Loyola Marymount University
Coaching Staff
Tom Black
Head Coach
Tom Black enters his second season as LMU's head coach after being hired on January 19th, 2010. In his inaugural season, Black guided his 2010 roster of Lions to an even 15-15 mark and a fourth-place finish in the West Coast Conference after being selected to finish eighth in the 2010 preseason coaches' poll. Black saw two of his athletes garner All-Conference recognition at the conclusion of the season as Jasmine Rankins took home first team honors and Alyse Hensley earned an honorable mention nod and a spot on the All-Freshman team.
Including a 115-29 record at Division II UC San Diego, Black has accumulated a 130-44 record as a head coach in women's volleyball. The .747 winning percentage is the third-best mark in the NCAA amongst active head coaches with a minimum of five years as a four-year college head coach, but with fewer than five years at the Division I level.
Most recently, Black spent the summer of 2011 as a consultant coach for the US National Team as it prepares for the 2012 London Games. The summer stint with the National Team was Black's second in as many years. Under his title, Black primarily assisted in the training sessions at the American Sports Center as the US National Team readied itself to compete in the Montreux Volley Masters event held from June 7-12 in Montreux, Switzerland. The US finished Pool Play with a 2-1 record and advanced to the bronze-medal match before falling to China in four sets.
Before coming to LMU, Black served five seasons at the helm of the UC San Diego women's volleyball program. In all, Black coached four UCSD players to All-America selections, including a trio in 2009. Moreover, the 2006 Tachikara/AVCA D-II Pacific Region Coach of the Year watched 20 of his student-athletes garner California Collegiate Athletic Association All-Conference recognition, capped by five selections in 2009. Over his five years, Black posted a career record of 115-29, good for a .799 winning percentage, and saw his teams ranked in the AVCA Top-25 of every week for his final four seasons.
Black's 2009 Triton squad finished with an overall record of 29-3 and was ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation en route to a spot in the NCAA West Region semifinals. The Tritons' 2009 trip to the postseason marked the fourth consecutive visit over Black's five-year tenure at UC San Diego, while the No. 7 final national ranking was the second top-10 finish for Black at UCSD. Black also saw three of his student-athletes earn AVCA All-America recognition in his final year, including Sylvia Schmidt, who took home a CCAA Player of the Year award, the second such recipient under Black's guidance.
In 2008, the Tritons handed their rival, then-No. 1 Cal State San Bernardino, its first loss of the year and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. UCSD won over 20 games for the 25th time in school history that year, while Black guided Rebecca Bailey to the school's all-time career kills mark and her second consecutive All-American bid.
In 2007, the Tritons knocked off the No. 2 team in the country on the road and advanced to the NCAA Pacific Region Semifinals. Also, the 2007 Tritons had an All-American and four student-athletes on the CCAA All-Conference squad.
Just one year after taking the reins at UC San Diego, Black directed the Tritons back to the postseason in 2006, finishing the year with a 26-3 overall record, a NCAA Elite Eight appearance, a NCAA Pacific Regional Championship and a final national ranking of No. 5. For his efforts, Black was named the 2006 Tachikara/AVCA D-II Pacific Region Coach of the Year and CCAA Co-Coach of the Year. That season also produced the first of two CCAA Players of the Year under Black's guidance, as Nicole Courtney earned the honor.
In 2005, Black took over as head coach for the UCSD women's volleyball program with six new starters, leading the team to victories over two ranked opponents as part of a 19-8 record on the season. UCSD had three players named to the All-CCAA team and one student-athlete earned AVCA Pacific Region honors.
Before coming to UCSD for his inaugural year, Black spent two seasons as an assistant coach for the men's volleyball program at USC. Prior to his stint with the Trojans, he spent the 2002 and 2003 seasons as the men's head coach at Pierce Junior College in Woodland Hills, Calif. He also was an assistant in 2003 with the Pierce women's team. His men's squads won the 2002 and 2003 California state junior college crowns, finishing 15-3 in 2002 and 17-2 in 2003.
Black began his coaching career as an assistant boys' coach at Royal High in Simi Valley, Calif., serving two seasons from 1997-98. The 1997 Royal team was a CIF Division I finalist. He then spent three years, from 1999-01, as the head boys' coach at Thousand Oaks High School, where he also taught English and history.
On the club circuit, Black served four years as the co-director of the Santa Monica Beach Club team. He was the head coach of SMBC's boys' 18s team in 2003, 2004 and 2005 after serving as an assistant in 2002 with the 18s team that won the bronze medal at the Junior Olympics. He also was the head coach of SMBC's girls' 17s team in 2005.
As a player, Black was a four-year varsity letterman for the UCSD men's volleyball program from 1993-96, setting numerous hitting records and earning All-MPSF honorable mention notice as a senior in 1996. He was Volleyball Magazine's Small College Player of the Year in 1996, while also earning Small College All-America honors that same year.
Black received his bachelor's degree in political science from UCSD in 1996. A California native, Black prepped at Crespi High in Encino, Calif., where he made the All-CIF third team as a senior in 1991.
Jon Newman-Gonchar
Assistant Coach
Jon Newman-Gonchar is in his second season as an assistant coach with LMU volleyball. He became head coach Tom Black's first official hire when he joined the program on February 2, 2010. Serving as LMU's recruiting coordinator, Newman-Gonchar saw his 2011 class garner Highest Honorable Mention recognition according to PrepVolleyball.com.
Prior to coming to LMU, Newman-Gonchar spent three seasons working under Black as an assistant coach at UC San Diego. Over his three-year stint at UCSD, the Tritons managed a 70-18 (.795) overall record. Continuing to increase his stock as a coach, Newman-Gonchar was named to the 2010 AVCA Thirty Under 30 Awards list, which honors thirty of the up-and-coming volleyball coaches under 30 years old in the sport at all levels of the game.
