CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A new coach has joined the men’s and women’s swimming teams at Queens University of Charlotte, according to associate athletic director and director of swimming Jeff Dugdale.
Dugdale announced that Elliot Ptasnik has joined the men’s and women’s coaching staff for the 2023-2024 season. Ptasnik brings more than 15 years of coaching experience to the team, including experience with different age groups, college, and even professional swimmers.
Ptasnik’s most recent position was as a volunteer assistant coach at Stanford University, where he mainly worked with the Cardinal women’s team and Greg Meehan, the 2020 U.S. Women’s Olympic Swimming Head Coach.
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“Elliot made an immediate and lasting impact on our program this summer,” Meehan said. “He’s an incredibly thoughtful and curious coach who brought positive and infectious energy to the pool deck each and every day. Elliot will continue to make a big impact at Queens and I’m excited for him to take his next journey in his career.”
From 2021 to 2023, Ptasnik completed a master’s degree. During that time, he also founded and became the head coach of Aloha Aquatica, a professional training group based of out Kapolei, Hawaii.
Pstanik coached athletes like Ben Proud, the 2022 World Champion, world record holder Andrii Govorov, 2016 Olympic gold medalist, Anthony Ervin, and others. Last summer, he coached for Ukraine during the World and European Championships; Pstanik also helped the swimmers during the Russia and Ukraine conflict.
“I am very excited to work with the fast-rising Queens Royal student-athletes, and such a wonderful staff,” Ptasnik stated. “We will place swimmers on their respective Olympic rosters, be a top Division I program, and contribute in many ways to the Charlotte community.”
Pstanik, a student-athlete himself, swam at the University of Iowa where he got a degree in finance when he graduated in 2005. He also got an MBA from the University of Hawaii.
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