2012 Atlantic 10 Women's Coach of the Year
After a distinguished career as a student-athlete at La Salle University, Matt Nunnally returned to his alma mater in 1999 to guide both the men's and women's swimming teams. He enters his 15th season at the helm of the Explorers' swimming program after serving five years as an assistant coach at Seton Hall University.
Nunnally, who graduated in 1992, was an integral part of the Explorers swim team that won four straight MAAC Conference Team Championships (1989-92). Individually, he captured both the 200-free and 500-free conference titles and was also a member of several MAAC Championship relay teams.
During the 2008-09 season, Nunnally coached the men's and women's teams to a No. 21 ranking in the Mid-Major Division I polls. Three years prior, during the 2005-06 season, he led the men's team to a No. 25 national ranking in the final polls, climbing as high as number 13. In 2010, the men's team was ranked as high as 12 in the CSCAA Mid-Major Poll.
Aside from keeping his teams competitive in the pool, Nunnally has also coached numerous Academic All-America teams while at La Salle. Academic All-Conference Team members since 2010 include Shannon Duval, Holly Biro, Emily Heath, Eric Patenaude, and Austin Thomas. Duval was named La Salle Student-Athlete of the Year for 2009-2010 and CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District. She was also nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
Since 2010, 30 school records have fallen and 10 Atlantic 10 champions have been crowned under Nunnally's command. The men's team finished fifth at the 2010 A-10 Champs, third in 2011, and fourth in 2012. The women's team placed fifth at the 2010 A-10 Champs, fourth in 2011, and third in 2012. Nunnally was named the 2012 Atlantic 10 Women's Coach of the Year.
At the 2012 Atlantic 10 Champs, Nunnally produced gold medal winners in the 100 and 200 breaststroke (Blase Szyszko), 100 backstroke (Dan Fitzgerald), 100 breaststroke (Liz Jordan), the 1650 (Colleen Larkin), and the men's 200 medley relay (Fitzgerald, Szyszko, Ed Carnes, and Austin Thomas) which was also an NCAA "B" cut. Carnes, Szyszko, and Thomas also competed in the 2011 US Winter Nationals held at Georgia Tech. In addition, Szyszko qualified for the 2012 Olympic Trials in the 100 and 200 breast, the first La Salle swimmer to swim in trials since 1984.
Since his graduation from La Salle, Nunnally continues to achieve many of the goals that he sets for himself. He is a 27-year veteran lifeguard at Bradley Beach, NJ, and in the summer of 2003, he captured his third National Lifeguarding Championship high point award in Cape May, NJ. His previous titles were captured in San Diego (2000) and Cape May (1999).
As a standout lifeguard, Nunnally has been selected to the U.S. National Team and has competed in the Lifeguarding World Championships in Germany (1992), South Africa (1996) and Sydney, Australia (2000). In 2008, Matt was again a member of the U.S. National Team and competed at the World Lifeguarding Championships in Italy.
A native of Avon, NJ, Nunnally earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from La Salle in 1992 and an MBA from the University of Mississippi in 1995. He currently resides in Wyncote, PA.
