Army West Point Athletics
Men's Swimming and Diving
- Title:
- Head Swimming Coach
- Email:
- michael.wender@westpoint.edu
- Phone:
- 3604
The ninth head coach in the 97-year history of the men’s program and the sixth women’s coach in the program’s 40-year history, Mickey Wender enters his 13th season at the helm of Army’s swimming and diving programs, authoring a record of 190-118-1 (.686) at West Point.
During his time on the banks of the Hudson, Wender has not only led both the men’s and women’s teams to top finishes at the Patriot League Championships, but has also coached 111 cadet-athletes to Patriot League Honors.
Wender’s record with the Black Knights pushed his career record to 398-182-1 over 25 seasons, a .685 winning percentage. He has led a successful men’s program to 115-37 and the women’s program to 75-81-1.
This past season, the men and women showed out at the league championships, each posting their largest point totals in the past 16 years. Wender helped both squads finish the dual season with a winning record, marking the 13th straight for the men and the fourth consecutive for the women.
The 2016-17 campaign capped off with a pair of second-place showings at the Patriot League Championships for the men and women. The men's squad posted an 8-3 mark during the regular season, while the women finished 7-4.
The 2015-16 season was the most successful for both the men’s and women’s teams in recent history. Wender led the programs to a combined 20-2 record this season. This was the first time the teams have combined for only two losses since the women's program's inaugural season in 1978-79. Both squads finished as the runner-up at the Patriot League Championships, which is the highest simultaneous finishes in program history.
The men closed-out the year with a 10-1 record, which marks the lowest number of losses since the Black Knights went 13-0 during the 1965-66 season. On the women’s side, the 2015-16 squad’s 5-1 record in the Patriot League marked the program's first winning conference record since the league's inaugural season. The overall 10-1 record tied the highest number of wins since the 88-89 season when Army finished at 10-2. It also tied lowest number of losses in a single season. Last time this was accomplished was in 86-87 when the women’s team went 11-1.
Throughout his tenure at West Point, Wender garnered Patriot League Men’s Coach of the Year honors in 2007, his first year with the program, 2013, and most recently 2017. He has coached 41 women and 68 men to All-Patriot League honors, 45 first team and 72 second team selections.
Other accomplishments include two Patriot League Championship Swimmer of the Meet honorees, five Diver of the Meet selections, two Rookies of the Meet, two Scholar-Athletes of the Year and two CoSIDA Academic All-American certificates.
Under Wender's guidance the women's team has finished in the top four in the last six Patriot League Championships, while the men's team has achieved no lower than third at the league meet throughout his career with the Black Knights.
Aside from his normal coaching duties, Wender runs a highly successful swim camp program at the Academy that teaches swimming technique as well as the skills necessary to be successful in all areas of life.
Wender is very proud of the fact that many of his assistants have gone on to become head coaches at a variety of NCAA institutions. In just the past four years, three of his assistants have gone onto head coaching jobs.
While Michael Phelps and the rest of the world were making swimming history in Beijing at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, Army head coach Mickey Wender was there making his own mark. Appointed head coach of the American Samoa swimming contingent for the games, he and at-the-time rising Black Knight junior Stewart Glenister, whose parents are native to the small island in the South Pacific, made the trip to the Far East to compete against the best athletes in the world on the grandest stage the sport has to offer.
Under Wender's watchful eye, Glenister swam to first place in his heat of the 50-meter freestyle, while setting an American Samoan national record in the process. Wender was also able to soak up as much of the Olympic experience as he could to bring back to the West Point pool deck at Crandall Pool.
The Setauket, N.Y., native restored the Washington program to national prominence during his tenure with the Huskies while competing in the Pacific-10 conference. His women's program appeared in the national rankings in 2003 and 2005, and the men's squad earned national recognition from 2000 to 2005. He authored an impressive dual meet record of 154-58.
