Arcadia University Athletics

John Geissinger is entering his fourth season as head men's and women's swimming coach and aquatics director at Arcadia University in 2016-17. He was named the program’s first-ever full-time head coach August 15, 2013.
 
Both programs have shown dramatic improvement since Geissinger’s first season, completely rewriting the men's and women's record books while moving into a position to contend for the Middle Atlantic Conference team championships. Both programs have seen three individuals combine for five MAC titles, while totaling 23 medal-winning performances and 68 all-conference times.
 
The men's and women's swimming programs had their best season ever in 2015-16, finishing a program-best fourth of 12 teams at MAC Championships with program-record point totals. On the men's side, Grant Fisher (500 Freestyle) and Timothy Graham (200 Butterfly) were crowned conference champions and were among the four medal-winning and 17 all-MAC performances. Graham’s winning time of 1:53.54 met the NCAA Division III provisional qualifying standard, making him the first Arcadia swimmer to record a NCAA provisional qualifying time. On the women's side, Samantha Carpenter won her first two MAC titles in the 100 and 200 Breaststroke, leading a group that earned four medals and tallied 15 all-MAC performances. The men's and women's teams each set 11 program records at the 2016 MAC Championships.
 
The men's team moved up to sixth in the conference in 2015, which saw Graham win his second career MAC title with a first-place finish in the 200 IM. Eric Lam and Matthew Morano also medaled with third-place finishes in the 400 individual medley and 500 freestyle, respectively. Whitney Boeckel became the second-ever individual women's conference champion in 2015, claiming the MAC championship in the 100 and 200 backstroke while finishing runner-up in the 200 IM. She scored a program-record 57 points in her final conference meet and finished her career as the program's all-time leading scorer at the MAC Championships with 165 career points.
 
In his first season in 2013-14, the Knights recorded a total of 42 school-record performances at the MAC Championships. The men’s program crowned its first-ever individual MAC Champions (Eric Lam – 400 IM, Timothy Graham 200 Butterfly) while recording a program-best nine all-conference performances and setting a program-record for points. The women’s program had one individual champion (Tara Nuzzo – 200 Freestyle), recorded a program-best eight all-conference finishes, and recorded a program-best seventh-place team finish while also recording a program record for points at the MAC Championships.
 
Arcadia’s student-athletes have also widely recognized for their performance in the classroom under Geissinger. The women's program has received the National Swim Coaches Association of America Team Academic Award each semester since his first season, a feat the men's team trails by just one term. The programs have produced six Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area selections and five MAC All-Academic Team honorees. Whitney Boeckel became the first College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District® selection in the history of either program in 2013-14, a feat she repeated the following year.

Geissinger arrived at Arcadia after serving as assistant men's and women's swimming coach at Washington and Lee University from 2010-13. There, he led his programs to three Old Dominion Athletic Conference championships and 19 NCAA qualifiers, set 108 Top 10 performances, and posted 21 All-American performances. Geissinger managed the training and development of Washington and Lee's sprint group and was the recruiting coordinator for both programs, bringing more than 50 student-athletes to Washington and Lee over the past three years.

At Washington and Lee, Geissinger also was an assistant professor of physical education, teaching courses in fundamental swimming, aerobic swimming, and racquetball. He instituted progressive changes to the university's weight program and functional training activities, leading to consistently improved performances, some of which are listed above. Geissinger also is certified as a lifeguard instructor.

Geissinger was a 22-time All-American at Denison University and set seven North Coast Athletic Conference and six school records, including the national record in the 800-free relay. He was the 2009 NCAC Swimmer of the Year, and earned a spot on the NCAC 30th Anniversary All-Decade team for the 100 and 200 freestyle events. Geissinger was one of two Big Red student-athletes to be honored in multiple events
 
Geissinger earned his bachelor’s degree in history from Denison in 2009.
 
Updated 08/05/2016