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CALIFORNIA, Pa.–After a nationwide search, California (Pa.) has hired Mark Swasey as head coach of the women’s basketball program.
Swasey joins Cal after seven seasons as head women’s basketball coach at Franklin Pierce. His team advanced to the NCAA, Division II national championship game after ending Cal’s 2008-09 season by defeating the Vulcan women 88-73 in the quarterfinal contest.
Cal finished the season with a 29-5 overall record after making its fourth Elite Eight appearance in the last seven seasons.
“Our women’s basketball team is coming off an extraordinary year,” said Cal President Angelo Armenti, Jr., who introduced the coach at a campus news conference Thursday, June 4.
“The program has been building for some time, and it has the potential to reach even greater heights. These fine players deserve a great coach, so we looked for the very best. In Mark Swasey, I believe we found what we were looking for.”
Swasey was named Russell Athletic/Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) East Region Coach of the Year in 2008-09, as well as the Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year. He will be inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in October.
He will lead a Cal program that has made eight consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances since the 2001-02 season and won seven PSAC West championships, four PSAC crowns, four NCAA Regional titles and the 2004 NCAA Division II National Championship.
“I am very excited about this opportunity to become a part of one the premier athletic programs in all of Division II,” Swasey said. “I look forward to meeting the challenge of continuing the rich tradition that is Cal U women's basketball. I am also deeply grateful to the Franklin Pierce athletic department, administration, fellow coaches and, most importantly, the players who have made it possible for me to take this new step.”
(Source California-Pa.) | 
