STORRS, Conn. - UConn Head swimming coach Chris Maiello announced that Katie Polk will be joining the staff as the Head Diving Coach Friday.
"I am incredibly excited to start this next chapter with UConn and join a wonderful staff, team, and overall program." Said Polk. "I cannot thank Chris and Hayley enough for the opportunity and can't wait for the season to begin. Go Huskies!"
"Coach Katie shares our belief that our Diving program will continue to be tops in the Big East and continually send athletes to the NCAA level," commented Maiello. "You will find that coach Katie is well prepared, organized, caring, and motivated. She will push our student athletes to grow in and out of the pool. I fully expect our diving program to advance under her leadership."
Polk joins the Huskies after two years as Head Diving Coach at Bryant University. Polk led three individual athletes to America East Conference Championship titles in the 1m and 3m springboard, led two athletes to America East Diver of the Meet recognitions, and had three individual athletes qualify for NCAA Zones.
Prior to her stop at Bryant, Polk was a four year member of the Division I UMass Amherst Swimming and Diving team where she was named captain for two consecutive seasons, an NCAA Zone qualifier for four seasons, and Atlantic 10 3m champion and Diver of the Meet in the 2019.
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- Swim and Dive Announces 2024-25 ScheduleSTORRS, Conn. – UConn head swimming and diving coach Chris Maiello announced the schedule for the 2024-25 season. The season gets underway beginning of October with the first half of the season featuring seven meets. The Huskies will return from holiday break in January and swim in four meets before starting the post season in the BIG EAST Championship in late February.
- Huskies Earn Runner-Up in Big East ChampionshipIndianapolis, IN - On the final night of competition, the University of Connecticut Swimming and Diving Team narrowly fell to Villanova to claim the second spot in the Big East Championship. The two teams had separated themselves from the rest of the league early in the championship with success in the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, sealing the victory for the Wildcats. Final scores for the two were 1482.5 for Villanova to UConn's 1461.5.
- Huskies Break Records on Day Three of Big EastIndianapolis, IN - After falling closely behind Villanova on day two of competition, the University of Connecticut Swimming and Diving Team sought to reclaim the lead set on day one with events that align with the Huskies' strengths. The team did not disappoint. The excitement began during preliminaries when Maggie Donlevy set a new school record in the 100-yard backstroke. The record would not last for long; however, as Maggie would go on to improve upon her time, reaching 53.21 later in the evening finals. This would not be the only school record for which Maggie played a part in the evening as she and her counterparts Angela Gambardella, Ella Epes, and Claire Lippert set a new time for the 400 yard medley relay soon after. Both the backstroke and medley relay performances were wins. In addition, Kayla Mendonca took third in the 100-yard backstroke while Angela Gambardella took second in the 100-yard breaststroke.
- Huskies Fall to Second After Day Two at Big EastIndianapolis, IN - The University of Connecticut Swimming and Diving Team competed in three events Thursday - the 500-yard freestyle, 50-yard freestyle, and 200 IM. The Huskies took sixth and seventh in the distance event, fourth in the IM, and placed third in the 50-yard freestyle under Maggie Donlevy. The team's lead from the first day of competition would be overtaken by Villanova after strong performances from the Wildcats in the IM and 500-yard freestyle. The Huskies narrowly trail 486.5 to 503 after day two.
- Huskies Start Strong at Big EastIndianapolis, IN - The University of Connecticut Swimming and Diving Team started the Big East Championship with strength on Wednesday, winning the 1mtr dive. Junior Julia Pioso (307.75) took the gold for the Huskies while Olivia Denery (289.05) took bronze. The performance helped catapult the Huskies to an early lead at 244 points with the next best team, Seton Hall, at 180. Of the evening's success, Coach Chris Maiello said, "Super pumped for our divers tonight. Julia really stepped up and impacted the meet. Congrats to her on the championship. Overall that diver group is going strong. Our relay's tonight was up and down. I know we will be better in those areas as the meet continues. We did see some encouraging signs and we are excited for the meet to get started."
- Huskies Prepare for Big EastIndianapolis, IN – The University of Connecticut Swimming and Diving Team will begin competition in the Big East Championship Wednesday at IUPUI Natatorium. The event brings seven teams from around the conference with a winner decided upon completion of Saturday's finals.
