HEAD COACH:
Martie Staser
Office: (585) 389-2198
E-mail: mstaser3@naz.edu
Now in her sixth season as head coach of the Nazareth men’s and women’s swim teams, Martie Staser has been a stabilizing influence on both programs while also lending significance to the women’s team at the national level.
The women’s swim team has lost just eight dual meets over the last five seasons, giving Staser a 46-11 overall record for a .852 winning percentage. Nazareth also has placed high in the Empire 8 Conference championship meet in each of the last five seasons while winning 32 conference titles. She was named E8 Coach of the Year in 2005 and 2007.
The crowning achievement of her brief yet successful tenure was helping to guide Emily Lesher to an NCAA Division III title in the 400-yard individual medley in 2007. Lesher missed duplicating that honor by a fraction of a second in 2008, but she completed her brilliant career as a nine-time All-American under the assistance of Staser, who also coached Aubrey Kirchoff to All-American honors in the 200 butterfly in 2006. Nazareth also has had national qualifiers in Lauren McKinney in 2008 and 2009 and Jaclyn Conklin in '09. Staser, a former swimming standout at the University of Buffalo, was named head men’s and women’s swimming and diving coach at Nazareth in 2004, replacing Rick Aronberg, who coached the Golden Flyers for 11 seasons.
Staser grew up in New Hampshire, then swam scholastically at Germantown Academy near Philadelphia. She earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from UB, where she was a four-year letterwinner in swimming and a Mid-Continent Conference champion in four events. She served as team captain in 1995-96 and 1996-97 and was a first-team all-conference selection all four seasons there.
At UB, Staser won conference titles in the 1650 free, 500 free, 200 fly, and 400 IM. Other accolades included selection as Academic All-Conference in 1994, 1996, and 1997.
Staser’s most recent position was as academic advisor for intercollegiate athletics at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, Ill. She also was coordinator of the university’s Life Skills Program and advisor to the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. In Illinois, she was an assistant swim coach at the Edwardsville YMCA.
Staser also has coaching experience at Sunset Hills Country Club in Edwardsville, Hazelwood Elite Aquatic Team in Missouri, and the Nickel City Splash Swim Club in Buffalo.
In addition to coaching swimming and serving as aquatics director, Staser teaches classes in Nazareth’s Life Skills Program. She and husband, Chris, are parents of 2-year-old Ty.
DIVING COACH:
Dave Marsh
Office: (585) 389-2198
E-mail: dmarsh3@naz.edu
No stranger to the Golden Flyers’ swimming and diving program, Dave Marsh has been a member of the coaching staff since 2001.
Marsh was a diving standout for the Golden Flyers from 1994 through 1996 and qualified for the NCAA Division III championship meet in Oxford, Ohio in ‘96. He also was selected team MVP in 1996 and still holds scoring records for 1-meter diving (274.20 for six dives and 425.65 for 11 dives).
As a coach, Marsh has enjoyed similar success. As a club coach, he has trained several athletes who have attended the junior and senior national competitions. In addition, he has coached many local high school teams in the Rochester area and has assisted seven divers in reaching the state meet.
Marsh works as an analyst at Global Crossing.
ASSISTANT COACH:
Jack Hauber
Back for his seventh season as an assistant coach, Jack Hauber has been a Nazareth swimming and diving program fixture for more than a decade.
A 1996 Nazareth graduate, Hauber ranks among the program’s all-time fastest swimmers in five events, including the 100- and 200-yard backstrokes. He was a four-time conference finalist in the 100 backstroke and the 100 butterfly. Hauber also was a four-year member of the Golden Flyers’ soccer team.
Hauber’s coaching experience includes five years as head coach for the QUIK swim club and five seasons as an assistant coach at Honeoye Falls-Lima High School. He also coaches the Greater Rochester Racing Raiders. He teaches at Midlakes High School in Phelps, N.Y.
ASSISTANT COACH:
Danny Pluta
Rochester native Danny Pluta joined the Nazareth swimming and diving staff in 2008 after a solid four-year swimming career at Loyola College in Baltimore.
Pluta also has swimming experience as a member of the Greater Rochester Racing Raiders under the direction of Nazareth assistant Jack Hauber. In high school, Pluta was a standout at McQuaid Jesuit, where was team captain and tam MVP as a senior in 2004. In addition, he earned all-City and all-Catholic recognition.
Pluta’s coaching experience includes two years as head coach of the Monroe Swim Club and a stint as assistant coach of the Rochester Recreational Swim Team.
