Aug. 30, 2007
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech volleyball head coach Bond Shymansky has received a new three-year contract that runs through the end of the 2009 season, Director of Athletics Dan Radakovich announced Thursday.
Shymansky, who began his sixth season as the Tech head coach last weekend, had one year(s) remaining on his existing contract, which has been replaced by the new three-year deal.
“Bond Shymansky is the coach to continue building our volleyball program,” said Radakovich. “Bond has assembled multiple strong recruiting classes which have translated into a trio of NCAA Tournament appearances, including the school’s deepest run, an NCAA Elite Eight showing in 2003. His continued drive towards excellence and winning championships has our student-athletes and administration excited about the program’s future.”
This season, the Yellow Jackets return 12 of 13 letterwinners from the 2006 squad that won 20 matches and finished in the top half of the Atlantic Coast Conference for the seventh consecutive year. Top returnees include 2006 honorable mention All-America Ulrike Stegemann (.311, 2.83 Kpg, 1.89 Dpg) and second team All-ACC Lindsey Gray (2.94 Kpg, 2.95 Dpg, 0.42 SApg), as well as outside hitter Talisa Kellogg (3.64 Kpg, 0.64 Bpg), middle hitter Callie Miller (.319, 2.35 Kpg, 0.92 Bpg), setter Allie Niekamp (.304, 11.76 Apg, 2.20 Dpg, 0.57 Bpg, 0.40 SApg) and libero Michelle Kandell (2.24 Dpg), all juniors in 2007.
Shymansky, whose five-year record of 130-44 is tops among active ACC coaches and ranks 13th in the nation among current head coaches, has guided Tech to an ACC Tournament Championship and two ACC regular season titles since 2002. He has also had four recruiting classes ranked in the top 25, including his 2005 class, which was ranked fourth in the nation by Volleyball Magazine.
“I’m excited about the program that we’re continuing to build here at Georgia Tech,” Shymansky said. “I am also very appreciative of the continued support that Dan Radakovich and the entire Georgia Tech administration has shown me as we continue to grow this program.
“With an experienced group of returnees and a pair of talented newcomers this season, we are working hard to bring home another championship. We are also continuing to recruit the top student-athletes, both on the court and in the classroom, to be even more successful in the future.”
Shymansky, 35, is a 1995 graduate of the University of Iowa that began his collegiate coaching career at Iowa State. After two years at Iowa State, he spent two years as the top assistant under previous Georgia Tech head coach Shelton Collier before being tabbed to lead the Yellow Jacket program prior to the start of the 2002 volleyball season.
