The 2022-23 season marked Jeff DiNicola’ s fifth as the Penn State diving coach. His tenure includes the highest-finishing diver in the men’s program history and a new set of women's diving records.
In 2022-23 Penn State's female divers broke every record during the regular season. Wils claimed both school and pool records in the 1 and 3 meter, while Wei added her name to the scorebook in the platform. Both also earned B1G diver of the week distinctions.
The team continued to excel through the post-season, sending two athletes to B1G Championship finals (Sullivan and Wils) and five athletes (Wils, Wei, Beniquez, Sullivan, Elliott) to Zone A Championships. Notably, Wils qualified for the NCAA Championships, winning the 1 meter and becoming the first female diver in 18 years to represent Penn State.
DiNicola has guided several other individuals to the NCAA Championships during his career as a collegiate diving coach and has had athletes at the three of the last five NCAA Championships years that were held.
DiNicola’ s first season in Happy Valley was highlighted by the individual success of Hector Garcia Boissier claiming a silver finish on one meter, and his first NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships medal.
Garcia Boissier became the second diver in Penn State history to qualify for the NCAA Championships in all four years of his career and the highest-finishing diver in school history at NCAAs with his All-American and medal-winning 1-meter performance. It capped an impressive year that included a second-place score on the 1-meter at the NCAA Championships, a pair of fourth-place finishes at the Big Ten Championships, fourth on the 3-meter at the ACC-Big Ten Challenge two Big Ten Diver of the Week Awards and wins in 13 out of 16 events entered in dual meets. Additionally, fellow senior Jack Crow qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time since his freshman year and Crowell led the women’s team, earning Big Ten Diver of the Week honors during the season.
In his second season, DiNicola coached senior Christina Crowell and sophomore Sierra Shurts to historic performances at the 2020 Big Ten Championships in Iowa City. Crowell placed 12th overall in the 3-meter, which was the highest-place finish for a Penn State women’s diver since 2004. Shurts placed 19th in the platform, making her the first Penn State women’s diver to score at Big Ten Championships in the event in at least 13 years. Additionally, Crowell achieved the Penn State women’s diving 1-meter and platform record, which was also broken by Shurts and freshman Wei Wei earlier in the season.
DiNicola led freshman Kevin Sullivan, and three others to NCAA Zones qualifications. Sullivan qualified for the 1-meter finals alongside junior Bryce Hoch. Sullivan finished 14th overall in the 1-meter and Hoch finished 17th. Sophomore Sierra Shurts led the team in the platform, finishing 10th followed by Hoch finishing in 11th.
During the 2021-22 season, Jonah Cey represented Penn State on the boards at the Big Ten Championships. Cey placed 20th in the platform dive and 22nd in the 3M dive.
Arriving at Penn State for the 2018-19 season, DiNicola brought a wealth of major conference coaching experience with previous stints at Arkansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Missouri State, and he spent the previous year-and-a-half with the Mustangs in the Sun diving team in Dallas, Texas. He served as the Arkansas diving coach for three seasons from 2013-16 and coached the Razorbacks’ first NCAA qualifier since 2008. In 2014, DiNicola had 100 percent Zone qualification for all his divers and had two divers achieve career bests at the NCAA Zone Diving Championships.
DiNicola coached at Nebraska from 2003-05, coaching multiple NCAA Zone Diving Championship divers and an NCAA qualifier in 2005. He also coached at New Mexico from 2000-03, building the university’s first diving program in five years. DiNicola was named Mountain West Conference Diving Coach of the Year in 2003 and placed divers at the NCAA Zone Diving Championships in each of his three seasons. In his first year of college coaching, he was also Diving coach of the year for the Mountain West Conference in 2000.
DiNicola has a wife, Vanessa, son, Talan, and daughter, Taryn.