Queens University of Charlotte Athletics

Mallory Pucci is entering her first season with the Royals. 

Pucci will be assisting Head Coach Jeff Dugdale in the inaugural season for the recently added swim programs.
 
“I am excited to land my first recruit, Mallory Pucci as my assistant,” said Dugdale.  “I am not the only one who has recognized the leadership skills of Mallory as she has been selected by the NCAA to attend the 2010 Women Coaches Academy. When I was recruiting at Duke I was consistently going head to head with Mallory in recruiting the countries brightest and best to swim at our schools. Now I am excited to take our combined experience and build leaders for life at Queens.”
 
Pucci comes to Queens after spending the last two seasons with Clemson where she played an integral part in recruiting a top 25 recruiting class for the 2009-2010 season. This last year she coached the middle distance freestyle and butterfly athletes, seeing many of them place in the top 5 all-time finishes in Clemson’s history. In her first year, Pucci didn't waste any time getting settled. She immediately saw outstanding results as she led Kyle Shoemaker to a school record in the 100 Breast (54.86) and huge drops in the 100 Fly (:48.18) at the ACC Championship. She also led Seth Broster to three All-Time Top 10 swims (50 Free :20.45, 100 Free :44.36, 100 Fly 48.05) and Kelli Fowler to an outstanding seven second drop in the 200 Back over the season. Pucci's athletes contributed to a school record in the 400 Medley Relay at the ACC Championship.
 
Pucci held two internships prior to joining the Clemson staff, one with Club Wolverine, a nationally renowned swim club, known best for turning out Michael Phelps and the other spent working at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. as an intern with the sport science training and performance program in the USA Swimming National Team Division in 2007. She was responsible for assisting USA Swimming with the implementation and logistical support of technical programs designed to support National Team athletes and coaches as they prepared for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
 
“I am looking forward to starting the program at Queens,” said Pucci. “The enthusiasm and support for swimming from everyone at and around the university is one of the factors that will make this a successful program. I am excited and honored to be part of the beginning of this team.”
 
A native of Raleigh, North Carolina, Pucci earned her Bachelor’s degree in exercise science from George Mason University where she also competed in the butterfly and freestyle events.