Oswego State diving coach John Moore was named the NCAA Division III Men’s Diving National Coach of the Year at the recently completed NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships at the University of Minnesota. This year Moore guided Eric Messina (So., Latham, N.Y.) and Shawn Merlin (Jr., Palmyra, N.Y.) to three All-America performances and one honorable mention All-America performance on the 1-meter and 3-meter springboards, as well as helping Eileen McMahon (Sr., Clay, N.Y.) become the first women’s diver in program history to qualify for nationals.

Moore attributes receiving this award to the stellar performances turned in by Messina and Merlin at the NCAA Championships. He also would like to give credit to the alumni whose efforts have allowed Oswego State to build a program of this caliber and attract such excellent student-athletes.

Since becoming the Laker diving coach in 1991, Moore has led the development of the Oswego divers into one of the top contingents in the SUNYAC and all of Division III. On eight occasions, Moore’s divers have been named Diver of the Year at the SUNYAC Championships. He has trained 15 SUNYAC Champions, including Eric Messina, who was the 2010 3-meter champion. At the national level, Moore has worked with six separate individuals who have combined to receive 10 All-America and 11 honorable mention All-America honors since 1998-99. In order to receive All-America recognition, a diver must have placed in the top eight at the national meet, while a diver must finish between ninth and 16th to earn honorable mention All-America.