Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Women's Swimming

Rhodes goal since taking over has been simple yet ambitious - to return the Fighting Scots to a prominent spot in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.   His 2012-13 squads again excelled in the pool and in the classroom.  The women's team ended the year with a 6-3 record, then went on to capture fifth place out of 12 teams at the PSAC Championships. The 400-yard freestyle relay team of Julie Moretti, Staci Schrecongost, Katie Kelly and Alexis Berdine won the PSAC Championship with a school-record time. The team was named a College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America Team with a 3.02 team GPA.  The men's team posted a 2-5 record and came in sixth at the PSAC Championships.  Jeff Schleicher was named the PSAC Champion Scholar.  In the pool, Tony Romanini set a school and PSAC Championships record while winning the 200-yard backstroke.  In all, Romanini earned All-PSAC accolades in four events.   All told, the mens and womens teams set 21 school records this year and had 24 NCAA B cut times Now in his 13 season, Rhodes spent his early years building the foundation, and he is now seeing some of the fruits of his efforts the last few years.  A number of young swimmers have qualified for the PSAC Championships, and Zak Clifford earned honorable mention All-American honors in 2010 in the 200-yard backstroke.  Both the mens and womens teams enjoyed national rankings during the 2010-11 season, with the men rising to No. 4 in the NCAA Division II poll and the women to No. 11.             The last three years have seen the Fighting Scots post impressive performances at the PSAC Championships, along the way posting numerous school records and NCAA provisional qualifying times.  In fact, in 2011-12 a total of 12 school records were set, seven by the women and five by the men, along with 31 NCAA B cut times.  The mens team finished third both years, the highest finish since 1994.  Romanini was a six-time All-PSAC performer, setting school records in the 200-yard butterfly and 200-yard IM.  On the womens side, the Fighting Scots came in sixth out of 13 teams, led by three-time All-PSAC honoree Kate Marschner.             The 2011-12 swimmers also posted winning records, with the women going 8-2 and the men finishing at 5-3.   Fighting Scots swimmers set multiple school records at the 2011 PSAC Championships, as well, with the men taking third place and the women seventh at the conference meet.  Romanini led the squad by setting two individual school records. For the women, Marie Nedley closed her collegiate career by qualifying for the NCAA Championships in San Antonio, her third trip to Nationals while at Edinboro.  She finished 18th in the 1,650-yard freestyle, 25th in the 1,000-yard freestyle and 35th in the 500-yard freestyle. 13 Year Edinboro 95 th Academics have also been a major part of Rhodes agenda. His womens teams have earned College Swimming Coaches Association of America All-Academic honors every semester but one, and the mens team has earned similar honors.   Rhodes began his coaching career as an assistant swimming coach at Titusville High School in 1996-97,then moved on to Ashland University, one of the top programs on the Division II level, as an assistant swimming coach while completing work on his master's degree in Reading, which he received in August 1999. He coached a two-time national champion while at Ashland.   Rhodes returned to western Pennsylvania as the assistant swimming coach at Oil City Area High School for the 1999-2000 season.  He has also served as the head coach of the Stroke Development Camp at Westminster College.  In addition, he has been a Reading Specialist in the Oil City Area School District.   Rhodes graduated from Edinboro in December 1995 with a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education.  He and his wife Stephanie reside in Edinboro, along with their sons, Greysen (5), and Griffin (4). He is a member of the College Swim Coaches Association of America and the American Swimming Coaches Association.