 Academic All-Americans, and one Olympian, Yoav Bruck of Israel.
Dugdale earned a bachelor’s degree in Health and Human Performance at Auburn in 1995. Dugdale has two children, Sydney and Colby.
Quotes:
“Jeff is not only an exceptional on-deck coach, but a dynamic individual with a wealth of knowledge in how to develop and grow a program to an elite level,” said Dan Colella, head men’s and women’s coach at Duke. “He is a great recruiter of not only potential student athletes, but supporters for the program. He knows how to inspire and bring out the best in everyone, swimmers, alumni, and staff. We miss having him with us here at Duke, but Queens is fortunate to have one of the best as a member of their staff.”
David Marsh has worked with Dugdale for more than 20 years, dating back to the time when both were at Auburn University together. “His enthusiasm and passion coupled with his desire to make a positive impact in the sport of swimming make him a tremendous leader.”
Jon Lau enters his second season as Senior Associate Head Coach with the Queens University Charlotte swimming program in 2024-25 after serving four seasons as associate head coach.
The 2023-24 season culminated in runner-up finishes at the ASUN Championships for both the men’s and women’s teams. At the ASUN Championships, Queens set three new meet records, collected 15 gold medals, ASUN Swimmer of the Meet (Danielle Melilli), ASUN Freshman of the Meet (Abigail Zboran), and ASUN Female Student-Athlete of the Year (Sophie Lange). At the CSCAA National Invitational Championship (NIC) the Royals captured a runner-up finish for the men’s team while the women’s team had their highest finish in school history at 4th place. Queens set 6 new NIC meet records, while collecting 11 indiv/relay championships, and the NIC Men’s Swimmer of the Meet (Matej Dusa). Melilli and Nien Levy competed in the 50m Free at US Olympic Team Trials. Dusa went on to represent Slovakia at the 2024 Olympic Games Paris (50m Free).
It was a year of firsts during the 2022-23 season as Queens entered its inaugural season as an NCAA Division I school. The swimmers lead the way with the CSCAA National Invitational Championship (NIC) men’s team title and 10th place finish for the women. At the NIC, Royals captured 15 gold medals, 14 meet records, and the men’s swimmer of the meet honors (Alex Bauch). At the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) Championship the men’s team captured the conference title and the women’s team placed 3rd. The Royals secured 26 gold medals and 11 meet records. Alex Kunert and Danielle Melilli were named the CCSA Swimmers of the Meet. Daniel Meszaros and Annika Huber were named the CCSA Most Outstanding Freshman Performers. Jan Delkeskamp was honored as a Walter Byers Scholarship Finalist.
The 2021-22 season was one of the most successful in Queens history culminating in the Royals’ 7th men’s and women’s NCAA Division II National Championships to go along with their 8th pair of Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championships. At the NCAA DII National Championships, Jan Delkeskamp and Kayla Tennant were honored as Elite90 award winners, Alex Kunert and Danielle Melilli claimed the CSCAA Swimmer of the Year awards, the Royals captured 50 All-American finishes and 16 individual/relay NCAA titles, and in the 50-yard freestyle both Matej Dusa (18.88) and Danielle Melilli (22.15) set new NCAA records. Outside of the pool, Danielle Melilli was honored as a Honda Award Finalist, Kayla Tennant was a Walter Byers Scholarship Finalist and Top 9 Finalist for NCAA Woman of the Year, and the men’s swim team captured the Royal Service Award for leading the campus in community service hours. Lau also acted on the 21-22 CSCAA Men’s DII Top 25 Poll Committee. In November 2021, Lau served as the head manager for USA Swimming’s National Diversity Select Camp in Chula Vista, CA.
Amidst the COVID-19 global pandemic during the 2020-21 season, Lau coached the Royals to their 6th pair of men’s and women’s NCAA Division II National Championships, in addition to securing Bluegrass Mountain Conference (BMC) Championships for both genders as well. Queens tallied 61 All-American honors at the National Championships and captured 11 individual and relay national championship titles (Francesca Bains 1650 Free, Lexie Baker 100 Free, Giulia Grasso 500 Free, Alex Kunert 200 Fly & 200 Free, Danielle Melilli 100 Breast & 50 Free, Men’s 800 Free Relay, Women’s 800 Free, 200 Medley, and 400 Medley Relays). Melilli was named the CSCAA Swimmer of the Year for NCAA Division II.
In 2019-20, Lau helped lead Queens to the 2020 Men's & Women's BMC Championships as well as two NCAA Division II National Titles in the Women's 200 IM (Lexie Baker) and the Women's 200 Medley Relay before the championship meet was cut short due to COVID-19.
COACHING BEFORE QUEENS
Lau joined the Royals after successfully serving the Lindenwood University Lions (St. Charles, MO) in various coaching roles for eleven seasons, most recently as the top assistant for both the men’s and women’s programs.
