Florida Institute of Technology Women's Softball

Florida Tech Director of Athletics Jamie Joss announced Tony Marleneanu as the next head coach of the men's and women's swimming program on Thursday, August 29, 2024. Marleneau became the fourth head coach in program history.  In the 2024-25 season, Marleneanu coached the Florida Tech men's seventh swimmer to reach All-American status, Efe Ongoren. Under Marleneanu, Ongoren placed 9th in the 500 Free with a school record time of 4:23.00. The men's team would receive a season-high ranking of No. 25 while the women's team received votes twice in the 2024-25 season. Additionally, the men's team would defeat No. 17 Rollins on Jan. 10. "We proudly welcome new head men's and women's swimming coach Tony Marleneanu and his family to Florida Tech," said Joss. "Tony's distinguished journey from an international athlete at the NCAA Division II level and in the professional swimming ranks to a successful head and assistant coach at Hendrix College has uniquely shaped his approach to coaching. "His extensive experience and impressive track record of inspiring athletes to achieve record-breaking times, championships, academic success, and leadership roles on campus resonates deeply with our mission and vision. "We are confident that Tony's passion for the sport and commitment to nurturing scholar-athletes will lead our teams to unprecedented success both in and out of the pool. We can't wait to see what the future holds under his leadership!" Marleneanu joins the Panthers after spending five seasons at Hendrix College in Arkansas. The Romania native led the Warriors to a 22-15 overall record and 16 All-SAA swimmers. "I am honored and tremendously excited about the opportunity to lead the Florida Tech Swimming Program," said Marleneau. "I would like to thank Mr. Joss and President Nicklow for their support and for entrusting me with this position. Florida Tech is dedicated to excellence in education and research innovation, and we will strive to achieve excellence in the water, as well. I look forward to using my experience, knowledge, and enthusiasm to create an environment where scholar-athletes can thrive. Go Panthers!" During the 2023-24 campaign, Marleneanu guided Zane Shaner to a school record 22.86 in the 50-yard Butterfly and an All-SAA Honorable Mention in the 200 Butterfly. The season prior, he coached two Warriors to six school records and another record for their 400 free relay. One of those Warriors, Cece Worth, claimed the records in 200 free, 500 free, 10000 free, and 1650 free. Worth also earned All-SAA First Team honors. The team's best season under Marleneanu was 2021-22, going 6-2. The Warriors 800 free relay also swam a 7:08.09 for another school record. In 2020-21, Marleneanu coached Paxton Higgerson and Oli Steven-Assheuer to All-SAA Honorable Mention. In his first season, Marleneanu was named SAA Men's Coach of the Year and broke 33 school records on the men's side and nine program records by the women. Prior to Hendrix, Marleneanu was the head swimming coach at Sacred Heart High School from 2015 to 2019. He was also the CEO and head swim coach for The AquaKids INC. from 2012 to 2018. From 2010 to 2012, he gained valuable experience coaching at Northwest Arkansas Aquatics and RAC AquaHawgs. Marleneanu began his coaching career as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Henderson State, in August 2009. Marleneanu swam for the Red Wave for four seasons from 2006-10. He earned NCAA All-American honors in 2009 and All-Academic Team honors from 2007-09. He graduated with a degree in business administration. After graduating from Athletic High School in Constanta, Romania, Marleneanu was a member of the Romanian National Team at the ILS World Championships in Viareggio, Italy, in 2004.

