Camp Staff
Mark Bernardino
For over 30 years, Mark Bernardino has served as the head coach of the Virginia men's and women's swimming and diving programs. Every Atlantic Coast Conference championship banner - 14 for the Cavalier men and nine for the women - has come under the direction of Bernardino, now in his 34th season at the helm of his alma mater.
Cavalier women made history in 2011 as the fourth year class - Katya Bachrouche, Claire Crippen, Hannah Davis, Amanda Faulkner, Jennings Grant, Kristen Moores, Anne Summer Myers and Liz Shaw - became the first to depart the University of Virginia with four ACC championship rings.
The men followed a week later to win their fourth consecutive league title, outscoring the rival Tar Heels by 232 points for their 12th ACC championship in the last 13 years. Virginia had three individuals claim four titles: third year Peter Geissinger in the 100 butterfly, fourth year Matt McLean in the 500 freestyle and 1650 freestyle and fourth year Scot Robison in the 200 freestyle. UVa's 400 medley, 400 freestyle and 800 freestyle relay squads also collected conference titles. McLean, a member of both championship freestyle relay teams, was tabbed the ACC Swimmer of the Championships for the third time in his career. It was also the fourth straight year a Cavalier has earned the distinction.
The Cavaliers concluded the ACC Championships with 37 all-conference honors. The women had 10 swimmers earn a total of 17 All-ACC accolades, while the men had 11 swimmers pick up 20 all-conference awards. The next closest school in the conference was 14 all-conference honors for the UNC women and 10 all-league members for both the North Carolina and Florida State men.
After winning the ACC Coach of the Year award for both the men and women again in 2011, Bernardino is a 31-time winner of the ACC Coach of the Year honor, having garnered the accolade 18 times for the men's team and 13 times for the women's squad.
The ACC Championships were just the beginning for Bernardino and his squads. The men went on to a school-best showing at the NCAA Championships, finishing eighth at the national meet, and crowned its fourth NCAA individual champion. Fourth year Matt McLean won the 500 freestyle on the first night of competition, becoming the first individual winner at the NCAA Championships since Ed Moses claimed the 100 and 200 breaststroke events in 2000. The 800 freestyle relay team of McLean, Peter Geissinger, David Karasek and Scot Robison were the national-runners up in the event, marking the highest finish for a Virginia relay at the national meet. A total of nine swimmers took home 15 All-America or honorable mention All-America accolades, including all five relay teams.
The Virginia women placed 13th at the 2011 NCAA Championships, marking their fourth consecutive year with a top-20 showing on the national stage. Second year Lauren Perdue took national runner-up honors in the 200 freestyle, breaking her own conference record in the process. The Cavaliers had 10 swimmers earn a total of 11 All-America or honorable mention All-America accolades at the national meet, including all three freestyle relay squads.
Bernardino, a native of Drexel Hill, Pa., graduated from the University of Virginia in 1974 after a successful college career in the pool. Four years later, in 1978, he was tabbed to lead his alma mater. Among the over 100 All-Americans he has mentored are three NCAA champions who have won a total of five individual national titles. All this in addition to Olympic medalists, World University Games medalists, Pan American Games medalists and World Championship finalists.
In the summer of 2001, Bernardino served as the head coach of the USA World University Games Team in Beijing, China. He led the USA to a competition-best 17 medals, including seven gold. Bernardino was selected by USA Swimming as an assistant coach for the 2000 men's United States National Junior Team, which competed in the 2000 Mare Nostrom International Competition in Barcelona, Spain. He served as head coach for the East squad at the 1993 U.S. Olympic Festival and was an assistant at the 1986 Festival. He has been a featured clinician at three NCAA Youth Education Through Sports clinics, and his summer camp in Charlottesville is regarded as one of the nation's best at teaching techniques and mechanics.
Doak Finch
Doak Finch returns for his 10th season as an assistant swimming coach for Virginia. He mentors the distance group in his role as assistant coach.
In addition to his coaching duties, Finch is actively involved in recruiting and the strength and conditioning programs. He also serves on the Virginia Swim Camp and Cavalier Aquatics swimming staffs during the summer.
An All-America swimmer for the Cavaliers and a USA National Team Member, Finch graduated from Virginia in 2000 with a B.A. in economics. He served as a team captain as a junior and senior and was the team's top butterfly and individual medley swimmer. Finch was named to the ACC's 50th Anniversary Men's Swimming and Diving Team in August of 2002. He ranks among the top-10 on Virginia's all-time top times list in the 200 fly, 200 IM and 400 IM.
Finch concluded his career at Virginia as an 11-time NCAA All-American. He was a seven-time first-team All-American, including four first-team honors in the 200 butterfly. Finch was an 11-time ACC champion (eight individual and three relay titles), the 1997 ACC Rookie of the Year and MVP of the 1998 ACC Championship meet. He became the 14th individual to win four successive ACC titles in the same event (400 IM) in 2000.
Finch placed seventh at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 200 butterfly and also represented the United States at the 1999 World University Games in Palma, Spain, finishing sixth in the 200 fly. He was a multiple national finalist in the 200 butterfly.
Anna Miller
Anna Miller is in her first season as an assistant coach with the Virginia swimming and diving program.
At UVa, Miller works primarily with the middle distance freestylers, stroke and individual medley swimmers in addition to assisting in recruiting efforts.
Miller, a native of Johnson City, Tenn., comes to Virginia after spending the summer as the national team intern with USA Swimming. She assisted with all duties performed by the High Performance Team including filming, race analysis and coach/athlete support.
Miller spent the 2010-11 school year in two different roles at her alma mater, the University of Georgia. She spent the year as a graduate assistant with Georgia's CHAMPS/Life Skills program, which focuses on the development of student-athletes within the university environment. In that role, Miller monitored study hall and assisted in organizing community service events. She also served as an administrative assistant with the Bulldog swimming and diving program during the spring semester, helping with home swim meets, financial reporting and camper registration for Georgia's summer camps.
Miller swam for four years (2005-08) on the Georgia women's swimming team and finished her career as a seven-time All-American. She was a member of both the 2005 NCAA championship squad and the 2006 SEC championship team. Miller, a team captain as a senior in 2008, concluded her career as a four-time SEC Academic All-American. She also qualified for the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Trials.
Additional Staff
- Bill Smyth - Head Coach, Boston University
- Don Easterling - Retired Head Coach, North Carolina State University
- Craig Nisgor - Head Coach, Seattle University
- Corey Berg - Assistant Coach, Cornell University
- June Parker - Head Coach, Marshall H.S. (Texas)
- John Geissinger - Assistant Coach, Washington & Lee University
- ... and many other wonderful and experienced coaches!