Head Coach Andy Bashor will begin his 4th season as the head coach of the Women's team and his 3rd season with the Men's team this Fall. Since taking over the Women's Swimming & Diving program in 2006, the Bulls have rewritten the record books and made their mark on the Mid-American Conference. The women's team jumped from 8th place to 5th at the 2008 MAC Championships. At this year's championships, the women broke 10 school records, including all 5 relays, and shocked the conference by winning the 200 Medley Relay in a Conference Record time of 1:39.74! We placed 8th in the same event just 2 years ago. . .what a difference 2 years can make!
The Men's program has made some very impressive improvements of their own over the past 2 seasons under Coach Bashor's direction. During the 2008-09 season, UB had 3 conference champions (Zach Ruske - 200 back, Connor Vander Zalm - 1650 free, Jake Sangren - 100 back) and placed 5 athletes on the All-MAC 1st Team - the most in school history. A total of 12 school records were broken throughout the season, including 4 of the 5 relays!
Andy came to Buffalo after spending 4 seasons at Rutgers University as the Head Assistant Coach. During the 2006 season, he helped lead 7 women to the NCAA Champions where the team placed 18th. Prior to his time at Rutgers, Andy spent 4 seasons as the Head Assistant at UC-Santa Barbara where he worked directly with the sprinters and breaststrokers. His coaching career started at Ohio University where he was the graduate assistant for 2 seasons.
Andy swam collegiately at North Caroline State University, specializing in sprint free and fly. He was a team captain during his senior year. He graduated with a degree in biology in 1996.
Andy lives in Lancaster, NY with his wife Brandi and their 3 children, Allie (6), Bobby (4), and Colby (2). . .see picture above!
