TOWSON, Md. – Vicki Chliszczyk, the Assistant Gymnastics Coach at the University of Maryland for the past five years, has been named as the Head Gymnastics Coach at Towson University, it has been announced by Director of Athletics Mike Hermann.

A native of Milton, Ontario, Canada, Chliszczyk (pronounced Cull – liss - chick) is only the fourth head coach in the 43-year history of the Tiger gymnastics program.

She succeeds Dick Filbert as the Tigers’ head coach. Filbert, who retired after the 2010 season, coached the Tiger gymnasts for 28 years. He led the Tigers to 491 victories and 14 conference titles.

“Vicki emerged from a strong pool of candidates because she brought such great experience from her five-year run as an assistant coach at Maryland,” said Hermann. “Her experience will enable her to have a quick transition to her head coaching responsibilities.

“She has strong local recruiting ties and understands the level of gymnastics required to be competitive in our region. I’m confident that the Towson gymnastics program will continue to be a shining star under her leadership.”

During her years at Maryland, she was the Terrapins’ balance beam coach and also assisted in all aspects of the program. For four years, she served as an assistant coach to Bob Nelligan, who guided the Terps’ program for 31 seasons. In 2010, she was an assistant coach for Brett Nelligan, who succeeded his father as the Terrapins’ coach.

“Vicki has been a tremendous asset to our team in many ways, but especially her contributions to our balance beam team,” said Bob Nelligan, who hired Coach Chliszczyk in 2005. “Our work on the beam came a long way in large part to her efforts.

“When she first arrived at Maryland, I was impressed,” he added. “She quickly gained the team’s respect because of her dedication, fairness and support.”

A 20-year member of the Milton Springers Gymnastics Club in Milton, Ontario, Canada, Chliszczyk was a competitive gymnast for 12 years. She competed in the Provincial Championships for ten consecutive years and she made such an impact on her club team that the Milton Springers gymnastics club established an award in her name. The “Vicki Chliszczyk Award for Dedication” is presented at the end of each season to the club’s most dedicated athlete.

Chliszczyk graduated from York University in North York, Ontario, Canada with a B.A. degree in Philosophy.

After graduation, she moved to the United States to begin her coaching career.

In 2001, she joined the staff at the renowned Woodward Gymnastics Camp, a summer gymnastics camp in Woodward, Pa. During her nine years of coaching at Woodward, she served as a Program Director and a member of the Master Staff. In her role at Woodward, she managed a staff of 30 coaches that trained 200-300 gymnasts each week.

She worked with gymnasts from virtually every level while scheduling and organizing all class and clinic activities. She also hired, trained and evaluated staff members while developing and presenting instructional clinics to the staff and visiting coaches. In addition, she presented and attended numerous coaching and spotting clinics and seminars.

Coach Chliszczyk began her collegiate coaching career in 2002-03 when she served as a volunteer assistant coach at Western Michigan University. She assisted in training in all four events and worked with all aspects of the Broncos’ program.

While she was serving as a volunteer assistant coach at Western Michigan, she also worked as a team coach at Branch Gymnastics Club in Battle Creek, Michigan. In two years at Branch Gymnastics Club, she worked with gymnasts from Level 4 through 10. In addition to performing spotting duties on all four events, she developed, organized and implemented daily workouts on all four events. She also developed and managed strength and conditioning activities for Levels 9 and 10 gymnasts.

In 2005, she joined the staff at Maryland and made an immediate impact on the program. In her first year with the Terrapins, they posted a 16-12 record and finished fifth in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League.

In 2009, the Terps earned a berth in the NCAA Southeast Regionals where they finished sixth. In Bob Nelligan’s final season as head coach, Maryland was ranked in the top 25 for most of the year.

Last year, Coach Chliszczyk was named as the EAGL Assistant Coach of the Year as she helped Maryland earn a second straight NCAA Southeast regional appearance.

During her tenure at Maryland, she coached a fine group of beam workers, including Abbey Adams, ‘11 who was the 2009 EAGL co-champion on balance beam. Coach Chliszczyk also worked with four gymnasts who were named first team All-EAGL, including Talia Tossone, ’10, Rachel Colon, ’07, and Brandi George, ’10. With the help of Coach Chliszczyk, Adams was the EAGL co-champion in the all-around in 2010.

“I am thrilled to be the new coach at Towson University,” says Coach Chliszczyk. “Dick and Lynda Filbert have done a phenomenal job and it’s an honor to inherit such a tremendous gymnastics program from them. I am hoping to build upon the legacy that they have established.

“It’s exciting for me to lead my own team,” she adds. “I am optimistic that we can maintain the high level of success that this team has had in the past. Our hope is that we will have the type of program that will make Dick and Lynda proud.”

Coach Chliszczyk feels she learned a lot from Bob Nelligan, the head coach at Maryland for her first four years in College Park.

She says, “I was very fortunate to receive the opportunity that Coach Nelligan gave me. He trusted me almost immediately and gave me a lot more responsibility than many assistant coaches receive. He gave me the chance to handle everything from recruiting to team travel to alumni relations and scheduling officials. He helped to prepare me to be a head coach and I will always be grateful.”

In addition to her experience working the summer camp at Woodward’s, Coach Chliszczyk has also coached at several other collegiate gymnastics summer camps.

For the last three years, she has worked for Coach Gail Goodspeed at the University of New Hampshire’s Gymnastics Camp. She has also been part of Coach Mark Stevenson’s staff at North Carolina State University’s Gymnastics Camp the last two years.

Coach Chliszczyk, whose parents and brother still reside in Ontario, will assume her duties as the Tigers’ new gymnastics coach on June 21.

George McGinty  1967-81         104-51     14 seasons

Dwight Normile  1982            8-5                1 season

Dick Filbert    1983-2010       491-149-2       28 seasons