In the summer of 2019, Sarit Gluz was named first fulltime head swimming coach in the history of the Eastern Connecticut State University women’s swim program and also first head coach of the first-year men’s program.
In the fall of 2019, the men’s swimming program became the University’s 18th intercollegiate program.
In 2023/24, both programs took giant strides. For the women, a roster of 26 won seven of nine dual meets, then went on to capture its first Little East Conference championship, winning by 19 points (despite not having a diving team) over Bridgewater State University in a field of ten teams. The team posted a program-record 805 points. Three athletes collected more than 50 points in the meet, and 32 were accorded All-LEC recognition with top three finishes. For that team's accomplishment, Gluz was named LEC Coach-of-the-Year -- the program's first such honoree in 11 years.
For its part, an 18-person men's team claimed five of seven dual meet victories during the 2023/24 regular season and finished a program-best second with a program-best 836 points, edging third-place Keene State College by two points thanks to a strong final-day performance. The men featured four 50-plus scorers and broke nine records at the LEC meet, with 36 athletes being named All-LEC with third-place finishes or better.
In 2022/23, the women finished 6-5 in dual meets and were third in the Little East Conference Championships in a field of ten teams, while the men were 5-4 and also placed a solid third with a 264-point advantage over the fourth-place finisher at the LEC Championship. At the championship, the women and men combined to win six individual events and two relays and broke a total of 17 records. A total of 34 Eastern athletes were recognized as All-LEC by winning an event or placing second, with first-year swimmers Sam Hurlburt and Natasha Frisch later recognized as the Eastern athletic department's respective individual sport male and female Rookie-of-the-Year winners.
With a Covid-plagued second season behind her in 2021/22, Gluz elevated both the women's and men's program in her third season. The women finished 7-3 in dual meets, captured the season-opening Blue Jay Pentathlon and placed third of nine teams at the Little East Conference Championships. With a standout crop of newcomers, the men won their first three dual meets and at the first official LEC Championships for men, the Warriors took home third place.
With the men earning immediate dividends in what could be termed their first full season, Gluz was recognized by her peers as LEC Coach-of-the-Year. Gluz' first men's team consisted of five swimmers and her second-year team of six swimmers had just two meets (one virtual) during the Covid pandemic. Her third-year team of ten swimmers broke 18 individual and all five relay records.
At the LEC meet, the women earned All-LEC honors 20 times and the men nine.
After one season in charge of a women's program which had lost ten of 11 All-NEISDA performers from 2018-19, and initiating the project of building a men's program, Gluz welcomed a solid nucleus back -- among them senior tri-captains Kerry-Rose Buchanan, Amanda Mitchell and Tegan Ruschmeier to the women's team and senior Seth Hisman and junior PJ Jiménez to the men's squad. as well as number of men's and women's recruits to her program in the fall of 2020.
During that Covid season of 2020-21, the team managed to train regularly and compete in several dual meets, conduct a Navy-Maroon intrasquad challenge, and honor seniors Mitchell, Ruschmeier and Hisman on Senior Day March 13 at the Sports Center Pool. Among the dual meets were those against Little East Conference opponents Rhode Island College, Keene State College and Plymouth State University.
Gluz has coached swimming at a number of different levels, and brought to Eastern seven years’ experience as an assistant coach at the collegiate level. Prior to her appointment at Eastern, the Beaverton, OR resident spent five years as assistant men’s and women’s swim coach at her alma mater, Lewis & Clark College, a Division III institution located in Portland, OR which competes in the Northwest Conference.Prior to that, she served as assistant women’s swim coach for 18 months at Division II University of Alaska Fairbanks.
In her final season, the Lewis & Clark men placed fifth in the Northwest Conference Championships, the women sixth, both in fields of nine competing institutions.
Gluz graduated in 2009 with a degree in Hispanic studies from Lewis & Clark, where she swam with the Pioneers for four years and specialized in the butterfly and individual medley. During her college career, Gluz was a finalist in the Northwest Conference Championships and dedicated her time as team captain.
“I had a very positive experience as a swimmer at the D3 level,” Gluz explained. “I was able to participate in something I was passionate about and was also able to focus on my academics.”
