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Email: mbarany@richmond.edu
A-10 Coach of the Year in 2006, 2007, 2008
Taking the reigns of the Richmond program in May 2005 after serving as the director of swimming at James Madison University, Barany has helped extend Richmond's streak to an unprecedented eight-consecutive A-10 Championship, which is a conference record for the sport. Under Barany's direction, the Spiders captured the 2009 A-10 Championship, while senior Lauren Beaudreau, who was honored as the University of Richmond's Female Student-Athlete of the Year in 2009, reached the NCAA National Championships for the third time in her career. Beaudreau's appearance marked the sixth-straight season Richmond has advanced at least one swimmer to the NCAA Championships. In Barany's tenure at Richmond, he's coached three swimmers to the NCAA National Championships -- Beaudreau, Katie Sieben and Jessica Witt, two swimmers to the 2008 United States Olympic Trials -- Beaudreau and Sieben, while Witt competed in the U.S. Open Water National Championship. In addition, Witt was twice honored as an NCAA All-American. All of the athletic success has been mirrored by consistent excellence in the classroom. The Spiders accumulated a team GPA of 3.22 during the 2009 Spring semester, which was up from 3.15 during the 2008 Fall semester -- each of those team GPAs representing the highest on record for the sport at Richmond. The Spiders have been awarded the Academic All-America Team Award in each of the last two seasons. Individually, three Spiders have earned Academic All-America distinction -- Caitlin Geary (2007), Sieben (2008) and Beaudreau (2009), while the Spiders have eight selections on the A-10 Academic All-Conference team since 2005. This past season, Richmond swimming & diving established 19 school records in eight events, running Barany's total to 48 school marks in 13 events since taking the helm. His team shattered nine A-10 Championship records in 2008-09, for a total of 27 conference standards in nine events in the past four seasons. A Midlothian, Va. native, Barany was a standout swimmer at James Madison and returned to Harrisonburg in July 2001 as the head men's swimming coach -- a position he held for the next three seasons. In his first year, he led the team to three school records and a second-place finish at the CAA Championships. Another second-place finish in 2003 was highlighted by a conference record in the 200 medley relay and five league titles. In 2004, the squad went 9-4 in dual meets and finished third at the CAA meet. The following season, Barany assumed the role of director of swimming & diving for the Dukes, coaching both the men and women's programs. He led the women to four school records and had one of his swimmers earn an NCAA "B" qualifying time in his first year with the program. While coaching the men, he mentored nine CAA Champions and seven school record-holders. Four new pool records were established during Barany's tenure. A decorated student-athlete who served as team captain during his senior season, Barany swam freestyle on teams that captured four-straight CAA Championships and ECAC titles (1992-95). He was a two-time recipient of the Steve Miller Award -- an annual team honor that recognizes athletes who best exemplify enthusiasm, energy, dedication and love for swimming. Barany graduated from JMU in 1995 with a B.A. in English. He earned a secondary education certificate in 1996 while serving as an assistant coach on the CAA Championship men's team. Barany later put his degree to work in the Peace Corps where he spent two years teaching English in rural Kenya. In 1999, Barany started the women's swimming program at Randolph-Macon College. During his final season (2001) at RMC, he earned Old Dominion Athletic Conference, Atlantic States Conference and Randolph Macon Coach of the Year honors. A member of the College Swim Coaches of America, Barany is also affiliated with the American Swim Coaches Association. A graduate of Clover Hill High School in Midlothian, Va., he resides in Richmond. |
 
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Matt Barany has continued a long-established winning tradition at the University of Richmond, making the Spiders the premier women's swimming program in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
