Courtesy: FGCU Athletics
FORT MYERS, Fla. – FGCU swimming and diving head coach Dave Rollins announced the additions of Taylor Loewen and Matt Ventura to the coaching staff on Wednesday. Loewen will serve as an assistant swim coach while Ventura will be the diving coach.
“It is not often one finds themselves looking to hire two new coaches at the same time, but I am truly appreciative of everyone in our program helping us get to this point,” said Rollins. “Lara Jackson and David Boyko are two of the best people I have ever had the pleasure of sharing the pool deck with. Their impact on our program will be felt for many years to come. I wish them all the best and am thankful for everything they have done.”
“With that being said, I am excited to welcome both Taylor and Matt to the Eagle Family. Going through this process, I knew there were only a handful of coaches I wanted to work with and to be able to bring both Taylor and Matt on board is very special. They are both rising stars in our sport and each brings new and exciting ideas and experiences to the deck. We will continue to grow and develop as a program with them on deck, without a doubt.”
Loewen arrives in Fort Myers after spending two seasons as a graduate assistant at Georgia Southern. In her two years, she helped the Eagles improve from an eighth-place finish at the CCSA Championships in 2020 to a sixth-place finish in 2021.
Prior to her time as a coach, she swam for four years at Campbell University. As a Camel, she set program records in the 50y breast (29.52), 100y breast (1:03.24), and the 200y breast (2:18.91) as well as the 200-medley relay (1:42.17).
Ventura joins the Eagles after previous stops coaching for the Ohio State Diving Club and the Legacy Dive Club out of Eastern Michigan.
Before coaching, Ventura dove for four years at Eastern Michigan and was part of three MAC Championship-winning teams. He had personal-best scores of 283.35 on the 1-meter springboard and 323.15 on the 3-meter springboard.
The Eagles will kick off the 2021-22 season with the UNF Invitational on September 25.