More Coaches Hired

September 12, 2001 - Corvallis, OR and Ithaca, NY - Two programs on opposite ends of the country named new assistant coaches this week.  Former Oregon State swimmer Magda Modelska has been named the new assistant coach for the women's swimming program at Oregon State while Robin Dyer was named assistant men's swimming coach at Cornell.

Across the country, other programs rounded out their staffs.  Duquesne hired David Sheets as head women's coach. Most recently, Sheets has worked as an assistant women's coach at Cornell ... Potsdam State appointed Carolyn Boyce as head coach ... St. Louis appointed Jim Halliburton, previously at Rockwood, as head men's and women's coach. 

Columbia chose Edward Leonard as an assistant women's coach and Eric Scheingoltz as an assistant men's coach.  Army named Steve McGrath and Ellen Hays were named as assistant coaches at Army while Sean Weddell, a former Southern Illinois assistant was added as an assistant women's coach at Brian Vereb's Akron program

Dyer brings 28 years of coaching experience with club, high school and college teams. Prior to coming to Cornell, Dyer spent 13 years coaching in Dallas, Texas. From 1983-1987, he coached at Binghamton University. Dyer began his coaching career in his hometown of Endicott, N.Y., in 1973. He has worked with all age groups and ability levels, including Junior and Senior National champions, Olympic Trials finalists and high school All-Americans. 

Dyer is a graduate of Syracuse University with a bachelor of arts degree in religion and philosophy, and in 1983, he received his master's degree in physical education from Syracuse. 

Modelska served as a volunteer coach at Oregon State last season after earning spots on OSU's all-time top-10 lists for the 100 and 200-yard backstrokes as well as the 400 individual medley while swimming for OSU during the 1999-2000 season. 

A native of Mielec, Poland, Modelska brings a wealth of swimming knowledge to a surging OSU program.

"Magda brings an extensive background in international swimming," OSU coach Mariusz Podkoscielny said of his former student-athlete. "She swam on a couple of teams for the United States, and she has been on a few of our record-setting relay teams (since broken). She knows the team and comes from a swimming background; she knows swimming from both the U.S. and international aspects." 

"(Her overseas roots) definitely will help. Her connections are more current than those that I have, so that will help as far as looking at some international prospects down the road," said Podkoscielny, himself a native of Gdansk, Poland. 

Modelska takes over the position vacated when Genii Masluk took a teaching position in her hometown of Livermore, Calif., over the summer.