Natalie Griffith joines the swimming and diving staff as the new graduate assistant.

Swimming and Diving adds three to coaching staff
Oct. 13, 2009
Boston, Mass.

Swimming and diving has added three new coaches, the team announced today. Casey Gon will join the team as the new diving coach, Natalie Griffith will become the new graduate assistant coach and former Huskies standout Heather Whiting will join the side of the pool as the undergraduate assistant.

A native of Buffalo, N.Y., Gon attended Cheektowaga Central High School where he was a four-year varsity diver and captain of the team as well as a four year state qualifier. In his senior year he finished fourth in the state of New York. Gon earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics from the United States Naval Academy, where he was a diver for four years.

While at Navy, Gon was a four time N star winner and four time NCAA Zone finalist.  In his senior year he finished in second place on three meter at the EISL meet in Long Island.  Most recently in May of 2009, Gon completed his Masters in Business Administration from Salve Regina University in Newport, R.I.

Natalie Griffith joins the swimming and diving team as a graduate assistant coach after an impressive career at the University of California at Berkeley. Originally from Newport News, Va., Griffith was a four-time All-American at UC Berkeley earning numerous honors in the 200 IM, the 200 medley relay, and the 400 IM. In addition to her All-American honors, she was an NCAA finalist in the 200 IM and the 200 medley relay. She was also a Senior National Finalist in the 200 and 400 IM events.

Undergraduate assistant Heather Whiting enters her first season with the Northeastern coaching staff following her final year of eligibility in 2008-09. She is a four-year letter winner who captained the squad during the team's undefeated 2007-08 campaign.

Whiting made an immediate impact in the pool as she joined the team during the 2005-06 season. In addition to taking second place four times in three different meets her freshman season, she finished 16th in the 100 breaststroke at the CAA championship. Over the next two years, Whiting honed her skills, earning the captainship in her junior year. She was part of the CAA Champion 400 medley team and the CAA's second place 200 medley team and earned an All-CAA selection for her efforts. Whiting finished with a strong senior year, earning 13 top-three finishes on the season. In her best meet, she took the 200 breaststroke and was part of the first-place 200 medley team in the Oct 25 tri-meet against Maine and Central Connecticut.

"We're very fortunate to have three individuals with such a wealth of knowledge and experience joining our staff," said head coach Roy Coates, "Our athletes will definitely benefit from what they bring to the team."

Coates and sixth-year assistant coach Julie Norton remain with the team as they begin their 2009-10 campaign. The Huskies will open the pool this Saturday as they host Central Connecticut State and Maine at the Barletta Natatorium at 1 p.m.