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Full Bio in PDF Format
With the highest winning percentage among current Atlantic Coast Conference coaches as well as an average of 26 wins per season in his five years at the helm of the program, Bond Shymansky begins his sixth season as the head coach of the Yellow Jackets, and eighth on the Flats after arriving as an assistant coach prior to the 2000 season. His .747 winning percentage stands 13th in the nation among active head volleyball coaches and is second all-time in ACC history.
Shymansky's squads have won at least 20 matches in four of his five years as the head coach, and in five seasons since his arrival in Atlanta. Since being tabbed the sixth head coach in the history of Georgia Tech volleyball, he has guided the Yellow Jackets to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including NCAA Elite Eight and NCAA Sweet 16 showings in 2003 and 2004, an ACC Tournament championship and two ACC regular season championships. The 2004 AVCA East Region and ACC Coach of the Year has coached seven players that have earned AVCA All-America accolades on 10 occasions, nine players that have earned All-ACC nods on 17 occasions, two ACC Players of the Year and four All-ACC Freshman selections.
While his success on the court has been well-documented, perhaps more impressive is his work on the recruiting trail, where he has lured no fewer than 10 Volleyball Magazine "Fab 50" recruits since arriving in Atlanta. The 2007 season will be no different, as the Yellow Jacket freshman class of Mary Ashley Tippins and Jordan McCullers was rated Highest Honorable Mention as one of the top-45 recruiting classes in the nation, according to Prepvolleyball.com. Of the 12 returnees to the 2007 team, six have been named "Fab 50" recruits in the past, including sophomores Erin Birmingham, Chrissy DeMichelis and Laura DeMichelis, and juniors Talisa Kellogg, Allie Niekamp and Callie Miller. Four of his first six recruiting classes have been ranked in the top 25 nationally, led by the 2005 class, which featured Laura DeMichelis, Kellogg, Niekamp and Miller and was ranked No. 4 by Volleyball Magazine and eighth in the nation by Prepvolleyball.com, marking the highest class ranking in ACC history.
Following a successful conclusion to the 2006 season, Shymansky's 2007 squad is primed for another great year on the Flats. After winning eight of their first 10 matches, the Yellow Jackets dropped their first six Atlantic Coast Conference matches in 2006 before breaking into the win column with a 3-0 victory over North Carolina at home in mid-October. Tech later rattled off a nine-match winning streak, beginning with a thrilling 3-2 victory over 25th-ranked Duke at O'Keefe Gym. That win marked the fifth-consecutive year that the Yellow Jackets had posted a victory over a top-25 opponent, and it was the only conference loss for the Blue Devils in 2006.
Georgia Tech ended the season with a 20-12 overall record and a fifth-place finish in conference play. The Jackets had a player named to the All-America team for the fifth-consecutive year, as first-team All-ACC standout Ulrike Stegemann was tabbed AVCA Honorable Mention All-America for the first time in her career. Joining Stegemann on the all-conference team was outside hitter Lindsey Gray, who earned second-team honors for the first time in her career.
In his first season at the helm of the program, Shymansky guided Georgia Tech to a 33-6 record and the 2002 ACC Championship. The team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and concluded the season ranked 17th in the final AVCA/USA Today Coaches Poll, marking the first time in seven years that the Yellow Jacket volleyball team had been ranked in the final poll. Georgia Tech had four players named to the all-conference team while Lynnette Moster became the first player in the program's history to be tabbed an AVCA All-American.
The following year, Shymansky's squad opened the season with a school-record 23 consecutive wins and went on to earn a record-breaking 34 match victories. The team advanced to the Elite Eight of the 2003 NCAA Tournament before falling to No. 2 Hawai'i, marking the first time in conference history that an ACC school competed for the right to play in the Final Four. The Yellow Jackets opened the season ranked 12th in the nation and moved as high as No. 4 in the polls, marking the highest ranking in ACC history. Tech finished the season ranked eighth in the nation, which was the highest final ranking for a team in conference history while also marking the first time that the Yellow Jackets had been ranked in every poll throughout the season. Tech defeated four nationally-ranked opponents during the year while advancing to the ACC Championship match for the second-consecutive season.
