Tomas Kuzvard begins his third year as the Tritons' head swimming and diving coach with the 2016-17 season.
UMSL announced the reinstatement of men’s and women’s swimming and diving in November 2013 with both programs beginning competition under Kuzvard in the 2014-15 academic year.
During the 2015-16 year, Kuzvard coached Diogo Dias to a GLVC championship in the 100-yard backstroke and a spot in the NCAA Championships.
A native of the Czech Republic, Kuzvard was a nine-time NCAA Division II national champion and a 21-time All-American at fellow Great Lakes Valley Conference member Drury University, where he swam from 2006-09. Kuzvard was a two-time national champion in the 200 individual medley (2007, 2008) and also won national titles in the 200 backstroke (2007), the 400 individual medley (2007) and was on five national champion team relays.
He was a member of the Czech National Team from 1996-2005 and won multiple Czech National Champion titles in Long course and Short Course in the events of 100 Backstroke, 200 Backstroke, 200 IM and 400 IM.
Kuzvard also participated in the European Swimming Championships, Summer Universidad Games, World Military Games and the FINA Swimming World Cup.
He spent one year at Ohio Northern as an assistant coach after three seasons as a graduate assistant at Drury, where he helped both the men’s and women’s programs to Division II national titles in each of those seasons.
Kuzvard graduated from Drury University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts in Exercise and Sport Science. In 2008, he received the Dr. Edsel Matthews Award, given annually to Drury's top male senior student-athlete.
Kuzvard then went on to earn a Master of Arts degree in Communication-Integrated Marketing in 2011 from Drury.
He also has Bachelor equivalent degree from Charles University in Praque, Czech Republic, in Physical Education and Sport Science.