While with the Tritons, Newman-Gonchar was involved with individual and team training, specifically focusing on on-court coaching, practice planning, video set up and analysis, and management of the competitive cauldron. He also served as the team's recruiting coordinator and was responsible for managing correspondence, evaluations, and visits with prospective student-athletes. Holding a hand in nearly every aspect of the program, he also operated the DataVolley video-statistical program, served as the camp coordinator and was responsible for all administrative duties involving the overnight UCSD Women's Volleyball Summer Camp.
Newman-Gonchar helped the 2009 Triton squad to an overall record of 29-3 and a ranking as high as No. 2 in the nation en route to a spot in the NCAA West Region semifinals. The Tritons' 2009 trip to the postseason marked the third consecutive visit in Newman-Gonchar's three-year tenure at UC San Diego. In addition, three UCSD student-athletes earned AVCA All-America recognition in his final year with the program, including Sylvia Schmidt, who took home a CCAA Player of the Year.
An assistant for both the UCSD men's and women's volleyball programs, Newman-Gonchar helped the women's volleyball team defeat the second-ranked team in the country and advance to the NCAA Pacific Regional Semifinals in 2007. In 2008, the Tritons handed then-No. 1 Cal State San Bernardino its first loss of the year and qualified for the NCAA Tournament, winning over 20 games for the 25th time in school history. His work with the men's program helped the Tritons to a school-record 13 wins and a top-10 ranking in 2009, with the team challenging for its first-ever MPSF playoff spot.
Newman-Gonchar spent the 2006-07 season as an assistant at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, where he helped plan practices and trained the Cajuns' setters. He also compiled team statistics, arranged travel, reviewed opponent match film, and presented scouting reports to players and staff.
Prior to his stint at ULL, Newman-Gonchar spent the winter of 2006 with the Thompson Rivers University (British Columbia) men's volleyball program as it entered its Canada West inaugural season. As a first assistant coach, he assisted in all aspects of the program, including running drills, planning practice, training setters, assisting in recruitment efforts, and organizing community service projects.
At his alma mater, Northern Arizona University, Newman-Gonchar spent three seasons as a volunteer assistant coach. While at NAU, his responsibilities included preparing and running the practices for the non-travel party members. In addition, Newman-Gonchar was the voice of the "Almost Live with John and Jon" radio show, which was a live audio/video webcast of the team during match play.
While at NAU, Newman-Gonchar coached the setters on the High Altitude Volleyball Club as an assistant coach and was later promoted to head coach. In addition to his Club responsibilities, he also assisted with the Flagstaff High School girls' volleyball team.
Newman-Gonchar has worked on the National level as well, finding time with both USA Volleyball and Gold Medal Squared. His involvement with USA Volleyball began in the summer of 2007 as a coach at the HP A1 Select Camp at the University of San Francisco. He has worked with the USA Junior National Team since the summer of 2008 at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., serving as a volunteer technical coach in 2008 and training coach in the summer of 2009. In addition, he has worked as a staff member for USA High Performance Tryouts since 2007.
Newman-Gonchar spent the summer of 2009 at the University of Minnesota as the training/technical assistant for the USA A2 Team which competed at the 2009 USA Adult Nationals, and has worked numerous summer camps for Gold Medal Squared since the spring of 2007. In 2011, Newman-Gonchar provided technical assistance at the USA National Team tryouts in Colorado Springs, Colo.
A native of Claremont, Calif., Newman-Gonchar played prep volleyball at Claremont High School before attending Northern Arizona. While at NAU, he was a member of the men's club volleyball program.
Newman-Gonchar received his bachelor's degree in Health Sciences from Northern Arizona in December 2005. He currently serves as the WCC representative on the AVCA Assistant Coaches Committee.
Megan Schmitt
Assistant Coach
Meagan Schmitt is in her second season working in the LMU volleyball program, and her first as a full-time assistant coach. Schmitt began her coaching career as the volunteer assistant for the Lions in 2011.
Schmitt finished her collegiate career in style, helping Cal cap off a record-setting season with a spot in the National Championship match and a No. 2 ranking in the AVCA's final poll. When the dust had settled, a squad the other nine Pac-10 coaches selected to finish fifth at the beginning of the season earned its first Pac-10 title and set a new mark for most wins in a single season at 30-4 and 15-3 in the Pac-10. A Pac-10 All-Academic honorable mention selection, Schmitt played in 117 sets and all 34 matches for the Bears in 2010. She posted 250 digs at a rate of 2.14 per set while serving-up 18 aces to help her squad to the historic run.
As a junior, Schmitt appeared in all 32 matches and 119 sets for the Bears, earning Pac-10 All-Academic honorable mention. She had nine matches with at least one service ace, and ranked fifth on the team in digs with 166, averaging 1.39 per set.
As a sophomore, Schmitt appeared in 32 matches and 105 sets for the Bears as a defensive specialist. She finished the year with 12 service aces and 106 digs. As a freshman, Schmitt participated in seven matches, notching two assists, two service aces and five digs on the year.
In high school, Schmitt was the 2006 Marin County Athletic League MVP as a senior at Redwood High School in Larkspur, Calif. She was selected 2007 Marin County Athletic All-League while helping her team to four-consecutive MCAL titles and the 2007 North Coast Section crown. On the club side, her Golden Bear club team placed ninth in the 2006 Junior Olympics National Division, and qualified for the Open Division at the 2007 Junior Olympics.
Schmitt graduated from Cal in 2011 with a major in American studies with an emphasis on education in America, and a minor in education.
