Eastern Illinois director of athletics Tom Michael has announced the hiring of Jacqueline Michalski as the new head coach of the Panthers men’s and women’s swimming programs. Michalski will start at EIU in the coming weeks as classes begin on the Charleston campus on August 25.
A former swimmer at the State University of New York (SUNY) Oswego, Michalski has worked as a swim coach at both the club and NCAA level for the past six years. Most recently she worked for the last two years at Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania helping the program set sixteen school records in the pool. The team captured the Northeast Conference title in 2013 while posting the third highest NCAA Division I grade point average in the country.
Michalski served as an assistant coach at King’s College in Pennsylvania from 2010-12 helping that program set 21 school records with one individual conference event champion. Active in recruiting, she helped double the team’s roster size during her two seasons on the staff.
She began her coaching career in the summer of 2008 working as the head coach for the Central Open Women’s Team that competed in the Empire State Games in Central, New York. She then worked for two seasons as the assistant swim coach with the Oswego Lakes Swim Club. Michalski has worked during two summers as a camp coach at both Cornell University and the US Naval Academy.
She was a four-year member of the SUNY Oswego team helping the team win the conference championship in 2007. She was a two-time All-Academic SUNYAC selection. Michalski earned her bachelor’s degree from SUNY Oswego in 2010 and her master’s degree from King’s College in 2012.
In addition to her experience as a swim coach, Michalski is certified as an American Red Cross Lifeguard, First Aid and CPR Instructor.
