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Water polo coach remains face of program

By Rebecca Olesky
Rocket Contributor

Issue date: 3/30/07 Section: Sports
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Coach Jim Yeamans
Coach Jim Yeamans
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When it comes to water sports at SRU, a main staple is the coach of both the women's swimming team and women's water polo team, Jim Yeamans.

Yeamans has been coaching women's water polo since 2003 and coached men's water polo teams from 2004-2005. In addition to coaching, he is the Coordinator of Aquatic Programming in the Aebersold Student Recreation Center (ARC).

Yeamans had interest in water sports since he was six years old.

"I had two older brothers on the YMCA swim team and joined the swim team because of them, and I have swum ever since," Yeamans said.

He swam in high school, but he also developed an interest in team sports such as basketball and hockey. He tried out for those teams, but they never panned out.

"Yes, I swam through my senior year in high school," Yeamans said. "I wanted to play team sports, but failed to make the teams. "

His older brother played water polo at SRU and Yeamans decided to try out for the team. And as a senior at the Rock, he was a Mid-Atlantic Conference Division I All-American.

While at SRU, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education with an emphasis in sports information in 1983, and a master's degree in sports science with emphasis in aquatic administration from Indiana of Pa. in 1992.

After completing his playing career, he served as a Rock assistant coach from 1981-83. He then did five seasons as head men's coach and two seasons as the first-ever women's head coach at IUP, before coming back to coach at the Rock as a head coach in 1998.

When he came to the Rock to make his coaching debut, he had to feel the big shoes of former water polo coach, Dick Hunkler.

Hunkler retired in the summer of 1998. Before he retired, he led the Rock from a club-sport status in its inaugural season in 1972 to varsity status in 1991. In that season, SRU had a 26-7 final record, won the Eastern Championship and finished seventh in the nation. And also, Hunkler led the Rock women's program to the 1995 national championship and was twice named as the national coach of the year.

With having such big shoes to fill, Yeamans main goal was to win as often as he could.
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