After six years at the helm of the Randolph-Macon College swimming program, Dave Holland announced he will be stepping down as head coach of the Yellow Jackets Friday afternoon.
A two-time ODAC Coach-of-the-Year, he guided the Yellow Jackets to an overall record of 46-16 and an Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) record of 24-5 during his six years as head coach.
"Resigning from Randolph-Macon was not a decision that came easily for me or my family, as I've had six wonderful years in a job that was very fulfilling on many levels,” said Holland. “I have decided that it is important for me to re-prioritize my time and energy so that my family comes first.”
The 2006-07 Yellow Jackets finished 9-1 overall, a perfect 6-0 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) regular season standings, and concluded the season by winning the ODAC Championship title for the first time in program history. Freshman Marlene Graf was honored as the ODAC Rookie-of-the-Year, and seven other swimmers were named All-ODAC. The swimmers are perennially honored for their classroom performance with Academic All-American citations, and the program also boasts two NCAA All-Americans and numerous conference champions in its 8-year history.
”Dave Holland did a great job elevating our women’s swim program to the top of the ODAC,” said R-MC Athletic Director Denis Kanach. “We are very grateful for his efforts on behalf of our students. While his position was classified as part time, his effort was always full time and full speed ahead. We wish him the best as he now focuses his efforts on his own family.”
Under Holland, individual swimmers have enjoyed unparalleled success as all 19 school records have been rewritten within the past four years. Additionally, at the ODAC Championships, he has coached R-MC swimmers to 38 individual titles and 16 relay titles, breaking numerous conference records in the process. He has also had success at the national level as four of his athletes have earned 21 NCAA qualifying standards. In 2004, he guided Tiffany Pearsall to All-American performances in the 100 free (7th) and 200 free (5th) at the NCAA Division III Championships, which was a first in the history of the program.
Erin Ewalt, a 2006 graduate, had unprecedented success under Holland as she became the first female athlete in the history of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference to earn “Swimmer of the Year” honors for four consecutive seasons (2002-2006). In addition, she was undefeated in ODAC action during that time, never losing an individual race in a conference dual meet or in the conference championships. She won the maximum of 12 individual ODAC titles (200 backstroke, 200 individual medley, 400 IM every year) plus 13 wins in relays to bring her total to 25 conference titles. Ewalt was also picked as the ODAC “Scholar-Athlete of the Year” twice, earned “Academic All-American” honors as a junior, and capped her career with “Honorable Mention All-American” honors in the 200 back (11th) at the NCAA Championships in her final race as a senior.
Holland is an active member of both the College Swimming Coaches Association of America and the American Swimming Coaches Association (Level III), and he has served as the Chair of the ODAC swimming committee since 2003.
Kanach said a search for Holland’s successor will begin in the near future.
