John Carroll University Women's Softball

Tony Scibelli enters his second year as head softball coach at John Carroll in the 2025-26 academic year.  In his first season, Scibelli improved John Carroll's overall record by six games, and JCU's conference record by two games. He mentored Danielle Orendi to an All-OAC selection as a pitcher. Scibelli enjoyed plenty of success at Walsh Jesuit, a renowned Jesuit high school in Cuyahoga Falls. In the spring, he completed his sixth season coaching the Warriors. He guided Walsh Jesuit to a 22-1 record in 2024. The Warriors ascended to #1 in the Ohio High School Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association state poll and #9 in the country. The Warriors' only loss occurred in the OHSAA Regional Final. The veteran leader earned OHSAA Coach of the Year for the Northeast District in 2024. Additionally, he was the Crown Conference Coach of the Year in 2022 and 2024. His Warriors won conference championships four times under his leadership (The Warriors did not play in 2020 due to Covid and were independent in 2021).  Previously, Scibelli coached at Kirtland from 2013-15, winning the Chagrin Valley Conference title and Coach of the Year honors each of the three seasons. Before his stop with the Hornets, Scibelli guided Berkshire to back-to-back league titles in 2011 and 2012, garnering CVC Coach of the Year honors for both seasons.  During the 2016 and 2017 seasons, Scibelli served as the hitting coach for the NCAA Division I Akron Zips softball team. The Zips notched a 29-26-1 record in 2016 and a 29-28 mark in 2017. In both seasons, he raised the team's batting average and on-base percentage ratings in the MAC. He also coached at Lakeland Community College in 2018, helping LCC finish 15th in the nation in slugging.  Scibelli coached high-level travel softball in the Midwest for over twelve years, primarily with the Beverly Bandits travel softball program. He coached the 14U Bandits team to a third place finish at the PGF Nationals in 2015 - the highest ever finish by a Midwest team at the time. Scibelli also coached with the Ohio Lasers and Ohio Ice organizations in the past. Since 2011, Scibelli has provided hitting, pitching and fielding lessons. Scibelli has mentored players who have gone on to play Division I softball in the SEC, Big Ten, MAC, Horizon League, and the Ivy League. In all, he has coached over 95 players who have played in college.  Scibelli has also been an umpire in the OHSAA for softball, volleyball, and basketball and a certified USA Softball umpire. He is a lead instructor for the USA Softball National Team High Performance Program. Scibelli is a Kent State University grad. He earned his Bachelor's degree in English in 1998. Additionally, Scibelli earned a Master's of Education with a focus in Sports Science from the University of Akron in 2017.  Year Overall Conference Conf.Tourney NCAA's 2025 12-18 4-11 0-0 0-0 Total 12-18 4-11 0-0 0-0

Mark de Swardt enters his second season as head coach of the swimming & diving program at John Carroll in the 2025-26 academic year.  In his first year leading the Blue Streaks, de Swardt guided JCU to the OAC Men's and Women's Championships. He mentored both the OAC's Most Outstanding Female Swimmer (Mairin Dalziel) and OAC's Most Outstanding Male Swimmer (Joe Nadur). He guided three relays plus a pair of individuals to qualifying for the NCAA Championships. JCU finished unbeaten against conference foes in the regular season. JCU compiled a men's dual record of 9-1 and a women's dual record of 7-3. A native of Durban, South Africa, de Swardt brings nearly a decade of coaching experience after with a very successful Division I swimming career at nearby Cleveland State.  His coaching career began in his hometown in South Africa as Head Triathlon Coach for the Triathlon Training Academy. From 2016-21, de Swardt developed and implemented training programs for triathletes of all ages and abilities. Additionally from 2019-21, de Swardt served as an assistant swimming coach for the Seagulls Club. Prior to the 2021-22 season, de Swardt returned to the States as a volunteer assistant coach at The Ohio State University. He helped in a variety of ways, including assisting with recruiting, providing individualized feedback to swimmers, and helping to run daily swim practices. During the past two seasons, de Swardt coached at the University of Northern Colorado as an assistant. Over the past two seasons, he assisted with organizing and conducting practices, developed training plans, played a key role in recruiting, and aided with team travel and budgets.  In 2024, Northern Colorado finished fourth at the Western Athletic Conference Championships and in third at the 2023 WAC Championships.  Prior to his coaching career, de Swardt enjoyed a prolific collegiate career of his own. Over the course of his freshman campaign, de Swardt became one of the best distance swimmers in Cleveland State and Horizon League history. He won 32 races, including all three of his individual swims at the Horizon League Championships with titles in the 500 Free (4:26.00), 1000 Free (9:08.01) and 1,650 Free (15:02.06, NCAA "B" cut). De Swardt was unanimously selected as the league's Swimmer of the Meet, Swimmer of the Year and Newcomer of the Year after leading the meet in points scored (60). Both the 1000 and 1650 Free times were league and CSU records. As a sophomore, de Swardt won the 1650 Free and 400 IM at the Horizon League Championship. As a junior, he notched the Horizon League’s Swimmer of the Year Award again. He missed the 2011-12 campaign, never easy to do, before roaring back for his redshirt senior season to nab Swimmer of the Meet honors. He graduated from Cleveland State in 2013. De Swardt is the seventh full-time men's coach and eighth full-time women's coach in the history of the programs at John Carroll. 

