UNLV Adds Landon Marzullo, Igor Kowal To Staff

The University of Nevada – Las Vegas has announced two new hires to its swimming & diving program: head diving coach Landon Marzullo and assistant coach Igor Kowal.

Marzullo was a 10-time All-American diving at Indiana and Florida State in the late 2000s. He was a volunteer assistant at Ohio State and also worked as an assistant and then head coach at the High Stakes Diving Club in Las Vegas. He joins the UNLV staff, replacing Derek Starks, who took the head coaching job at Cal in the offseason.

Kowal joins the Rebel program after coaching Fresno State last year as a graduate assistant. He also coached Bulldog Swimming in Fresno, and follows former Fresno State assistant Pat Ota to UNLV. Kowal was a standout for Drury University in Division II.

UNLV’s new-look coaching staff features new head coach Ben Loorz along with an entirely new staff. Ota is the head assistant, Marzullo the head diving coach, Kowal an assistant and Karissa Kruszewski also an assistant.

The full UNLV press release announcing the hire:

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV swimming and diving head coach Ben Loorz announced on Friday the newest additions to the Rebel coaching family, as Landon Marzullo and Igor Kowal were named head diving coach and assistant coach for the program.

“We are excited to have our coaches here and plugged in,” said Loorz. “I know the student-athletes are keen to have the full staff up and running, and Igor and Landon are both great fits for a youthful, innovative, and passionate staff.”

Marzullo has been in the Las Vegas area since February of this year to work with the High Stakes Diving Club, first as an assistant coach and then as the head coach starting in July. That was his second professional position, following two years as a a high diver on the Royal Caribbean Cruise lines, performing during the “Oasis of Dreams” and in a comedy show “Splish Splash” from 2013-15. His coaching career started as a vounteer assistant coach at Ohio State during the 2012-13 season.

He was a 10-time All-American over his four years, starting first at Indiana where he was the 2007-08 Big Ten Freshman and Diver of the Year, before moving onto Florida State for his junior and senior seasons. Marzullo’s other accomplishments as a diver include six honorable mention All-American honors, the 2005 Junior Pan Am platform title, and five-time national team member.

Kowal spent last year as a graduate assistant with the Fresno State women’s team, and also two years with the Bulldog Swimming club team in Fresno. With both teams, he worked under Pat Ota, who was an assistant coach at both before taking over as head assistant coach at UNLV this past summer.

A German native, Kowal came to the US in 2011 to compete with Drury University, where he was a seven-time NCAA Division II All-American. During his four years, he swam on two national championship relays and two more runner-up relays while helping Drury to four straight national titles. He received his bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Drury in May of 2014, and a master of arts degree in kinesiology in May of 2016 from Fresno State.