STANDISH, ME – Recent alumnae Ashton Piers '10 and Lindsay Bates '10 have been added as assistant coaches for the Saint Joseph's College Swimming program.

As former standout swimmers for the Monks, the pair combined to compete in 128 events during their three-year careers. Piers and Bates were members of the first St. Joe's swim team during the winter of 2007-08 and both served as team captains during their junior and senior campaigns under Head Coach Rick Horr, who is about to enter his third season as the Monks' deck general.

The pair is likely to enjoy the benefit of instant credibility as first-year coaches, as both Bates and Piers were very versatile swimmers during their respective collegiate careers.

Bates competed in the freestyle, breast, individual medley, back and fly events and participated in eight GNAC Championship competitions in her career.

Piers also swam in the aforementioned events and participated in a pair of New England Championship meets while at Saint Joseph's. She faces the unselfish task of training Monks' swimmers to break her program records, as she currently holds the top mark for the 50-Breast and swam legs for two of the team's record-setting relay teams in her career.

"At times, bringing in new coaches to program can be a tough transition for a team," adds Coach Horr. "By adding Ashton and Lindsay, we can hit the ground running, since they know the returning team members as well as the program philosophy and approach. They will be big assets as we continue to grow the swim program here at SJC. I look forward to working with them on the deck and I know they are very excited to get started in their new roles with the team."

Saint Joseph's will jump into the 2010-11 season with a home meet against Husson University Saturday, October 30th at 1:00 PM.