September 6, 2000

Virginia Tech head swimming coach Ned Skinner has announced the hiring of Chris Waters as the new head diving coach for the Tech swimming & diving program.

"We're very excited to have such a talented coach in Chris," Skinner said. "Chris is young, exciting and will do great things with our program."

Waters comes to Tech after serving as the head diving coach and assistant aquatics director at Connecticut College for the past year. While in New London, he was in charge of coordinating a competitive NCAA Division III diving program, including training as well as recruiting competent student-athletes.

Waters has also served as the head diving coach for the Riverside Aquatics Club, the Springfield Area Diving Squad and for Skidmore (N.Y.) College from 1994-1996.

Waters graduated summa cum laude from Castleton (Vt.) State College in 1991 with degrees in criminal justice and social sciences. He is currently pursuing his master's in health promotion and wellness management from Southwest Missouri State.

An accomplished diver, Waters was a New York State Meet Qualifier in diving in both 1986 and 1987. He was the N.Y.S. Section II Champion on the one-meter board in 1987 and was the section runner-up on the one-meter board in both 1985 and 1986.

As a coach, Waters has guided his divers to All-American honors on the Division III level and was the Missouri Valley Diving Coach of the Year in 1999.

Waters, 31, is a member of the United States Diving program, the Professional Diving Coaches Association and the College Swimming Coaches Association of America.

A native of Hudson Falls, N.Y., Waters is single and resides in Christiansburg. In his spare time, he enjoys running and weightlifting.