Sellman Dives Into Coaching Job

Matt Sellman has been named UMW’s new men’s and women’s swimming coach. A competitive swimmer at Pacific Lutheran University, Sellman was a three-year All-American and a three-year Academic All-American from 1994 to 1996. He was named the Pacific Lutheran Man of the Year in Sports in 1996.

 “We’re excited about attracting a coach with such a strong head-coaching background as Matt,” said UMW Athletic Director Ed Hegmann. “His experience on deck and on the NCAA Swimming Committee will help the program.”

After receiving his bachelor’s degree from Pacific Lutheran and his master’s degree from the University of Findlay in Ohio, Sellman is pursuing a doctorate in education at Lewis & Clark College.

As the head men’s and women’s coach at Lewis & Clark for the past six seasons, Sellman saw the program emerge from one that had just seven swimmers and a string of last-place finishes in conference championships to one that has 35 swimmers and regularly competes in the top half of the Northwest Conference. His programs at Lewis & Clark rewrote that school’s record books, setting 29 school records and leading a team that swam the first NCAA qualifying time in school history.

Sellman is a member of the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Swimming Committee, American Swim Coaches Association level-four certified, and a member of the College Swim Coaches Association of America. He has served as the aquatics director at the Bellevue Club in Washington and as assistant coach at Pacific Lutheran and at the University of Findlay. He also has taught math and social science in the Seattle school district.

At UMW, Sellman inherits a women’s team that has won every Capital Athletic Conference Championship in its 17-year history and finished 12th at the 2007 NCAA Division III National Championships. The men’s team has seen similar success, claiming 14 league titles and posting at least one All-American performance in each of the past three years.

– Clint Often