Bio

Rob Miecznikowski was named the first head men's and women's swimming and diving coach at St. Ambrose University on Sept. 23, 2016.

In his time at SAU, Miecznikowski has coached multiple All-Americans and built a nationally-recognized program.

The 2015 State of Iowa High School Coach of the Year, Miecznikowski served as the head girls swimming coach at Iowa City West High School from 1999-2015 and was the head boys coach there since 2001. He won three District/Regional Coach of the Year awards (2012, 2014, 2016) and was a nine-time Mississippi Valley Conference Coach of the Year.

"It is an extreme honor to be the head men's and women's swimming and diving coach at St. Ambrose University. St. Ambrose has provided an outstanding opportunity to the swimming and diving community and especially for those student-athletes who wish to compete at the collegiate level," Miecznikowski said.

"I look to create a positive environment where our student-athletes can excel both in the classroom and in the pool. I am confident with the wonderful resources provided by the community and St. Ambrose staff, we have created a program dedicated to the pursuit of excellence."

After a successful collegiate swimming career at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Miecznikowski got his coaching start as a graduate assistant at the University of Iowa, where he helped with recruiting and all on-deck coaching responsibilities.

At Iowa City West, Miecznikowski won two boys' state high school championships and his teams held seven Iowa high school records. In 2015-16, he had seven All-American swims, with four of those placing in the top-10 nationally.

Miecznikowski also launched two club teams. He was the head coach for the Waterloo (Iowa) Sharks Swim Club from 1993-1999 and coached for the Hawkeye Aquatics/Iowa Flyers (IFLY) Swim Club in Iowa City from 2009-2014.

Miecznikowski earned his degree in psychology from UNC-Wilmington.