In 2025-2026, Val Silvestrini enters her 17th season as the head softball coach at Florida Tech. During her tenure with the softball program, Silvestrini has compiled a 438-332 record. As of April 3, 2021, she holds the distinction of being the program's leader in wins as she surpassed the late Hall of Famer Dr. Nancy Bottge's mark of 316. The Argentine is also the team's only coach to win a Sunshine State Conference Championship and NCAA South Region titles.  In 2023, the Panthers finished with a 28-22 overall record and finished fifth in the SSC with a 16-14 record. Cheyenne Nelson earned first-team All-SSC honors, while Jolie Miracle was selected for the Second and All-Defensive teams. Cheyenne Nelson is the only Panther to have been named All-SSC First Team three times, while Jolie Miracle is the first Panther catcher to make the All-SSC team in consecutive years since 2005-06. Five Panthers were named to the CSC Academic All-District Team, and Cheyenne Nelson collected her third NFCA All-South Region Team honors.  Val Silvestrini's strategic leadership was evident during the 2022 campaign, where she guided the Panthers to a successful 30+ win season, amassing a mark of 32-20 with a 15-15 SSC record. The team's performance was recognized with six Panthers earning SSC honors, two being named to the Cosida Academic All-District team, and one being selected to the D2CCA and NFCA All-South Region teams. These achievements underline Val Silvestrini's ability to lead the team to success.  The 2019 season was a historic one for Florida Tech. Under Silvestrini's coaching, the team clinched the program's first Sunshine State Conference title, achieved the highest national ranking at No. 4, made their second trip to the NCAA South Super Regional, and tied the Panthers' win record with 42, with 23 coming in SSC play. With her coaching, Melanie Murphy became the second player in program history and the first since Elisa Bartolo in 1995 and 1996 to earn All-America honors, marking a significant milestone for the program. During the 2015 season, she guided the Panthers to the best season in program history. Florida Tech not only advanced to postseason play for the first time in school history but also claimed the NCAA DII South Region Championship to advance to the NCAA Super Regionals. That year, Florida Tech finished the season with a 38-20 overall record and went 14-10 in Sunshine State Conference play. The Panthers finished the season ranked for the first time ever, sliding in at No. 19 in the NFCA poll. Sivlestrini led the Panthers to 20 wins every season while compiling 118 total wins for the first five seasons. She also coached Brianna Barth, earning three consecutive All-South Region Second Team honors from 2010-2012 and 10 total All-SSC selections. Silvistrini came to the institution from the University of North Florida, where she was the assistant coach for the Ospreys for the last two years. While there, she assisted in all facets of the program and helped lead UNF to consecutive winning seasons, which saw the team ranked sixth out of the 11 schools in the Atlantic Sun Conference standings each of the last two years. Prior to her stint at UNF, Silvestrini served as an assistant coach at Charleston Southern University and at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Georgia, where she earned her Master of Science degree in sports medicine. She completed her bachelor’s degree in physical education teaching and coaching from ISEF N° 1 “Dr. Enrique Romero Brest” in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In addition to her coaching experience, Silvestrini has received her National Strength and Conditioning certification from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). During her tenure at AASU, she coached five Peach Belt All-Conference players, four conference Players of the Week and one NFCA National Player of the Week. In 2006, the team finished 23rd in the NFCA Division II National Rankings. At UNF during the 2008 season, the Lady Ospreys broke the single-season record for home runs with 50 and set a new school record for wins as a Division I program with 39. Silvestrini has guided North Florida to a 66-48 record (.727 winning percentage) in the last two years. Additionally, Val has had six of her student-athletes honored as All-Atlantic Sun players and four named Players of the Week. As a coach, she was responsible for the planning and implementation of softball practices, recruiting, and team travel. In addition, she served as the supervisor of academic development for student-athletes and Interim Head Coach at UNF for three months in the summer of 2008. During her athletic career, Silvestrini played for the Argentinean National Team from 1998-2007 and served as captain from 2005 until she retired. She participated in several international tournaments, including the Pan-American and South American Championships. During her stints with the Division I teams in Argentina and Spain, she was named Player of the Year, Best Hitter, and Best Defensive Player on numerous occasions. While playing for Armstrong Atlantic as a senior, she hit .410 for the season and was tabbed an All-Conference, All-Region, and All-Tournament Outfielder. Silvestrini is currently in the top three in three different offensive categories for single-season records at AASU, including second in hits (73), third in batting average (.410), and second in runs scored (49).

