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Vince Panzano |
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Vince Panzano Biography
Courtesy: OhioStateBuckeyes.com
Release: 06/28/2007
Mike Peppe. Ron O'Brien. Vince Panzano. The strong and respected Ohio State University diving program has had only three coaches in its remarkable history and it only seems right that all three are Ohio State graduates. Peppe started the program and coached 44 NCAA champions, including O'Brien, and 25 Olympians. O'Brien coached eight NCAA champions and eight Olympians before turning the program over to Panzano, who was one of O'Brien's divers between 1970-72. Panzano, who has coached 12 NCAA champions and eight Olympians, has been coach at Ohio State since 1977 and now, 33 years later, he is the dean of all Ohio State head coaches.
One of the most highly respected diving coaches, the three-time Olympic coach Panzano most recently guided Katie Bell to a U.S. Diving national championship on the 10-meter platform in August 2009 and in 2008 coached Chelsea Davis and Sean Moore to national championships on the 3-meter and 10-meter platform events, respectively, at the NCAA championship meets.
Panzano is a 1973 graduate of Ohio State. He began his coaching career at the University of Tennessee in 1973 and returned to his alma mater to succeed O'Brien in 1978.
In his 38 years as a Division I coach, Panzano has produced one world champion, one junior world champion, two Olympic medalists, 23 U.S. diving champions, 12 NCAA champions, 16 NCAA runners-up, 54 Big Ten champions and 86 All-Americans. Panzano also has coached Ohio State and McDonald's Diving to six national team titles. He has had divers on five of the last six Olympic Teams.
Panzano has been named Big Ten Diving Coach of the Year nine times throughout his career, including the 2007 season when his men's divers established a never-before honor of having three different divers sweep the three diving events: Kellen Harkness won the three-meter springboard, Burkley Showe took first on the one-meter board and Wes Wieser won on the 10-meter platform. It was the first time a school has swept the three diving events since 1996 and the first time ever that the sweep was completed by three different athletes from the same school.
The 2007 Big Ten Coach of the Year award was Panzano's sixth on the men's side with the others coming in 1987-92-93-02-04. He has been named women's diving coach of the year three times, in 1993-96-00.
Panzano has twice been awarded the "Mike Peppe Award," as U.S. Diving's outstanding coach. Panzano also has been selected NCAA Diving Coach of the Year four times. In 1996, Panzano was inducted into Ohio State University's Athletics Hall of Fame.
Panzano has a rich coaching experience in diving on the international level. He has served as the Olympic coach on three separate occasions. He has served as coach for the Pan American Team, a World Championship and in World Cup competitions. He also has been actively involved in coaching Junior Olympic divers.
Aside from coaching, Panzano served as meet director for the 1976 Olympic Trials. He hosted the first-ever United States vs. China dual diving meet in 1980 at Ohio State and in 1981 he hosted the indoor U.S. Diving Championships, also held at Ohio State. He has served on the United States Diving Board of Directors, the NCAA Swimming and Diving Rules Committee and the United States Diving International/Olympic Committee.
A native of King of Prussia, Pa., Panzano and his wife, Phyllis, have two sons, Vincent and Bryan.
Vince Panzano has coached...
12............NCAA Champions
8............Olympians
23............U.S. National Champions
79............All-Americans
54............Big Ten Champions
Coach Award of Excellence to Panzano
Vince Panzano was honored with the Coach Award of Excellence from USA Diving.
Panzano was honored with the Coach Award of Excellence from USA Diving in 2009 (along with co-recipient Jeff Huber, from Indiana) after his divers' performances at the AT&T National Diving Championships in August in Tallahassee, Fla.
Senior Katie Bell captured a national championship on platform - the 23rd USA Diving national champion for Panzano - and five other divers turned in top eight performances: Sean Moore captured a bronze medal after placing third on the 10-meter platform with Wes Wieser sixth; Ryan Jefferson was seventh on the three-meter; Bianca Alvarez was fifth on three-meter with Kristen Asman seventh.
Panzano is a four-time NCAA Diving Coach of the Year and he has twice been awarded USA Diving's "Mike Peppe Award" - named after the legendary Ohio State coach - as the national Coach of the Year. He has coached 12 NCAA champions in addition to his 23 U.S. national champions, 10 Olympians, 86 All-Americans and 54 Big Ten Conference champions.
Ohio State: 62 NCAA National Champions
The 2008 NCAA national championships won by Chelsea Davis, who was named Tri-Diver of the Year after the national championships, and Sean Moore represent the 61st and 62nd individual diving national titles for Ohio State and increased coach Vince Panzano's national champions total to 12, with 11 of those champions Buckeyes (he coached one NCAA champion at Tennessee).
Vince Panzano's Ohio State NCAA Champions
Year.......... Diver................Event
2008.......... Chelsea Davis.........3-Meter
2008.......... Sean Moore...........10-Meter Platform
2003.......... Natalia Diea.........10-Meter Platform
1991.......... David Pichler........10-Meter Platform
1988.......... Kim Fugett............3-Meter
1988.......... Debbie Fuller........10-Meter Platform
1988.......... Patrick Jeffrey.......3-Meter
1988.......... Patrick Jeffrey.......3-Meter
1987.......... Karen LaFace..........1-Meter
1987.......... Mike Wantuck..........3-Meter
1983.......... Mark Bradshaw.........3-Meter
