The Allegheny men’s and women’s Swimming and Diving teams recently concluded their seasons at the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Championships, with the men’s team ending in seventh place out of seven teams and the women’s team in fourth place out of nine teams. The season marked a new chapter for the programs, with new coaching staff leading the program: Head Swimming and Diving Coach Troy Lubanski and Assistant Swimming and Diving Coach Andrew Eggersgluss.
“It was a very good season,” Lubanski said, regarding his first season at Allegheny. “I am pretty excited to be here. I think the platform we have is great, I think the facilities we have are great, and so we are kind of at the stage where we are looking at some growth and getting more people involved in the program.”
Lubanski started out his coaching career at his alma mater, State University of New York at Fredonia, before heading down to West Virginia to coach at West Virginia Institute of Technology. He then moved back to New York to coach for Buffalo Area Aquatic Club and the women’s team at the University at Buffalo, eventually ending up at Allegheny this fall.
Eggersgluss went to college at Saint Mary’s University in Minnesota. He started his coaching career at DePauw University in Indiana and took a hiatus before ending up at Allegheny.
“I think the season went great,” Eggersgluss said. “When mid-season hit and we saw everyone swimming well, Troy and I sat down and talked about how it went a lot better than expected. They swam great. Overall, I think it was a very good season and I think they were all kind of shocked about it too, just because of the previous year and how everything turned out this year.”
Scoring for the swimming and diving teams is not determined solely based on the number of wins or losses for each team; instead, the scoring fluctuates based on team sizes, with smaller teams not getting as many points docked as larger teams. This year, the men’s team was 1-8, with only four men on the team. However, the women’s record was 5-5 with 12 women on the team.
“I think it is hard to see success on the men’s side with as small of team they are, but we have started and created a great foundation for what is going to come next,” Lubanski said.
“I think that is where we wanted to get to as we have been able to shut down any bad habits that have happened in the past, and in turn building our success to help us grow,” Lubanski continued.
The swimmers this season had a mid-season invite to help the teams prepare for the finishing end of each of their seasons. They competed against swim teams from Alfred State, SUNY-Fredonia, Hartwick, Penn State Behrend, Pittsburgh-Bradford, Saint Vincent and SUNY-Brockport.
“The thing that I like the most about coaching, whether it is here or anywhere, is the relationships piece,” Lubanski said. “I think swimming is the main discussion point, but the lessons we learn and the things we get to teach are a little bit deeper than that. I think that how people learn and how we go about improving our skills, whether that is in the pool or in the classroom, I think that is where my interests lie the most.”
As recruiting season continues, Lubanski and Eggersgluss have so far recruited four swimmers for the men’s team and one for the women’s team. They are waiting for two more to commit to the women’s team.
“I think Troy has done an amazing job with both teams,” said swimmer Olivia Johnson, ’28. “Coming in and knowing nothing about us or about the program or where the program stood, I think he has done an amazing job putting it all together and helping us improve without putting any unnecessary pressure on us at all.”
Other swimmers felt similarly.
“I think Troy and Eggs being part of the team this year was something that makes a huge difference,” said Oscar Zuniga, ’29, who swims the 100 breaststroke, 100 freestyle and 50 freestyle. “I think we as a team talked about how the environment the team had the last year with the coach before was not a very good one. We think now that we have Troy and Eggs, we are very comfortable and we feel like we have a very close relationship with them, even though we have only known them for such a short time.”
This year, the women’s team was just one meet away from having the best record in the past seven years. Additionally, two of the races that captain Josephine Reiter, ’26, swam at the conference — the 100 breaststroke and the 200 breaststroke — ranked her in the top 10 times in Allegheny history.
“I think this year was worlds better than last year on all fronts,” said Sam Kohler, ’28, who swims the 500 and 1650 freestyle and the 100 butterfly. “Everything from the quality of our training to the team atmosphere and environment, was just so much better than last year. Seeing how much I improved and seeing how much everyone else on the team has improved this year, has definitely made me reevaluate what my hopes are for next year.”
The swimmers believe that the athletic department did a good job with picking Lubanski and Eggersgluss as the new coaches.
“I think the season went really well,” said Grace Melocchi, ’29, who swims the 500 freestyle, 200 breaststroke and the 400 individual medley. “Troy and Eggs dove right in from the start, and they were super helpful with welcoming the freshmen and taking charge from the get-go, especially by establishing what they wanted from us in terms of rules and standards. I think they adjusted fairly quickly which made the season flow very smoothly.”
This was the first year since her sophomore year of high school that captain Anna Kohler, ’26, beat her best times; she earned new personal records in the 100 butterfly and the 200 butterfly.
“Troy and Eggs have been the third coaching duo since I have been here and I guess the whole ‘third time’s a charm’ thing is true because they really are two of the best coaches that I have ever had,” Kohler said. “They are very different people, but the way they work together is honestly very impressive. I think that the athletic department has done an amazing job picking these two coaches, and my hope is that they see how wonderful these two men are and how much they love their jobs and how much they care for us, and how much they have had a positive impact on the program.”
