Lakers, Coach Dive into Success at Season's End

Oswego’s diving coach and members of his team recently earned national recognition.

John Moore was named the NCAA Division III Men’s Diving National Coach of the Year. Team member Eric Messina ’12 finished fourth at the NCAA  Division III Swimming and Diving Championships at the University of Minnesota, while teammate Shawn Merlin ’11 took seventh place. They both competed in the 1-meter springboard.

Messina and Merlin earned their second and third individual All-America award, respectively, by finishing within the top eight at the national meet. The two divers also earned a team finish of 18th place, a program best.

Eileen McMahon ’10 finished in 14th place in the finals of the 3-meter springboard competition. She received honorable mention All-America recognition for the second time in her career for finishing between ninth and 16th place.

Moore became the diving coach in 1991. Since then he has helped eight Lakers to a Diver of the Year title at the SUNYAC Championships and 15 SUNYAC Champions, including Messina, this year’s 3-meter champion.

Six of his student-athletes have received a combined 10 All-America honors and 11 honorable mentions since the 1998-99 season. Moore also led the first woman diver in the program’s history to qualify for nationals.

He credits the recent swimming and diving alumni with working hard to raise the bar and build a program that has attracted such excellent student-athletes.

— Adele Burk

PHOTO CAPTION:
Diving Coach John Moore



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