EMORY, Va. – Emory & Henry College Head Women's Swimming Coach and Associate Director of Athletics Dave Griffore has announced his resignation to assume the role of Director of Athletics at Johnson & Wales University in North Miami, Florida.
"I want to thank the E&H community for the last six years," commented Griffore. "I especially want to thank the E&H women's swimming team for all that they have accomplished in such a short period of time, I will truly miss our time together. Also would like to thank Myra Sims for all the opportunities and support she has given me."
Griffore joined the E&H Department of Athletics in the fall of 2011 after a year and a half in the admissions office. He spent the 2011-12 season recruiting for the Wasps' women's swimming program. Griffore grew the program from seven freshmen in 2012-13 to a full squad of 18 swimmers this past year. In the process, Emory & Henry has finished second at the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championships for the past three years and has won 21 individual conference titles across 10 different events.
Over the past four years, the Wasps have seen swimmers break ODAC records in multiple events and the recognition of 23 All-ODAC swimmers, two ODAC Women's Swimmers of the Year, an ODAC Women's Rookie of the Year, and a Bonnie Kestner Sportsmanship Award honoree. Griffore, the 2014-15 ODAC Coach of the Year, also coached Michaela Nolte to the 2016 NCAA Division III Women's Swimming & Diving Championships where she finished as an alternate in both the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke.
"Dave has been a valuable member of the E&H athletics community," commented Myra Sims, Emory & Henry Director of Athletics. "His work to build such a highly successful women's swimming program in such a short time has been phenomenal."
Since the fall of 2012, Emory & Henry has posted a 38-3 record in dual meets and amassed a trio of Winter Invitational victories. The Wasps have been ranked in the Top 50 in NCAA Division III by CollegeSwimming.com multiple times and notched their first-ever West-Midwest-South Region Ranking from the College Swimming Coaches Association of America this past season.
Emory & Henry's swimmers have performed at a high level in the classroom as well as in the water, earning Team Scholar All-America honors from the CSCAA for five straight semesters entering the spring of 2016. The Wasps have consistently placed themselves in the top tier both academically and athletically in the ODAC with a strong representation each year on the ODAC All-Academic Team.
"I know that Dave has wanted to make this transition to administration and has been looking for the right opportunity for him and his family," Sims added. "While we will miss Dave tremendously, I am very happy to see him get this opportunity to take the next step in his career. I know he will do good work at Johnson & Wales."
Griffore spent the past two years as E&H's Associate Director of Athletics. His duties included sport supervision of volleyball, men's & women's cross country and men's & women's tennis, facilities supervision including the Emory & Henry Aquatics Center and the Robert W. Gibson, III Fitness Center, athletics liaison with the Admissions Office and membership on the College's Staff affairs council which he served as chair during the 2015-16 academic year.
A national search for the program's next head coach is currently underway.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15