BEREA, OHIO -- Baldwin-Wallace College has hired Laura Wolff to be its interim head men's and women's swimming and diving coach effective immediately. She replaces Sara Gildea who has left the College to become the head assistant coach at Savannah College (Ga.) of Art & Design.

"We are pleased to welcome Laura to the College and its family as our interim swimming and diving coach," said Director of Athletics Kris A. Diaz. "Laura has a wealth of knowledge and experience and we feel she was the right fit for our program."

"Laura comes well-recommended and has many local ties with local club and high school programs," continued Diaz. "We feel that she has the energy and experience to help take our swimming and diving program to the next level."

Wolff is a 1999 graduate of Magnificat High School in Rocky River, a 2003 graduate of St. Bonaventure (N.Y.) University and is currently working on her master's degree in early childhood education at Canisius (N.Y.) University.

Most recently, Wolff was and continues to be the coach of the Lake Shore Swim Club in Rocky River. She took over that position in August of 2009. Previously, she was a volunteer assistant men's swim coach at The Ohio State University during the 2008-2009 season, and she served as the head men's and women's swimming and diving coach at Canisius. While at Canisius, her team's set 41 school records and had its best finish in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

"In terms of academics and athletics, we [the coaching staff] believe in the philosophy of the student-athlete and excelling in the classroom, in the pool, on campus and in the community," said Wolff. "We believe that academics come first at a Division III school, and we also know that we can make swimming and diving at Baldwin-Walace College an enjoyable experience for each of our student-athletes."

"In terms of swimming, our goals are to have fun everyday, be competitive in every meet in which we compete, to win the prestigious Ohio Athletic Conference Championship and to qualify as many swimminers and divers as possible to the NCAA Division III National Championship Meet.  We will work hard and work with our student-athletes to achieve those goals."

So, what is Wolff's first order of business?  The team will host its annual Alumni Meet on Saturday, October 15 at 10:30 a.m. Any alumni of the program are welcome to come and compete, and B-W welcomes any families or friends that want to come and be apart of this special day.

"An alumni meet is a great opportunity for our current student-athletes to meet the young men and women who helped establish the Baldwin-Wallace program into one of the most respected programs in the OAC," stated Wolff. "It is a great networking opportunity for our student-athletes and a great day for our alumni to be back on campus."

B-W opens the season on Saturday, October 29 when it hosts Wilmington College in an Ohio Athletic Conference Dual Meet in the B-W Natatorium at 4:00.

FOR MORE B-W Sports Information, please contact Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327 and e-mail at kruple@bw.edu. or Assistant SID Jeff Miller by phone at 440-826-2780 and email at jefmille@bw.edu Fans can access the latest B-W athletics information at www.bw.edu/athletics and we invite you to join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bwyellowjackets and Twitter athttp://twitter.com/bwathletics.