The squad finished the season leading the nation in assists (17.05) and kills (18.26) per game and ranking fifth in hitting percentage (.331), while setter Kele Eveland led the nation with 14.93 assists per game. Four members of the 2003 squad earned AVCA All-America accolades, including Eveland, who became the first player in ACC volleyball history to earn first-team All-America honors. Joining Eveland on the All-America team was second-team honoree Moster, while Alexandra Preiss and Lauren Sauer both earned honorable mention accolades.
Shymansky's 2004 team earned a preseason ranking of No. 12 in the nation, but had a tough beginning to the season, opening 2-5 with losses to nationally-ranked USC, Colorado State, Wisconsin and Ohio State. Following the loss to the Buckeyes, the Yellow Jackets reeled off 21 straight victories, which included 16 consecutive ACC wins to mark the first time in school history that a team had gone undefeated in conference play and the first time since 1996 that it had been accomplished by an ACC school. Georgia Tech earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight year and upset 13th-seeded Santa Barbara to advance to the Sweet 16 for the second-consecutive year before falling to No. 4 Minnesota in an exciting five-game match to conclude the season with a 27-7 record.
Three members of the team earned AVCA All-America honors, including Moster, who finished her career as the most decorated volleyball player in school history, earning All-America honors on an ACC-record three occasions. Shymansky's team once again led the nation in assists (17.34) and kills (18.64) per game and concluded the season ranked seventh with a .300 hitting percentage. Lindsey Laband, Tech's honorable mention All-America setter, also led the nation with 15.40 assists per game. For his efforts, Shymansky was tabbed the 2004 AVCA East Region and the ACC Coach of the Year.
Despite losing five members of the 2004 NCAA Sweet 16 team to graduation, the 2005 Yellow Jackets finished fourth in conference play with a 12-10 ACC record and closed out the season with a 16-15 overall mark. Tech started as many as five freshmen during the year and played just three upperclassmen for the majority of the season, but still had four players earn conference accolades at the season's end, as both Laband and Stegemann were named to the All-ACC second team and Kellogg and Miller garnered ACC All-Freshman honors. Laband became just the second player in the history of the program to earn repeat AVCA All-America honors, as she was named to the honorable mention team for the second-consecutive season.
Shymansky, who initially joined the Georgia Tech coaching staff as an assistant coach under Shelton Collier in February, 2000, served as the team's defensive and blocking coordinator in his first two seasons on the Flats. He was also responsible for scouting opponents, team travel and summer camps and assisted in the training of Maja Pachale, the 2001 ACC Player of the Year, Sauer, the 2001 ACC Rookie of the Year, and Eveland, the 2003 ACC Player of the Year and 2000 ACC Rookie of the Year. Following his arrival, the Yellow Jackets experienced two of their finest seasons in history, as the 2000 team finished 25-8 while earning the ACC regular season championship before advancing to their first NCAA Touirnament appearance in four years, and the 2001 squad posted a 19-8 record with another NCAA Tournament bid.
Prior to his arrival at Georgia Tech, Shymansky spent two seasons on the coaching staff at Iowa State, including a four-month stint as the interim head coach in 1999.
In addition to his collegiate coaching experience, Shymansky has coached in both the high school and club ranks. He served as the head coach at Iowa City High School from 1996-97, guiding his squad to the state semifinals in his second season.
A native of Iowa City, Iowa, Shymansky began his volleyball career at the University of Iowa, where he was a member of the men's volleyball club as a setter and outside hitter from 1991-93. He earned his degree in communications in 1995 from Iowa before completing his master's degree in secondary english education in 1998.
Shymansky, 35, is married to the former Catherine Cruikshank of Iowa City, Iowa. The couple has a 12-year old daughter, Corrina, and two sons, Nicholas, 9, and Bond, 1.
Contact Coach Shymansky - bond@at.gtaa.gatech.edu
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