Nikki Rose, an all-conference performer as a student-athlete at Wheeling Jesuit University, was named the first swimming and diving coach in Lake Erie College history in January, 2010.

In the program's first season in 2010-11, the Storm men recorded four dual meet victories and placed sixth at the GLIAC Championships, with one member earning all-conference honors.  The Lake Erie women won three dual meets during the regular season and finished ninth at the conference meet.

Before coming to Lake Erie, Rose was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at her alma mater. During her tenure, the team underwent a rebuilding process that turned a squad of just two returners into 40 swimmers. The 2009 teams posted their top dual-meet records in four seasons.

Among her administrative duties, she was responsible for practice and meet administration, fundraising, team travel arrangements and worked specifically with the distance, breaststroke and individual medley swimmers.

Prior to returning to Wheeling Jesuit, Rose coached at the high school level, including one season as the head coach at Staunton River High School where she guided the teams to their highest district finishes and broke 10 school records. She also served as an assistant coach at Steubenville High School for two seasons.

Rose swam for Wheeling Jesuit from 2000-04, serving as a team captain her senior year and was an All-Bluegrass Mountain/West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection. She has worked numerous swim camps and clinics as a counselor and instructor, including camps at the University of Texas, California University (Pa.) and Hartwick College.

Rose earned her bachelor’s degree in English from Wheeling Jesuit in 2004. She recently completed work on her master’s degree, also from Wheeling Jesuit, in business administration.

Mike Azzarello was named the first graduate assistant coach for the Lake Erie men's and women's swimming and diving program in August, 2011.

Azzarello is a 2010 graduate of Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., with a degree in business management.  At St. Vincent, he earned three letters in swimming, focusing on the breaststroke, fly and individual medley. 

With his swimming career cut short due to injury, Azzarello spent the 2009-10 season as an undergraduate assistant coach.  He went on to stay at St. Vincent for the 2010-11 season as an intern assistant coach, helping Bearcat swimmers set 25 school records. 

Azzarello, a native of Moon Township, Pa., currently resides in Painesville, Ohio.  He is pursuing a master's of business administration at Lake Erie.