Springfield, Mass. - March 8, 2010 - For the second-consecutive year, the diving duo of Matt Fitzgerald and Brian Sobel will represent Springfield College at the 2010 NCAA Division III Men's Swimming and Diving Championships held at the University of Minnesota on March 17-20.Only one other school in the country on the men's side had multiple divers qualify for the Championships as Oswego State has three divers in the national event. Overall, there are 22 divers entered in both the one and three-meter diving events. Aaron Paradis joins both Sobel and Fitzgerald as representatives from the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference.
Several weeks back at the NEWMAC Championships, both Sobel and Fitzgerald had impressive showings. For the second-straight year, Sobel captured his second straight NEWMAC Diver of the Year honor. At NEWMAC's, Sobel swept the competition as he took home the one-meter crown with a school-record score of 542.05 before winning the three-meter with a mark of 512.25. Fitzgerald place second on the one-meter after scoring 466.05 points, while he took third on the three-meter with a 474.20
These two have seen plenty of success at the NCAA's before. Last year, Sobel took home third place and All-American honors in the one-meter with a 513.50, while Fitzgerald finished 15th with a score of 413.05 en route to earning Honorable Mention All-American honors. In the three-meter competition, Sobel finished eighth in the country with a final score of 461.05 and Fitzgerald finished in 15th with a score of 408.90.
John Taffe enters his 25th season in 2013-2014 as the head coach of the men's and women's swimming teams at Springfield College. Under Taffe’s leadership, the Pride has returned to its status as one of the best collegiate swimming and diving programs in Division III. Read more.
Peter Avdoulos is regarded as one of the top diving coaches in the nation, and will enter his 28th season as the diving coach for both the men's and women's programs in 2012-2013. The current NEWMAC Men's Diving Coach of the Year, Avdoulos has coached countless All-New England and All-American divers, as well as several National Champions. Read more.