Maddie Dolce '20, '21G enters her second season as an assistant coach with John Carroll Swimming & Diving in the 2025-26 academic year.  In her first season as an assistant coach, Dolce guided the Blue Streaks to success. John Carroll won its ninth straight OAC Men's and Women's Championships in dominant fashion. JCU compiled a men's dual record of 9-1 and a women's dual record of 7-3. Dolce was a part of the Blue Streak swimming & diving program as a student-athlete from 2016-20. In 2020, Dolce was honored as a recipient of the Clyde Lamb Award. This award is the highest honor you can receive as a student-athlete at an Ohio Athletic Conference school. In order to qualify for this award, you must participate in at least 2 years of OAC sports, attain a minimum of 3.00 grade point average, and conduct sportsmanlike behavior that brings credit to the school. Dolce not only qualified for those requirements, she went above and beyond during her career at JCU. She served as a volunteer at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida and participated in the Jesuit Day of Service. And of course, she helped lead the team to many countless OAC victories in the pool, including a string of conference championships.  Dolce graduated in 2020 from John Carroll with a degree in Exercise Science and returned to get her Master's in Education.  After graduating, Dolce served as an elementary school teacher for three years. She has taught swim lessons for 10 years and coached swimming for seven years with many different teams including the Geauga Otters YMCA, the SEL Sea Monkeys swim team, and Hathaway Brown High School. Dolce still gets in the water by swimming with the Ohio Masters Swim Team.

Travis Lombardozzi enters his second year as an assistant swimming coach and strength & conditioning coach with John Carroll Swimming & Diving in 2025-26.  Since 2013, Lombardozzi has worked in the Brunswick City School District as a Physical Education teacher. He has also been working as the strength and conditioning coordinator for the Blue Devils’ high school student-athletes during the past decade-plus.  Lombardozzi graduated from Cleveland State University with a Bachelor’s of Education in Health and Physical Education. He later received a Bachelor’s degree from Emporia State University. Along with that, he got a Master’s degree in Kinesiology and Exercise science from the University of Akron. Finally, he attained his Master’s in Education in Educational Leadership and Administration from Concordia University of Chicago.   

Jonathan Edwards begins his 1st year as a graduate assistant for the program

Kelsey Bernhard enters her second year as a graduate assistant for the John Carroll University softball team in the 2025-26 academic year.  In her first season, Bernhard helped provide stability for the program during a coaching change, beginning to build a winning culture. JCU improved by four wins overall and two wins in conference play during her first season. Previously, she attended DePauw University and was a catcher/outfielder, four-year starter and captain. In 2021, DePauw finished third at the NCAA Division III World Series.  Kelsey was named to the World Series All-Tournament Team and broke the school record for doubles in a postseason (5). She also earned a spot on the Regional All-Tournament Team that season. In 2022, DePauw qualified for the postseason, and Kelsey garnered Regional All-Tournament Team honors for the second year in a row. In 2023, she was named to the All-North Coast Athletic Conference Second Team. In 2024, DePauw registered a second-place finish in the Regional Tournament. Off the field, Kelsey was an Easton/MFCA Scholar Athlete Honoree and inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma, an academic and athletic honors society. Additionally, Kelsey was a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, where she collaborated with fellow student-athletes. She also worked as an intern in the DePauw athletic department, contributing to facility management and event coordination. While Kelsey spent a lot of time in athletics, she was also a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. Academically at DePauw, Kelsey majored in Psychology, minored in Education Studies, and graduated Summa Cum Laude. Currently, as a graduate student and assistant for the John Carroll softball program, she is working toward a Master’s degree in School Counseling while continuing to pursue her passion for softball.

Taylor Epstein enters her second year on the swimming & diving coaching staff for the 2024-25 campaign.  In her first season, Epstein aided the divers, helping the Blue Streaks secure the OAC Championship for an eighth straight year. She was part of JCU's OAC Coaching Staff of the Year on both the men's and women's sides.  Epstein joins the staff as a diving coach besides longtime coach Lewis Fellinger. Epstein brings valuable experience to the table for the Blue Streaks. She’s coached several state championship divers from Solon High School. Additionally, Epstein is owner and head coach for Northeast Ohio Diving Academy (NEO Diving). Epstein also brings Division I experience to the table. She enjoyed a strong diving career at Canisius University during a 4-year career. Epstein hauled in four Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Diver of the Week awards, taking home the hardware three times as a senior. Epstein set school records during her time at Canisius, all while securing a spot on the MAAC All-Academic Team.

Westin Fishel '22 serves as a volunteer assistant coach with JCU Swimming & Diving.  Fishel enjoyed a strong swimming career with the Blue Streaks. The Dublin, Ohio native earned 2020 NCAA Division III All-American status in the 200 Freestyle Relay and 2020 CSCAA Scholar All-American honors. At the conference level, Fishel won three OAC Championships in three years (800 Free Relay in 2021, 200 Freestyle Relay in 2020, and the 800 Free Relay in 2019). Individually, he tallied All-OAC honors in the 200 Free in 2019.

Matt McPeek is in his first year as an assistant softball coach at John Carroll in the 2025-26 academic year.  McPeek joins the John Carroll Softball staff after serving five years as the head coach of the Eastlake North High School softball team. Eastlake North consistently finished in the top third of the Western Reserve Conference under McPeek. In 2024, McPeek earned the News-Herald’s Softball Coach of the Year award. Prior to Eastlake North, McPeek was the coach for the Bryant & Stratton College softball program. He served in that role from 2018-20 (Bryan & Stratton stopped offering softball in its athletics department after the COVID pandemic). In all, McPeek has over 20 years of experience coaching at the college, high school, and travel levels.  McPeek earned his Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Bryant & Stratton College.