Matt Zwaschka coaching at the NCAAs (Photo/Larry Radloff, D3photography.com photo)After serving for one season as interim head wrestling coach at UW-Whitewater, Matt Zwaschka has been selected to permanently fill the position starting this August, Interim Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Ryan Callahan announced.
"Matt hit the ground running as interim head coach and the program didn't miss a beat, finishing among the top 10 in the nation for the second consecutive year," Callahan said. "He is committed to the athletic, academic and social wellbeing of his student-athletes. I'm excited that we've hired Matt on a permanent basis and look forward to working with him to improve the team and the experience for his student-athletes."
In his first year at the helm of the program, Zwaschka helped the Warhawks finish seventh at the NCAA Championship behind six national qualifiers, the program's most since 2014. UW-Whitewater finished second at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships and third at the NCAA Upper Midwest Regional.
Zwaschka was selected as the Upper Midwest Region's Co-Coach of the Year. Individually, for the season, the team collected five conference championships, three regional titles and four All-America medals, including a national runner-up finish by Mike Tortorice (Wauconda, Ill./Carmel). Three Warhawks earned All-Academic accolades from the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
Zwaschka previously served as an assistant coach for the Warhawks from 2005-11, working in all aspects of the program. He helped the team tie for 12th at the 2009 NCAA Championships and coached seven All-Americans, eight Academic All-Americans and six individual Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champions.
After leaving UW-Whitewater, Zwaschka was hired as head wrestling coach at the Milwaukee School of Engineering in 2013, helping four Raiders reach the NCAA Championships during his five years at the helm. He coached one All-American and seven Academic All-Americans while overseeing all aspects of the program and serving as assistant director of recreation at MSOE.
Zwaschka also worked as an assistant wrestling coach and assistant football coach at Port Washington High School during his tenure at MSOE. He was a physical education and health education teacher in the Port Washington Saukville School District from 2011-13.
Zwaschka is currently the Junior Greco Roman National Team coach for the Wisconsin Wrestling Federation, a position he has held since 2012.
A native of Marshfield, Zwaschka wrestled at UW-La Crosse during his undergraduate career, earning four letters and claiming the WIAC championship and a spot at the NCAA Championships at 165 pounds in 2003. He earned his bachelor's in exercise and sports science (physical education) in 2003 and his master's in exercise and sports science in 2005 at UW-La Crosse.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now