Eastern University Men's Golf

Birtwistle has 626 career victories and 17 Conference Championships. Eastern advanced to the National Semifinals in 2011 and the Elite Eight in 2013. His teams have earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament 16 times, advancing to the Sweet 16 on nine occasions. Birtwistles 626-212 career record (74.7%) places him among the top winningest active coaches in NCAA DIII Volleyball.  In 2002, 2005, 2010, 2011 and 2014, Coach Birtwistle was honored by the AVCA as the Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year. Birtwistle has led the Eagles to regional prominence as well as into the national standings.  His teams have been regionally ranked for years, producing 20 seasons with 20 or more wins. The program entered a brand new era in 2003, 2004 and 2005 when his teams won over 30 matches each of those years, collected three consecutive Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC) championships and advanced all three seasons to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Final of the NCAA National Tournament.  In those three seasons, the team won nearly 100 matches, spent 6 weeks in the AVCA s Top 25 National poll, named 5 AVCA All-Americans, 6 All-Region selections, the 2004 Region Freshman of the Year and three straight Conference Players of the Year.  After a one-year vacancy from the national tournament in 2007, Birtwistle quickly got his team and program back on track.  The Eagles turned a 17-15 season record in 2007 into a 35-2 statement in 2008 as the team immediately returned to regional and national prominence.  By season's end, the Eastern Volleyball program was back in the AVCA's Top 25 at their highest rank ever at #19.  In 2009 and 2010, Birtwistle's teams continued to put Eastern University on the national map as they climbed from #19 in 2008 to as high as #5 in the Nation in 2010 with nearly 10 wins over their nationally-ranked opponents.     Birtwistle has countless memories in his time at EU, but none more important than the players that have built this program. The Eagles have had 16 AVCA Division III All-Americans selections (plus 10 honorable mentions) and have Eastern's only First-Team All-Americans (Maria Horning, 2010, 2011; Courtney Reinhold, 2011; Katrina Pisch, 2014). Maria Horning and Courtney Reinhold became the first pair of volleyball classmates to earn four straight All-America Awards. Eastern has had more than 90 All-Conference players, 16  conference Players of the Year, 17 conference championship game MVPs, and nine Rookies of the Year.  The program also saw national recognition when outside hitter, Courtney Reinhold ('12) was the selected as the NCAA DIII National Player of the Week in October 2009.  Coach Birtwistle is an eight-time conference Coach of the Year including 3 straight selections in 2008, 2009 and 2010 and hasn't lost a conference regular season game since the 1999 season.  He has coached with USA Volleyballs High Performance teams at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs as well as various Gold Medal Camps throughout the country. He currently serves on the NCAA Regional selection committee as well as the AVCA's Top 25 selection committee. Birtwistle works full-time for the university as both the Head Womens Volleyball Coach and Head Mens Golf Coach. He resides on-campus with his wife Heidi, their daughter Ali, and son Jack.  Please use the following information to contact Coach Birtwistle: Office phone #: Head Coach Mark Birtwistle has been at the helm of Eastern Volleyball since 1990. In his time at Eastern, Birtwistle has 626 career victories and 17 Conference Championships. Eastern advanced to the National Semifinals in 2011 and the Elite Eight in 2013. His teams have earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament 16 times, advancing to the Sweet 16 on nine occasions. Birtwistles 626-212 career record (74.7%) places him among the top winningest active coaches in NCAA DIII Volleyball.  In 2002, 2005, 2010, 2011 and 2014, Coach Birtwistle was honored by the AVCA as the Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year. Birtwistle has led the Eagles to regional prominence as well as into the national standings.  His teams have been regionally ranked for years, producing 20 seasons with 20 or more wins. The program entered a brand new era in 2003, 2004 and 2005 when his teams won over 30 matches each of those years, collected three consecutive Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC) championships and advanced all three seasons to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Final of the NCAA National Tournament.  In those three seasons, the team won nearly 100 matches, spent 6 weeks in the AVCA s Top 25 National poll, named 5 AVCA All-Americans, 6 All-Region selections, the 2004 Region Freshman of the Year and three straight Conference Players of the Year.  After a one-year vacancy from the national tournament in 2007, Birtwistle quickly got his team and program back on track.  The Eagles turned a 17-15 season record in 2007 into a 35-2 statement in 2008 as the team immediately returned to regional and national prominence.  By season's end, the Eastern Volleyball program was back in the AVCA's Top 25 at their highest rank ever at #19.  In 2009 and 2010, Birtwistle's teams continued to put Eastern University on the national map as they climbed from #19 in 2008 to as high as #5 in the Nation in 2010 with nearly 10 wins over their nationally-ranked opponents.     Birtwistle has countless memories in his time at EU, but none more important than the players that have built this program. The Eagles have had 16 AVCA Division III All-Americans selections (plus 10 honorable mentions) and have Eastern's only First-Team All-Americans (Maria Horning, 2010, 2011; Courtney Reinhold, 2011; Katrina Pisch, 2014). Maria Horning and Courtney Reinhold became the first pair of volleyball classmates to earn four straight All-America Awards. Eastern has had more than 90 All-Conference players, 16  conference Players of the Year, 17 conference championship game MVPs, and nine Rookies of the Year.  The program also saw national recognition when outside hitter, Courtney Reinhold ('12) was the selected as the NCAA DIII National Player of the Week in October 2009.  Coach Birtwistle is an eight-time conference Coach of the Year including 3 straight selections in 2008, 2009 and 2010 and hasn't lost a conference regular season game since the 1999 season.  He has coached with USA Volleyballs High Performance teams at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs as well as various Gold Medal Camps throughout the country. He currently serves on the NCAA Regional selection committee as well as the AVCA's Top 25 selection committee. Birtwistle works full-time for the university as both the Head Womens Volleyball Coach and Head Mens Golf Coach. He resides on-campus with his wife Heidi, their daughter Ali, and son Jack.  Please use the following information to contact Coach Birtwistle: Office phone #: