Berry College Men's Swimming

Flinchbaugh was named the first head Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Coach in Berry College history in October, 2008. In addition to his responsibilities leading the Berry Swimming and Diving program, Flinchbaugh also serves as the Aquatics Coordinator for Berry's Steven J. Cage Athletic and Recreation Center. Flinchbaugh led the women's Swimming and Diving team to a fifth place finish at the Southern Athletic Association Championship in the 2015-16 season. The team was named an CSCA Scholar All-American Team, placing 13 swimmers on the SAA Honor Roll. In the 2014-15 season, Flinchbaugh led his men's and women's teams to 3rd and 5th place SAA Championship finishes respectively. En route to one of their best SAA placements in years, Flinchbaugh helped 9 swimmers earn All-SAA honors, including five student-athletes who were placed on the first team after finishing first in an event at the SAA Championships. Additionally, sophomore Joey Ellwanger was also named to the Capital One Academic All-District 5 team after finishing an outstanding year in the pool and the classroom. Flinchbaugh was charged with the task of building the Vikings' Swimming and Diving programs from the ground up. The teams' first season came in the 2009-10 academic year, and since that start the team has grown in size and reputation. "I continue to be overjoyed with the direction the teams have progressed and am excited to work with an exceptional group of collegiate athletes," Flinchbaugh said. The women's team has been honored as a CSCAA Academic All-American team and competed in the Appalachian Swim Conference. They finished 9th or better each of the three years. The Men's team--also competing in the Appalachian Swim Conference--finished 9th or better each year. The men also produced three individual conference champions in the ASC. In the 2012-13 season, the Vikings moved to the new Southern Athletic Association (SAA). "Berry College is an extraordinary place," said Flinchbaugh. "Berry has an excellent academic reputation that is enhanced with athletic opportunities." Flinchbaugh joined the Berry staff after many years working in aquatics both at the collegiate level as well as within public education. Most recently, he served as the aquatics coordinator for the Albany, Ga. YMCA and the Aquatics Facility Director for the City of Panama City Beach, Fla.. In addition to his work in the field of aquatics, Flinchbaugh also has an extensive coaching background. His greatest efforts before Berry were at Darton College. Flinchbaugh took the Albany, Ga.-based junior college from having one swimmer for both the men's and women's program, to a top-five ranking in the NJCAA in both 2004 and 2005. He coached a national championship-winning 400 medley relay team and helped a total of 13 swimmers earn CSCAA All-American honors, along with nine All-American relays. Flinchbaugh previously spent nine years coaching at the NCAA Division III level as the head diving coach for Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y. from 1993-2003. He produced multiple NCAA All Americans and national champions on the one and three meter springboard events. While serving as the head diving coach at Hamilton, Flinchbaugh also coached diving for the New Hartford High School boy's and girl's swim teams, and operated a successful United States Diving club. Flinchbaugh attended the State University of New York at Cortland. There he earned both a Bachelor's and Master's degree of Science in Education; Physical Education. In addition to teaching a few classes at Berry, he also taught at Darton College and other public schools. Coach Flinchbaugh is married to Stephanie Flinchbaugh. They have three daughters: Cora, Jessica and Nicole. The immediate family resides in Rome.

Schmitz enters the 2016-17 season as a second-year graduate assistant coach at Berry. Schmitz is pursuing her Master's degree in business administration during her two-year stint (2015-16 and 2016-17) at Berry. Schmitz comes to the Vikings after completing her Bachelor's of business administration degree--majoring in Marketing and minoring in fashion merchandising--at Georgia Southern University. She also swam for the NCAA Division I Eagles. "Catie is going to be an exceptional addition to not only our program and the athletic department, but to Berry College as well," said Vikings' Head Coach Paul Flinchbaugh. "Her experiences with competitive swimming at the NCAA division 1 level--and her prior club coaching experience--make her a perfect candidate for this position." Schmitz, a middle distance specialist, swam predominantly breaststroke and individual medley while at Georgia Southern. During her senior year, however, she also competed in the 100 and 200 yard backstroke events for the Eagles. As a student-athlete, Schmitz was honored as a Coastal Carolina Swimming Association (CCSA) All-Conference Academic Scholar each of her eight semesters at Georgia Southern. She also earned a spot on the Dean's list in seven of her eight semesters and was tabbed to the President's List in each of her final three semesters. "I am very excited about my new role," Schmitz said. "I am eager and enthusiastic to learn more from a knowledgeable coach and contribute to the program. I can't wait to meet my future team and to get started on another great Viking season." Catie is the daughter of Richard and Deborah Schmitz of Stafford, Va.. During her high school career she represented North Stafford High School where she earned four varsity letters. She was a team captain and holds school records in the 200 IM and 200 Medley Relay. Schmitz earned All-District, All-Regional and All-State honors, was a National Honor Society member and graduated Summa Cum Laude. In her spare time Catie Swam for the Rappahannock Area YMCA Stingrays.