Patrick Ota, Fresno State Assistant Coach and noted Hallmark movie enthusiast is headed to UNLV as the Rebels' new Head Assistant Coach. The announcement is expected later this week and was confirmed by outside sources
A Fresno-area product, Ota was instrumental in the establishment of two separate programs - Fresno State and Fresno Pacific - helping FPU to a pair of NAIA titles and the Bulldogs to their first NCAA Qualifier following the team's reinstatement.
"I want to thank everyone - friends, family and co-workers - who have supported me in my career and in my life successes and struggles," Ota said. "I want to thank FPU and Fresno State for giving me the opportunity to grow as a coach and a person. It's been awesome Fresno."
Ota, along with head coach Ben Loorz, aim to bring UNLV back to national recognition. This past year the Rebels were without Henrique Machado of Brazil, Tom Paco-Pedroni of France and Or Sabatier of Israel. The trio opted for Olympic redshirts.
Ota spent four seasons coaching at Fresno Pacific, since their program's inception in 2007. During his four year stint, Ota helped guide the Sunbirds to two NAIA National Men's Championships (2010, 2011) and two runner-up NAIA finishes (2009 Men, 2011 Women).
With the women's program, Ota worked closely with Cheyenne Coffman, a local swimmer, who was named the 2010 National NAIA Swimmer of the Year. He has experienced great success with both men and women in his coaching career, and also in his own swimming career.
Ota swam all four of his collegiate swimming years at UC Santa Barbara. As a Gaucho, Ota competed in the 100m backstroke for UCSB's decorated head coach Gregg Wilson. He was a three time conference champion for the 100m backstroke and set a Big West Conference record of 48.18 in 2006. Ota helped the Gauchos win two conference championships (2004, 2006) during his four year collegiate career and was an NCAA qualifier in the 100m backstroke his senior year (2006).
Ota graduated from Immanuel High School in Reedley, Calif. and is a former competitive swimmer with Raisin Country Aquatics. At the end of his high school swimming career, he was a four time CIF champion and a six time high school All-American. Ota was also a five time national-qualifier for the 100m backstroke, with his highest finish at 16th in 2004.