Ben Klimczak was hired as an assistant swimming coach and assistant aquatics director in September 2023. For the 2023-24 Season, Klkimzcak helped send two individuals, freshman Akos Hajagos and junior Katherine Helminiak to the 2024 NCAA Championships. Working directly with Hajagos throughout the season, Klimczak helped lead the freshman to a second-place finish at NCAA's in the Men's 200 Yard Butterfly, the highest placement of any individual Florida Tech swimmer, men's or women's in program history. He also led Hajagos to earn two All-America honors as the freshman earned First-Team All-America status in the 200 Fly and All-America Honorable Mention in the Men's 400 IM.  Klimczak helped, the Men's team also ranked No.19 Nationally in the CSCAA Top 25 poll for December and January's polls. Klimczak comes to Florida Tech following his time as an assistant swimming coach with the Plantation Swimming Team in Plantation, Florida since 2022. Prior to working with the Plantation Swimming Team, he was a seasonal assistant swim coach at Nova Southeastern from September 2021 to May 2022. While with the Sharks, he helped guide the men's and women's programs to the 2022 NCAA Division II National Championships where the women took home a 3rd place finish and the men's program recording a 12th place finish at Nationals.  An NCAA Division III Scholar Athlete, Klimczak was a three-year member of the swimming program at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana from 2017-2019. He managed to rank top 10 in four events in the Little Giants program record book. He is in the 100 and 200-yard Backstroke and 200 and 400 Medley Relay. At the 2019 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), Klimczak helped lead the team to its best finish in school history with a fourth-place finish and scoring 1093.5 points in the conference championship. Klimczak, a native of La Porte, Indiana, received his Bachelor of Arts in classics with minors in psychology and history from Wabash College in May 2021.

Xiarysse Emerenciana is entering her third season as a graduate assistant coach. She joined the staff after spending two seasons on the softball team. During Xiarysse's tenure on the softball team, she earned All-Sunshine State Conference first team honors in 2018 and second team in 2019. She also was a member of the 2019 team that won the program's first SSC championship.

Shanysse Emerenciana is currently in her fifth season as an assistant coach, a role she assumed in September 2021. Her strategic guidance has been instrumental in the Panthers' impressive performance, with the team achieving four consecutive seasons with 25 wins or more. During her time, Emerenciana helped coach 10 All-SSC selections, including five first team honorees and four All-Defensive Team members. The Panthers are a combined 114-85 overall in her four seasons. Emerenciana guided the program's third-best season fielding percentage of .967 in 2024 and a program record 118 stolen bases in 2025 She served as a graduate assistant coach for the team from Fall 2019 to Spring 2021. She was a two-year Florida Tech softball team member from 2017 to 2019.   Shanysse helped lead the Panthers to a 28-22 overall record and finished fifth in the SSC with a 16-14 SSC record during the 2023 season. Two Panthers earned All-SSC honors, five were named to the CSC Academic All-District team, and Cheyenne Nelson earned her third NFCA All-South Region team honors.  During the 2022 campaign, she assisted in leading the Panthers to a 30+ win season, amassing a mark of 32-20 with a 15-15 SSC record. Six Panthers earned SSC honors, two were named to the Cosida Academic All-District team, and one was selected to the D2CCA and NFCA All-South Region teams.     During her time as a graduate assistant coach, Emerenciana helped in all aspects of running the program, including working with the infield players, athlete development, and hitting. She assisted in developing game plans, recruiting, organizing transportation, and ensuring the academic success of the scholar-athletes. Additionally, she ran camps and clinics for the team.    As a scholar-athlete, Emerenciana played an integral role in the softball team's historic 2019 season. The Panthers set a school record with 42 wins and hoisted the Sunshine State Conference championship trophy for the first time in program history. Her impressive play earned her a spot on the All-SSC First Team in 2019.    Emerenciana appeared in 104 games with 96 starts over her two years with the Panthers. Over her career, she accumulated a .281 batting average with 67 hits, 47 runs, and 34 RBI to go along with 11 doubles, five triples, and five home runs. She was successful on 27-32 career steal attempts. On the defensive side, Emerenciana had 155 career putouts, 194 assists and was a part of 12 double plays. She racked up a .908 fielding percentage in 2018 and bumped it up to .938 during the 2019 season.    Additionally, Emerenciana works as a coach for UbrZati in Melbourne where she develops athletes to go beyond their capabilities by building sustainable speed, power, agility, and endurance with ideal running form on a treadmill. She also serves as a volunteer coach for Travel Ball Firecrackers Stockton, based in Melbourne.                                                                                                                                     A native of Willemstad, Curacao, Emerenciana graduated from Florida Tech with a Bachelor of Science in Sports Management in December 2019. She then went on to earn a Master of Business Administration from Florida Tech in May 2021. She received an associate degree from Palm Beach State College in May 2017.