Twelve Husky swimmers earned All-America recognition and 28 qualified for the NCAA Championships during his tenure. Impressively, Wender sent a representative to the championships for every swimming event during his successful run in Seattle. His swimmers broke school records in 32 different events on multiple occasions.
During the 2003-04 campaign, his men's team finished 25th at nationals on the strength of five NCAA qualifiers, including Phil Davis, a Pac-10 Champion and conference record holder in the 200 breaststroke. It was the men's team's highest finish at the NCAA Championships in more than 30 years.
The women's team sent four swimmers to the 2003 NCAA Championships and placed 19th for the highest national finish since swimming became an NCAA sponsored sport in 1982. Kim Harada, who coached with Wender for three years at Washington and two years at Army, recorded two fourth-place finishes in the 50 and 100 freestyle events to earn All-America honors. She also earned honorable mention honors in the 200 freestyle relay along with teammates Annette Vayo, Melody Staubitz and Sharon Olson.
Wender's swimmers not only achieved success in the pool, but were just as impressive in the classroom. Ten Huskies were named to the Pac-10 All-Academic squad during the 2001-02 season, including David Moilanen who was a first team Academic All-American, a Rhodes Scholar finalist and the school record holder in the 100 backstroke. Wender's swimmers were honored with postseason awards at the conference and national level for four consecutive years. Five men and seven women were named to the Pac-10 All-Academic team in 2005. His teams also garnered awards for community service, academics and school spirit.
Before joining the Huskies' program in 1998, Wender led the University of California-Santa Cruz swimming and diving squad to four top-10 national finishes in six years (1992-98), compiling a 54-6 divisional dual-meet record. After four years, he boosted the Banana Slugs from being unranked to finishing sixth in the Women's NCAA Division III Championships and ninth in the men's division.
He also coached the 1996 NCAA Division III 200 individual medley champion and guided his athletes to more than 60 All-America performances while at UC-Santa Cruz. Furthermore, 90 percent of his athletes graduated in four years. He also served as the aquatics manager and a physical education instructor. Prior to his appointment at UC-Santa Cruz, Wender served as the head assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Cal State-Northridge for two seasons from 1990-92. During that time, he aided Pete Accardy, NCAA Division II "Coach of the Decade," as he transitioned the program to Division-I status.
Wender was an assistant coach for the USA National Team that competed in Tel Aviv, Israel, in the 1997 Maccabi Games. He also has been active coaching and implementing programs at the high school and master's levels, as well as in public relations and public speaking. In addition, he was the founder of the NIKE Swim Camps at UC-Santa Cruz, as well as the San Diego Triathlon Camp. He has also produced a best-selling instructional swim video series and is the founder of Team Starbucks Aquatics, a highly-successful club program.
He has been a leader in the sport politically, serving in leadership positions of several national and local organizations. He served as the president of the Greater Seattle Swim Coaches Association, and he currently sits on the board of the College Swim Coaches Association of America.
A four-year letterwinner at the University of Vermont, Wender served as team captain and won a state championship while swimming for the Catamounts from 1985 to 1989. He graduated from Vermont in 1989,boasting the school's highest grade-point average in the physical education program.
He went on to earn his master's degree in kinesiology with an emphasis on sport psychology in 1992 from Cal State-Northridge, and was honored again as the top-ranked student in the school's Kinesiology Department.
Wender's passion, in addition to coaching, is competing in endurance races. The innovative and energetic coach has completed two Ironman Triathlons, and, along with four teammates, placed ninth in the 1996 Eco Challenge, widely known as one of the world's toughest athletic events. Wender also added to his list of accomplishments an ascent to the peak of Washington's Mt. Rainier in 1999. He is also an avid wake boarder and snow boarder who enjoys spending time outdoors with his family and friends.
Wender and his wife, Kate, have been married for 19 years. They have four children, Samantha Jane twin boys, Jack and Luke, and Grace. The family resides at West Point.
