HEAD COACH:
Cal Wickens
Office: (585) 389-2189
E-mail: cwicken0@naz.edu
Cal Wickens, coach and director of the Rochester Volleyball Club for more than two decades, is back for his seventh season as head coach of the Golden Flyers' women's volleyball team.
Wickens took over prior to the 2003 season and promptly guided the Golden Flyers to the Empire 8 Conference ttile as well as their fourth straight trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Even more noteworthy, perhaps, was the Golden Flyers' ascent to the conference championship in 2006. Nazareth posted a 5-2 E8 dual meet record in '06 and was seeded third for the winner-take-all conference tournament. Nazareth won a wild, five-game semifinal match over second-seeded Ithaca and then fought equally hard in a three-game sweep of top-seeded RIT to win the title and coveted automatic berth to the NCAAs.
Nazareth gained yet another NCAA Tournament berth in 2007 by earning an at-large selection after finishing third in the regular-season conference standings.
Nazareth scored post-season wins over Montclair State and Cortland before being eliminated in the '07 New York Region finals by E8 rival Stevens.
Wickens' six-year record of 133-89 does not include an Empire 8 Coach of the Year honor for 2006.
A native of Santa Monica, Calif., Wickens started the Rochester Volleyball Club in 1979. The club includes the Volley FX girls' team and the Pace Bootlegger boys' team. The boys' team won the 18-and-under AAU National Championship in 1990 and has been national runner-up six other times. The team also captured the USA Men's National Championship in 2000.
Wickens also has coached at numerous camps and clinics and served for 10 years as try-out coach for the USA High Performance/Youth National Team.
Wickens has an Associate in Occupational Studies degree from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y.
Wickens, in 2005, also helped launch the Nazareth men's volleyball program, which has a five-year record of 109-41 and in 2008 ascended to No. 1 in the national rankings. In 2008, Nazareth finished 28-5 overall and reached the finals of the North East Collegiate Volleyball Association Tournament. Wickens was recognized as the NECVA West Coach of the Year in 2007 and 2009.
ASSISTANT COACH:
Steve England
Office: (585) 389-2189
E-mail: senglan5@naz.edu
A member of the Nazareth men's volleyball team for two seasons, Steve England joined the women's coaching staff in 2006.
A native of Rochester and a graduate of Penfield High School, England played regularly for the Golden Flyers' men's team in 2005 and 2006. He helped the Golden Flyers to a 20-9 record in '06 and ranks among the all-time leaders in digs with 245.
England graduated from Nazareth in '06 with a degree in Sociology. In high school, he was a standout at Penfield in volleyball and lacrosse, earning Monroe County League all-star honors in both sports. He played two seasons of lacrosse at Mercyhurst before transferring to Nazareth in 2003.
ASSISTANT COACH:
Leigh Launhardt
Office: (585) 389-2189
E-mail: llaunha1@naz.edu
After coaching three other volleyball teams, Leigh Launhardt has joined Nazareth’s staff as an assistant volleyball coach for 2009. Launhardt also currently coaches Rochester’s Volley FX team. She coached the Niagara Frontier Volleyball team from 2006-2008 and the Cheetah Volleyball Club from 2002-2005.
A Rochester native, Launhardt graduated from Greece Arcadia in 2002. While at Arcadia, Launhardt played four years of varsity volleyball. She was Monroe County League co-player of the year in 2001 and 2002 and a three-time league all-star.
Launhardt attended Canisius College while receiving both her undergraduate and graduate degrees. She has a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in literacy.
As a four-year member of Canisius’ Division I volleyball team, Launhardt was named offensive, defensive, and rookie of the week multiple times in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. She still holds the record for blocking in a career. Launhardt qualified as a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s Academic team from 2002-2006. She also made first team All-MAAC in 2003 and second team All-MAAC in 2006.
In 2007, Launhardt was inducted into the Volley FX Hall of Fame. She was a member of the team from 1997-2002.
Launhardt returned to Rochester after finishing college, and is beginning her third year as a teacher in the Rochester City School District.
