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Slippery Rock's Diane Stein Swigart Joins CWPA Hall of Fame
BRIDGEPORT, Pa. - Four-time collegiate All-America selection Diane Stein Swigart of Slippery Rock University was inducted into the Collegiate Water Polo Association Hall of Fame on Friday, April 24 at the Holiday Inn-Boston/Somerville as part of the 2009 Women's Eastern Championship hosted by Harvard University on April 24-26.
"I accept this as a tribute to my family who provided me with constant emotional and financial support, and my coach, Dr. Richard Hunkler, who never gave up on me and taught me to believe that all things are possible," noted Swigart.
Presented for induction to the Hall of Fame by fellow Slippery Rock and national team member and 2003 CWPA Hall of Fame inductee Lynn Kachmarik, Swigart praised her family, former coaches and friends for allowing her to play the game of water polo.
A standout collegiate and international goalie, she set the record for most blocks in the first Collegiate National Championship, a non-NCAA sanctioned event, in 1980 and was named to the All-Tournament Team. In addition, she was named to eight All-Tournament teams in five years, an achievement due to the fact she never played water polo prior to college.
Outside of her collegiate career, she was a three-time (1979, 1980, 1982) AAU All-America selection in the USA Water Polo National Outdoor Championships, where she played for both Industry Hills and City of Commerce in California.
"I am truly honored and humbled by this award," notes Swigart. "I played against so many great athletes, that to be singled out amongst them is incredible. To be selected as one of the best, when there is a wide range of people they could have chosen from, is great."
A standout international player, she was named to the United States National Team in 1979, she competed at the World Cup Tournament in Merced, California.
She maintained her involvement on the international level with the team in 1980 and traveled to the 1982 World Cup Tournament in Ecuador helping the United States "A" team earn a bronze medal.
Following college, she continued to compete and later led the East squad to a second place finish at the 1984 Olympic Sports Festival.
She joins Hunkler, a 2002 inductee to the Hall of Fame, and Slippery Rock University players Lynn Kachmarik (2003), John Barrett (2004), Sue Kolczak (2005) and Robbie Bova (2006) in the CWPA Hall of Fame as "The Rock" has accounted for six of the 15 inductees into the Hall.
A native of Lower Burrell, Pennsylvania and a 1977 graduate of Valley High School, she was inducted into the Allegheny-Kiski Valley Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.
Currently, she teaches seventh-grade mathematics and coaches girls' volleyball at Valley Middle School. Further, she served as Valley High School's varsity swimming coach for over 20 seasons.
