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26 CAVALIER CORNER BY MIKE SCANDURA D URING THE PREVIOUS SIX seasons when Todd DeSorbo was the associate head coach at North Carolina State, the Wolfpack enjoyed an inordi- nate amount of success. The Wolfpack men captured the last three ACC titles while the women notched the 2017 ACC championship, which snapped UVA's streak of conference dominance. Thirteen swimmers qualified for the NCAA Championships, where they cap- tured more than 30 All-America honors. At the 2017 NCAA Championships, the men finished fourth while the women placed seventh — the best performance by each team in program history. DeSorbo coached three 2016 Olympians, including gold medalist Ryan Held (a mem- ber of the 4x100 free relay). Now that DeSorbo is tasked with guiding Virginia's men's and women's swimming and diving teams, can the Virginia com- munity expect the same caliber of success? "I think there is pressure," DeSorbo said quite matter of factly. "But I'm not try- ing to duplicate anything that occurred at NC State. I don't know any coach that would not want to have that kind of success. I think I'm confident this university can have success at the highest level. "I think both the men's and women's programs can both be top five nationally and can also have the type of international success we had at NC State. I think there's excitement from alumni and the NCAA swimming community. I think a lot of peo- ple know the university has that capability." Prior to working at NC State, DeSorbo spent five seasons as the assistant coach at UNC Wilmington. Combine his time at UNC Wilmington plus his years at NC State and the question wasn't when DeSorbo would apply for a head coaching position, but where he would do so. "I think over the last year I've been ap- proached for head coaching positions and had thought more about it," he said. "If I were to be a head coach where would I want to do that? I wanted to be a head coach, but not bad enough to be one anywhere. "From a performance experience I was fortunate to have a taste of success. One of my goals was to be an Olympic coach down the line. I thought if I made a move it would help me accomplish that goal." To say Virginia was the right fit for De- Sorbo would be an understatement. "When I thought about Virginia I thought this would be a program that would perform at this level year in and year out," he said. "I felt Virginia would enable me to accom- plish this type of success [that he had at NC State]. On a more personal level was my desire to live in a nice place. "There aren't too many places around the country where my family wanted to live long term. Virginia provided a lot of things from that standpoint." One of the obvious differences between DeSorbo's new position and the ones he held at NC State and UNC Wilmington is that he no longer is a buffer between the swimmers and the head coach. For some coaches that can prove to be a difficult path to navigate. "Up to this point it hasn't been very diffi- cult," DeSorbo said. "I'm the type of person who likes to build relationships. I think all athletes feel comfortable coming to me. I make myself available. "It definitely is a different perspective because my assistant coaches serve as go- betweens. However, I don't feel our coach- ing staff is a hierarchy. Whether the athletes are going to them or me, the swimmers comprise one big team." Because DeSorbo swam at Kentucky and UNCW before embarking on a successful coaching career, he's confident he knows what it takes to produce winning teams. "I think my biggest strengths are the en- ergy and passion for the sport and my ability to motivate [athletes]," he said. "The biggest way is to create a positive environment ev- ery day and to get athletes to perform well every day." Given DeSorbo's familiarity with the ACC, one could make a case that this ex- perience could be viewed as a plus. But DeSorbo did a verbal tap dance when asked if that was realistic. "I don't think it's a positive or a neg- ative," he said. "I'm going to coach and motivate wherever I am. The one potential positive is since I am familiar with the con- ference and Virginia, I wasn't coming into this position blind. "This has given me a familiarity with the program. It's allowed me to acclimate a lot quicker once I got here." That's a plus considering the Cavalier women notched nine consecutive ACC titles prior to 2017. "Our goal as a program is to be better this year than last year," DeSorbo said. "I want to build on how they did last year. I believe both teams are better from a talent perspective. "I have a three-year plan to put this pro- gram in position to contend for top-five positions in three years." HIGH HOPES New Swimming And Diving Head Coach Todd DeSorbo Brings Championship Expectations To Charlottesville DeSorbo spent the previous six years at NC State prior to being hired at Virginia. Both the men (fourth) and women (seventh) posted the highest-ever finishes at the NCAA Champi- onships in his final year with the Wolfpack. PHOTO BY MATT RILEY/COURTESY UVA