The Virginia Gators of Roanoke, Virginia, have announced that they have hired Ned Skinner as the new head coach. Skinner succeeds team founder and longtime head coach Doug Fonder at the helm of the program.
Skinner comes to the Gators after two years as the head coach of Hollins University, a women’s only Division 3 program, but is primarily known for leading the Virginia Tech Hokies for 20 years. Most notably, the Hokies men’s team won the ACC championship in 2014, ending a University of Virginia streak that began in 1999 and up to that point was only interrupted by a now-vacated Florida State title in 2007.
The Gators have been one of the top club teams in the nation over the last few year, producing top-ranked swimmers like Noah Bowers, Olivia Bray, Khali Fonder, Caroline Kulp, Keith Myburgh, Emma Muzzy, and Greg Reed, just to name a few. Former head coach Doug Fonder started the Gators in 1988, and since then the team has had success at multiple levels of the sport, sending swimmers to Olympic Trials and producing swimmers who’ve made an impact at the college level. Fonder currently serves as the President and CEO of the International Swim Coaches Association.
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