La Salle University Athletics

After two seasons as assistant swimming & diving coach, Alexandra "Sasha" Malanina was elevated to interim head coach for the 2020-21 campaign. She is a two-time All American and former member of the Russian National Team.

Previous to La Salle, Malanina served as an assistant coach at Rowan University where she worked specifically with the distance group. She helped John Tepper to All-America honors in the 1650 free at 2018 NCAA Championships.

During her time with the Russian National Team from 1999-03, Malanina was a silver medalist in both the 200 and 400 IM at the 1999 Junior Olympic Days in Esbjerg, Denmark. A year later, she won a Junior European championship in the 400 medley relay and earned a third-place finish at the 2000 Russia Olympic Trials in the 200 breaststroke. 

Malanina took part in three consecutive World Championship meets from 2000-02, advancing to the finals of the 800 free and 800 free relay at the 2002 games in Moscow. Two years later, she competed in her second Olympic Trials, finishing in fourth place in the 400 IM.

Following her international career, she began swimming collegiately in the United States at the University of Maryland. A two-time NCAA Qualifier, Malanina was an honorable mention All-American in the 800 freestyle relay in 2005. In 2006, she was the Atlantic Coast Conference champion in the 400 IM, earned honorable mention All-America status in the event and was named Team MVP.

After graduating with a degree in finance and a concentration in international business from Maryland in 2008, she moved on to Villanova University and completed her master's degree in finance in 2011. She embarked on a three-year stint on Wall Street working in sales and trading. She is currently pursuing another master's degree in sports business from New York University.