Takedown Report

#WOMENSWEDNESDAY: Q&A with Dany DeAnda, women’s coach at NCAA Div. I Presbyterian College

BY GARY ABBOTT, USA WRESTLING | OCT. 09, 2019, 
Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C., became the first NCAA Div. I athletic department to add a varsity women’s wrestling team. Presbyterian also added a men’s Div. I varsity team. This past weekend, Presbyterian’s women’s team had its historic first competition, travelling to Ferrum, Va. for a pair of duals, beating Ferrum and losing to Gannon.
Dany DeAnda is the head women’s wrestling coach at Presbyterian. A native of Hawaii, she was a two-time Junior World medalist as an athlete. DeAnda was an assistant coach for the University of Jamestown and the University of Providence before taking over the Presbyterian women’s team. Her husband Tony DeAnda is head coach of the Presbyterian men’s wrestling team. We visited with Dany shortly after their historic first competitions.
Q: You are the first coach of the first NCAA Div. I team with women’s wrestling. What has it been like getting that program up and running?
DeAnda: Between me, Tony (DeAnda) and (Director of Wrestling) Mark (Cody), we all work together to get out there and recruit. It has kind of been a slow process. Last year, we had three athletes that came in before we got hired. Since Tony and I were hired, we now have 15 on the women’s team. There has been a lot of positive feedback. A lot of people want to wrestle at a D-I level. Like any program, whether you are D-I or NAIA, there is a lot of legwork getting your name out there, getting the school out there so they know we have a program.
Q: You have college coaching experience. How has being at Presbyterian College been different from the places you have coached?
DeAnda: The main difference is that this is Div. I, and with Div. I comes with bigger budgets with what we can do recruiting-wise and travel-wise. It looks a little different than with an NAIA school, since we have coached NAIA schools. Presbyterian is the same size school, student-body wise, as any other school I have been with, between 1,200 and 1,300 students. It is a unique situation here. Rest of the story and interview at https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2019/October/09/Womens-Wednesday-Dany-DeAnda-of-Presbyterian?mc_cid=863baad934&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

October 12, 2019 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized