MEADVILLE, Pa. -- Allegheny College Director of Athletics and Recreation Bill Ross is proud to announce the hiring of Jerry Diamond as the Gators' next head men's and women's swimming and diving coach.

A former Division III student-athlete, Diamond joins the Gators with a decade of coaching experience at the Division III level. In his last stop at Sweet Briar College, a women's college in central Virginia, Diamond spent five years leading the Vixens as the head swimming coach and the College's director of aquatics.

"I am excited to get to work with the athletes here at Allegheny," Diamond said. "From my first interaction with them during the interview process, it was clear that they were motivated and hungry to improve and grow as a team. They know how special their program is, and I want to be the coach that helps them realize their potential. Allegheny swim and dive has a long history of success, and I look forward to growing the program back to prominence at the conference and national level."

"We are happy to welcome Jerry Diamond to the Allegheny College community," Ross said. "Jerry brings a wealth of experience as a head coach and in recruiting quality student-athletes. I am looking forward to seeing the swimming and diving programs flourish under his leadership."

Diamond was instrumental in growing the Sweet Briar program since taking over before the 2018-19 campaign. Although the Vixens won only two dual meets in his first season, they improved dramatically and won as many as eight duals on two occasions under his tutelage. The team finished 8-10 in his second season, marking Sweet Briar's first with more than five victories in five years. In December of that year, Peyton Murphy earned Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Swimmer of the Year, which made her the first Sweet Briar student-athlete in any sport to collect weekly recognition from the conference since 2015.

The 2021-22 Sweet Briar team finished 8-4 overall and 6-3 in dual meets against ODAC competition. That year, the Vixens placed seventh out of 12 teams at the ODAC Championships, while first-year swimmer Acadia ElzHowe became the first Vixen swimmer to garner All-ODAC honors in eight years with a program-record time in the 200-yard butterfly.

The Vixens have excelled in the classroom during Diamond's tenure, as the team has received College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America honors in seven of nine semesters.

Before taking charge of the Vixens, the Junction City, Oregon, native spent a combined five years as an assistant coach at two schools in New York, SUNY Oswego (2013-16) and Hartwick College (2016-18).

With the Hawks, Diamond helped mentor six individual Empire 8 Conference champions and one gold-medal relay team. In his first year, the women's 200 medley relay set a new program record, and the following season, the 200 freestyle relay won an E8 title. On the men's side, senior Brendan Quinn notched two NCAA "B" cut times at the Empire 8/Upper New York State Collegiate Swimming Association (UNYSCSA) Championships in 2016-17, which helped the Hawks place fourth out of 14 teams at the meet.

In each of his coaching stops, Diamond has implemented innovative video training programs that have helped student-athletes make significant improvements. During his time at SUNY Oswego, he spearheaded an underwater filming program that helped the Lakers' breaststroke swimmers reduce their times by an average of 11%.

Diamond earned a bachelor of science in integrated marketing communications from another New York institution, Ithaca College, in 2011. As a member of the Bombers' swim program, he was a multi-time all-state performer in relay events and the 200-yard individual medley. In his senior year, Ithaca was nearly unbeaten in dual meets, as the Bombers went 15-1 before winning E8 and UNYSCSA championships.

What They're Saying About Jerry Diamond...
"Jerry is creative and applies his creativity to the sport of swimming. This is why he is such a good coach. He does not have 'one way' of doing things, but works with the student-athletes to foster their development both in and out of the pool. I will certainly be watching how his Allegheny teams compete in the future."
Jodi Canfield, Director of Athletics and Chair of Physical Education
Mount Holyoke College

"Jerry is a straightforward and knowledgeable coach. He has an intuitive understanding of stroke mechanics and a keen ability to help his athletes apply adjustments. Even as a brand new coach, I quickly became confident in Jerry's abilities and put our entire Sprint program in his hands, where he innovated a new training modality. I appreciate a coach willing to try new things, embrace technology and take risks, and I saw all of these attributes in Jerry."
Michael Holman, Head Men's & Women's Swimming & Diving Coach
SUNY Oswego

"Jerry is one of my all-time favorite characters. After having Jerry as a rock climbing student at Ithaca College, I hired him to work for me at Cornell. He was a strong and skilled climber, but I soon found he had some other notable strengths. During his first staff training, there was a moment when a group of instructors played a game, partly for amusement, partly to get to know one another across class years. Jerry, the new guy from a different school, suddenly stood up, took over facilitation of the game, and absolutely killed it. That was the point I knew Jerry was going to be an excellent manager of people."
Mark Holton, Co-Director of Outdoor Education
Cornell University

"Jerry is a great guy to have in the athletics department. He is creative, a problem-solver, and puts the student-athletes above all else. Jerry coaches the full student-athlete. He challenged the swimmers in pool, academics, and personally. As his office neighbor, I loved listening to his probing conversations with his athletes where he challenged them to think critically, problem-solve, and debate their stance. He did that while providing them the support to be their authentic selves and creating a space for them to become a close-knit team."
Hannah Lott, Assistant Athletic Director & Head Field Hockey Coach
Sweet Briar College

"Jerry is a hilarious person and always says what's on his mind. He was a great coworker and I really enjoyed working with him. You picked up a great coach."
Dustin Hale, Head Tennis Coach
Sweet Briar College