New Swim Coach

Pitt Swimming and Diving Head Coach Chuck Knoles announced the hiring of Jessica Siegele as assistant coach for the squad.

Jessica Siegele fills the lone vacant position on the staff and Jeff Berghoff, Marian Clark, Julian Krug and Aaron Workman.

"We are excited to have Jessica on staff,'' Knoles said. "Jessica brings a strong competitive background and has been successful coaching at the high school and Division II level. We are excited about the positive attitude and enthusiasm that Jessica will bring to our program.''

"I am extremely excited to become a part of Pittsburgh Swimming and Diving,'' Siegele said. "It is a great program with a strong tradition of winning. I am excited to help escalate Pitt back to the top of the Big East and the NCAA.''

Siegele brings a variety of experience to Pitt after spending the last season as an assistant at Ashland University. There, Siegele helped lead the men's and women's teams to a fourth and fifth place conference finish respectively, while eight athletes qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships.

Prior to Ashland, Siegele served in an internship with the United States Association of Blind Athletes. Among the many duties included managing the membership database, producing press releases for the organization and acting as the events manager for World Youth and Student Games.

Siegele's background also includes a stint as an assistant coach with the Trinity Preparatory School and Trinity Preparatory Aquatics. Siegele was a graduate assistant at Central Florida (2005-06) and has worked as a camp counselor at the Pine Crest Swim Camp. While in Florida, she worked in the fan relations/game night staff of the NBA's Orlando Magic.

A native of Wexford, Pa., Siegele is a 2005 graduate of the University of Kentucky, where she competed in swimming and diving for four years (2002-05). Later, she earned her masters degrees in sport business management and business administration from Central Florida in 2007.

At Kentucky, Siegele was a two-year co-captain, four-year letter winner, three-time school record holder and a two-time NCAA All-American. In 2003, Siegele competed at the Irish National Swimming Championships in Belfast, Ireland where she won seven gold medals.