He was instrumental in Lindenwood’s climb to NCAA Division II national prowess after transitioning from the NAIA. This period was highlighted by a 2016 National Runner-Up finish by their men’s team. In their first six years of NCAA Division II competition the Lions captured 76 All-American recognitions, eight individual NCAA National Titles, set four NCAA National Records, and captured six conference team championships during this span. During the NAIA period, Lau coached the men’s team to back-to-back third place NAIA National finishes in 2010 and 2011, while his athletes set 64 school records, gathered nine All-American (Top three) nods, captured three individual National Championships (Sarah Billiamosa 400 IM 2010, Sergio Molina 200 Breast 2010, Javier Hernandez 200 Fly 2011), and set an NAIA National Record (Hernandez 200 Fly 2011).
As a student-athlete for the Lions from 2004-08, Lau was a six-time NAIA All-American (Top three). He was a member of Lindenwood’s first relay national championship in program history (400 Medley Relay 2006) and in 2016, this relay was inducted into the Lindenwood Athletics Hall of Fame. Lau was the first athlete in program history to earn All-American recognitions during each of his four seasons. He served as the men’s team captain from 2005 to 2008 and held school records in the 100/200 fly, 200 IM, 200/400 Medley Relay, and 200 Free Relay.
Lau has served as an assistant coach at the University of Texas Longhorn Swim Camp (summer 2011 and 2013-2018). He has worked closely with Olympic Coach Eddie Reese and Carol Capitani, along with Olympic gold medalists and former world record holders Ian Crocker, Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Ricky Berens, Garrett Weber-Gale, and Josh Davis.
Lau also has experience coaching at the Indiana University Swim Camp (summer 2018 & 2019) working with Olympic Coaches Ray Looze and Coley Stickels. In 2019, Lau served as a USA Swimming Sport Development Camp Assistant Manager at the Southern Zone Select Camp (University of Louisville).
PERSONAL
Lau earned his Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Lindenwood in 2009. He also earned a Master of Science degree in Health Management from Lindenwood in 2010 and an MBA in 2012. Lau is a certified Level 4 Coach with the American Swimming Coaches Association. An avid US Masters swimmer, Lau is a two-time national champion (400 IM 24-29 age group 2013 & 100 fly 30-34 2016). His wife Amanda is also an alumnus of Lindenwood swimming. Their newly born daughter, Regan, is learning how to swim.
Elliot Ptasnik joined the Queens men’s and women’s swimming coaching staffs ahead of the 2023-24 season. Ptasnik brings over 15 years of coaching to Charlotte with experience ranging from age group, college, and professional swimmers. Most recently, he served as a volunteer assistant coach at Stanford University, primarily working with the Cardinal women’s team and 2020 U.S. Women’s Olympic Swimming Head Coach Greg Meehan.
While completing a master’s degree from 2021 to 2023, Ptasnik was the founder and head coach of Aloha Aquatica, a professional training group based out of Kapolei, Hawaii. He has worked with athletes such as World Champion Ben Proud, World Record holder Andrii Govorov, Olympic gold medalist Anthony Ervin, Olympians Michael Andrew, Shane Ryan, Marius Kusch and Meiron Cheruti and many other professional swimmers. Ptasnik has coached at many major competitions such as US Olympic Trials, US Nationals, NCAA Championships, World Championships and European Championships.
From 2016 to 2021, Ptasnik served as an assistant coach and head coach at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. During his tenure at Hawaii, he helped guide the UH Wahine (women’s team) to MPSF Conference Championships in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 and the UH Warriors (men’s team) to MPSF Conference Championships in 2019 and 2020. Ptasnik was awarded MPSF Women’s Coach of the Year in 2020 and 2021 and MPSF Men’s Coach of the Year in 2020.
Prior to Hawaii, Ptasnik spent nine years as Director of Imagine Swimming in New York City, expanding the swim school to over 4,000 swimmers and serving as head coach of the Manhattan Makos swim team which produced many successful swimming careers, including Division I and Division III national champions.
Ptasnik swam at the University of Iowa, earning a degree in finance in 2005. He also has an MBA from the University of Hawaii. He is accompanied by his wife Shana, an electrophysiologist at Novant Presbyterian Hospital, and their dog Archie.
Quotes
“Elliot made an immediate and lasting impact on our program this summer. He’s an incredibly thoughtful and curious coach who brought a positive and an infectious energy to the pool deck each and every day. Elliot will continue to make a big impact at Queens and I’m excited for him to take his next journey in his career.”
-Greg Meehan | Stanford Director of Women's Swimming
“Elliot is an excellent fit with our program. He has robust knowledge, a growth mindset, and a hunger to move athletes from good to great. We exist to build leaders for life and Elliot brings another layer of expertise and experience to deliver an amazing experience to our student-athletes. I also want to welcome Shana to the Queen City.”
-Jeff Dugdale | Queens Associate Athletic Director for Creative Services/Director of Swimming