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One of the nation's premier diving instructors, Dr. Rick Schavone begins his 31st season as the head coach for Stanford's diving program in 2008-09. Throughout his illustrious career on The Farm, he has molded Stanford into one of the top all-around diving programs in the nation. A three-time NCAA Diving Coach of the Year (1992, 1993 and 2007), Schavone is also a six-time recipient of the Pac-10 Diving Coach of the Year award - including each of the last two campaigns (1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2007 and 2008). Over his first 30 seasons at the helm, Schavone has coached his men's and women's divers to a total of eight individual NCAA championships, 36 individual Pac-10 titles and 83 All-America honors. He has had at least one All-American on the women's side for 14 straight seasons and in 25 of his last 26 years. Schavone has also tutored a pair of NCAA Divers of the Year in Eileen Richetelli (1992 and 1993) and Cassidy Krug (2007), while guiding five Pac-10 Divers of the Year (Richetelli in 1995, Kim Powers in 1999, Erin Sones in 2000, Krug in 2007 and Meg Hostage in 2008). "Rick is one of the best diving coaches in America, and we are lucky to have him here at Stanford," says head coach Lea Maurer. "His divers always perform at the NCAA Championships and the international meets. He has been a huge reason for Stanford's swimming and diving success." Schavone added yet another impressive season to his stellar resume in 2007-08, perhaps highlighted by the performance of freshman Meg Hostage. Hostage became Stanford's first freshman diver ever to earn Pac-10 Diver of the Year accolades, while she was also named the Pac-10's Diving Newcomer of the Year after capturing the conference title in the 3-meter competition. Sarah Ohr gave Schavone and the Cardinal a pair of conference champions when she captured the 1-meter title at the Pac-10 Championships. Schavone's record of two or more All-America honors earned by his divers was extended to 12 consecutive seasons in 2008. Hostage was a two-time honoree on the platform and 1-meter, while Shana Karp and Ohr were both platform All-Americans. One of Schavone's biggest seasons to date came in 2006-07, as he was named both the Pac-10 and NCAA Diving Coach of the Year. He guided Cassidy Krug to an undefeated championship season in 2007, as she swept the 1-meter and 3-meter boards at the Pac-10 Championships, NCAA Zone E Championships and NCAA Championships. Krug was also named NCAA and Pac-10 Diver of the Year. Schavone also coached Krug to a first place finish in the 3-meter at the 2007 U.S. summer senior nationals after a fourth-place effort in 2006 and a seventh-place showing on the 3-meter at the 2006 FINA Diving World Cup in China. The last two seasons have continued a strong showing this decade for Schavone's women divers. In addition to Cassidy Krug's two national titles in 2007, Erin Sones also earned an NCAA crown in platform diving in 2001. The last eight campaigns have seen Stanford divers earn seven Pac-10 championships - three in the 1-meter event (Krug in 2004 and '07, and Ohr in 2008), three in the 3-meter competition (Sones in 2000, Krug in 2007 and Hostage in 2008) and one on the platform (Sones in 2001). Sones (Diver of the Year) and McKenze Murphy (Diving Newcomer of the Year) combined to give Schavone's divers a sweep of the 2000 Pac-10 diving awards, while Krug (2004-07) and Ashlee Rosenthal (2001-05) became just the third and fourth divers in Stanford history, respectively, to earn All-American honors all four years on The Farm. Schavone's crew had an excellent showing in 1997-98 when Stanford had women's divers place in the top eight in all three events at the NCAA Championships to help the Cardinal win its most recent national title. In 1996-97, his women's divers also earned All-America honors in all three events to make him Pac-10 Women's Diving Coach of the Year. Schavone was named both the men's and women's Pac-10 Diving Coach of the Year in 1994-95 as Stanford divers David Johns and Eileen Richetelli earned the conference's Male and Female Diver of the Year honors, respectively. Richetelli finished her career with five national titles, and 11 All-America honors, just one shy of the maximum 12 possible in a collegiate career. The women's diving corps proved to be the deciding factor during the Cardinal's run to its fourth straight national title in 1994-95 as Stanford divers accounted for 64 team points while runner-up Michigan did not enter a diver. Stanford ended up winning the meet with 497.5 points and Michigan placed second at 478.5. In addition to his work on the Stanford campus, Schavone has served as the head coach for several United States diving teams. The top events he has coached in have included the 2006 FINA World Cup in China, competitions in Rome and Vienna with the U.S. National Team in 1999, the 1997 World University Games in Sicily, and the 1990 Goodwill Games. He has also headed the U.S. National Team at the 1993 World University Games, four World Age Group Championships (1984, '87, '88, '89) and the 1985 European Youth Championships in Aachen, Germany. Schavone is one of the few coaches nationwide who has coached at the last six U.S. Olympic trials in 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008. In the summer of 1995, he traveled with the U.S. National Team to China and served as a coach at the World Cup in Atlanta. In 2007, he helped host the U.S. summer senior nationals at Stanford's Maas Family Diving Center. Schavone has also held many positions with USA Diving. He received the prestigious Coaches' Whosam Award in 2003, given annually to a coach that adheres to the highest standards of physical and mental well-being. The award is given annually in honor of Sammy Lee, a 1948 and 1952 Olympic gold medalist, and long-time diving coach. Schavone has also developed Stanford Diving into one of the top age group diving programs in the nation, coaching eight age group national champions. He was selected as USA Diving's 1984 Coach of the Year, an award that honored his work with divers between the ages of 12-17. One of the few Ph.D. holders in his profession, Schavone was introduced to Stanford Diving as a graduate assistant to veteran coach Clyde Devine in 1975. Schavone was named head diving coach on The Farm in 1977 and completed his Ph.D. at Stanford in 1978. After leaving Stanford to become the head diving coach at Princeton for one season (1978-79), he returned at the beginning of the 1979-80 campaign. A 1971 graduate of the University of New Hampshire, Schavone is single and resides on the Stanford campus. | |||||||||||||||
