Steve Jungbluth, head men's and women's swimming coach at Colgate since 2003, has been named assistant coach for the University of Florida swimming program, head coach Gregg Troy announced Friday.At Florida, Jungbluth, will be involved with all aspects of the men's and women's programs.
"We are excited to have Steve join our staff," said Troy who led the women's team to its second national title in school history this past March. "His experience as a head coach will be invaluable and he will be a great addition to both programs."
Jungbluth spent the past seven seasons directing the Raiders to the top of the Patriot League. His women's squads won the league title in two of his last three seasons in Hamilton, N.Y. Every swimmer he recruited into the program achieved at least one personal-best time during the course of their careers.
"I'm thrilled to join the UF coaching staff," said Jungbluth. "I have a tremendous amount of respect for Coach Troy and his staff, the administration and the student athletes at Florida. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I'm looking forward to being a part of the Gator Nation."
In the 2008-09 season, his women's team cruised to its second consecutive conference crown and the second-highest point total ever generated in the three-day event. At that meet, Colgate captured titles in 14 of 18 swimming events; set 18 team records and 14 league and meet records. The Raiders dominated the all-Patriot League teams with 13 selections, nine of which were first team honorees. Colgate's women finished 10-0 during the regular season in dual meets and saw Emily Murphy become the first ever swimmer to qualify for the NCAA Division I Swimming & Diving Championships in College Station, Texas. The Raiders finished fourth in the final mid-major poll by Collegeswimming.com.
On the men's side, the Raiders gained ground on the Patriot League's top four and only finished four points out of fourth place. Four freshmen combined to shatter eight freshmen records. In the 2007-08 campaign, the Colgate women's team won the first Patriot League championship in program history. The Raiders placed a team-record 11 on the all-league teams, and six swimmers took home at least one gold medal as Colgate won five individual events and both medley relays.
During the 2005-06 season, Jungbluth led Colgate's women's team to sweep through its dual-meet schedule without a blemish against conference opponents, including beating Navy for the first time in school history, and upsetting four-time defending league champion Bucknell for the first time in 21 years.At the conference meet, the Raiders finished second to the Bison by the slimmest margin in league history. At the 2006 conference meet, the Raider women became the first team in the league to sweep all five relay events since Navy achieved the feat in 1995. Nine members of the women's team earned all-Patriot League honors after Colgate captured a meet-high 12 gold medals en route to its second runner-up finish in three years.
By the end of that season, the Raider women had broken all but four of Colgate's varsity swimming records. In his first season at Colgate, Jungbluth earned Patriot League Coach of the Year honors after leading the women's team to a second-place finish at the league championship and placing five athletes on the all-Patriot League team. It was the highest finish at a conference meet in the history of the Raider women's swimming and diving program.
That same year, the men's squad finished with a 9-5 record, the most wins in 20 seasons. The two teams combined for 180 lifetime-best performances over the course of the season.
Prior to taking over the Colgate program, Jungbluth served as assistant coach for three seasons at the Naval Academy. There, he produced nine Patriot League champions, six Patriot League record-setting performances, two Patriot League Championship Swimmers of the Meet and one team championship.
Before heading to Navy, Jungbluth served as an assistant coach and later interim head coach at Amherst (Mass.) College. As an assistant, he helped coach seven New England champions, 10 All-Americans and 13 honorable-mention All-Americans. In addition, the Jeffs broke 41 varsity and/or pool records, and the men's team posted a perfect 10-0 record during the 1995-96 season.
Jungbluth earned a bachelor's degree in exercise science from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1994 and a master's degree in exercise science, also from UMass, in 1997. He was a four-year letterwinner for the Minutemen, serving as co-captain during his senior season.
Jungbluth relaces Pete Knox, who had been with the Gator swim program since 2006.
