BLOOMSBURG, PA —Bloomsburg University coach Dave Rider has been named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Women's Swimming Coach of the Year in voting by the conference coaches.

Rider guided the Huskies to a third place finish at the PSAC championships this year finishing with 272 points. The point total was a 58-point increase over its fourth place total of 214 points the season before. Under Rider's guidance the Huskies have finished either third or fourth each season since 1994-95.

At the NCAA championships this year Rider led the Huskies to a 13th place finish with two relay teams earning All-American honors. One of the relay teams, the 800 free, set a school record in finishing fifth at the national championships. In addition, two other relay teams earned two honorable mention honors, as did individual swimmer Brittany Sneberger.

He posted a record of 7-3 during the 2001-02 season and is 102-57-1 for his 16-year career with schedules that have included some of the nation's top teams. Along with coaching swimming, Rider is also the Director of Aquatics, overseeing the operations and scheduling of the university's pool facility and is a faculty member in the Health and Physical Education department.

Rider received his bachelor's degree in Near East archaeology from the University of Chicago in 1968. He was a member of the school's varsity swimming and water polo teams. His physical education certification was awarded in 1973 at Slippery Rock and his Master of Science degree in sports sciences from Indiana (PA).

Rider holds memberships in the American Swimming Coaches Association, National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association, Pennsylvania Swimming Officials Association and is a past president of the Pennsylvania High School Swimming Coaches Association.

The award is the second time Rider has been honored by the conference as Coach of the Year. The first was following the 1989-90 season.