Drive for 25 Day

Since 2013, the Virginia Tech women’s swimming and diving program has broken 19 of the 23 possible event records, while the Virginia Tech men’s program has broken 22 of the 23 possible event records. These achievements include all individual swimming events, relays, and the three diving events (1 meter springboard, 3 meter springboard, and platform) per gender.

In the history of scoring at the NCAA Championships, the Hokies have earned 174 All-American honors with more than a third of those coming in the last five years:

• 1956-2003  2 All-American performances

• 2004-2016  106 All-American performances

• 2013-2017  55 All-American performance

• 2018           11 All-American performances

As Virginia Tech welcomes new head coach Sergio Lopez Miro – a three-time Olympic Coach and Olympic Bronze medalist himself – there has been a surge in an already strong recruiting campaign.  Lopez Miro is assisted by Steve Steketee (a very accomplished coach who has worked with Coach Sergio in the past), Josh Huger (recruiting coordinator, in his fourth year at Tech), Albert Subirats (four-time Olympian, and multi-time NCAA champion), Jacy Dyer (in her first year after being an assistant coach at JMU), and Ron Piemonte (diving coach, having coached 30 All-American honors).  The main objectives are to climb to the top of the ACC and into the top tier of the NCAA.

• Team Training Trip: This is one of the biggest expenses in any budget and with our donor’s support we can enhance our swimmers’ and divers’ experiences, as well as, build team unity and cohesiveness. The typical training camp is in the winter for us and we have always traveled to the sunny state of Florida for about seven days of focused training. Once every four years, we would like to have a training camp outside of the USA, and the goal is to take our swimming and diving team to train while having the experience in a different country. In the past I have taken my teams to Spain, Argentina and Hawaii (it is not international but almost. With your support, we can make it happen! Besides training at a high level, we will give our student-athletes the chance to experience a totally different culture and to better understand that the world is very small and we have to have an open mind.

• Recruiting: The rules have changed and now we can bring juniors to official visits and that will place a big dent in our yearly budgets. Also, we need to keep tapping into the international market. Our coaching staff needs to be able to visit swimmers or divers, their families, and other coaches internationally. It is very important for the parents of a student-athlete to know and understand that we care and by visiting them in their home country really sends a positive message to them.

• Facilities enhancements: It is extremely important for us to keep updating our facilities, replace and repair equipment to be on the cutting edge for training, competition and recruiting.

• Endowing scholarships and coaches’ salaries: In non-revenue sports like swimming and diving, it is of vital importance to have as many or all scholarships endowed, as well as have the head coach’s salary endowed as well.

“Being a collegiate head coach of a non-revenue Olympic sport, I understand and value the importance of donors, alumni and friends of the athletic department, not just at Virginia Tech but all over the country. I have only been part of the Hokie Family for few months, but it has been amazing to meet so many supporters of the Hokie Nation. Day in and day out I meet people that genuinely want to be part of actively helping us to have the best resources. All this financial, moral support and pride is what allows our athletic department, coaches and support staff to keep developing our Hokie student-athletes to the highest level, not only in athletics, but also academically. I just want to take a moment to thank every donor, alumni and friend of our Hokie Nation for their unconditional support and for allowing us to live our passion. Let’s keep building our #Momentum and never forget that #ThisIsHome. THANK YOU!”

- Sergio Lopez, Head Coach

"I am a senior business management major, as well as a diver on the Virginia Tech swim & dive team. My experience at Virginia Tech has been second to none thanks to our incredibly generous donors and faculty members. The donations my team has received over my four years has allowed us to build a state of the art dry-land facility, maintain a top tier aquatic center, attract world class athletic talent, and most of all, allow my team and I the opportunity to do what we love most. The scholarships that are awarded to highly sought after athletes are only made possible by our charitable donors. As a scholarship athlete, it means the world to my family and I that I am able to go to a prestigious university at an affordable cost. In order to continue to climb the ladder of success in the NCAA, scholarships are of the utmost importance and are greatly appreciated by all the athletes. We strive each and every day to create an ever improving culture of success and integrity in order to take advantage of our privilege. The Virginia Tech swimming and diving team thanks you for your continued generosity and for gifting us athletes the ability to pursue perfection in our craft."

- Ben Schiesl, Senior Diver

"Being a student athlete at Virginia Tech, let alone a student athlete of a non-revenue sport, would be nowhere near possible without the donors that support our athletic department so well. It is hard to put into words how different my life is because of Virginia Tech and Hokie Nation, but I am so grateful for it. The ability to be on scholarship and focus on just my academics and swimming allows me to take my sport to the next level and be the best, well-rounded person I can be. Each day, because of the donors and the athletic support staff, I am set up not only to be successful for my time here as a student athlete at Virginia Tech, but also for life after college no matter where I go. This is the best investment I could ever ask someone to make in me, and I am so proud that I am not just a Hokie while I am here, but I am a Hokie for life."

- Leah Rogers, Senior Swimmer