Leslie Ramsey with Captain Kyle Dunaway '04

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - For the first time in her brief career as a collegiate head coach, Wittenberg University Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Head Coach Leslie Ramsey was named North Coast Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. She was tapped for her outstanding work with the Tiger women's team, which finished fourth in last week's NCAC Championship Meet at C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton, Ohio.

Ramsey is in her second year at the helm of the Tiger swimming and diving program. In her first season, the Tigers finished fourth in both the men's and women's conference competitions and advanced one individual each to the NCAA Division III meet, both of whom earned All-America honors. This year, the Tiger men finished fifth and the women wound up fourth. Five individuals have made NCAA provisional cut times.

While the NCAC finishes in terms of the final standings may not be reflective of it, the teams continue to improve upon their point totals while competing in the toughest NCAA Division III conference in the nation. Wittenberg Director of Athletics and Recreation Garnett Purnell said he is proud of the team's accomplishments and the progress that the program is making under Ramsey's direction.

"Leslie has taken over the program and continued to make enhancements," Purnell said. "The women's score at the conference meet was one of the best in school history. We're very happy with the program's progress and with the latest results."

Ramsey came to Wittenberg in 2001 after serving as an assistant coach at the University of Kentucky for six years. Ramsey enjoyed tremendous success in her collegiate career at the University of North Carolina, where she was an NCAA Division I All-America selection in 1992, '94 and '95, took home Atlantic Coast Conference Swimmer of the Year honors in 1995, was named Most Valuable Swimmer of her team in 1994 and was an Olympic Trial finalist in the 200-yard butterfly in 1996, in which she finished 14th. Ramsey was recently named to the Atlantic Coast Conference's 50th Anniversary Women's Swimming and Diving Team, making her one of the ACC's 50 all-time greatest athletes in her sport.