Now in his 49th season as William Paterson’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving head coach, Ed Gurka is one of the most accomplished mentors in the sport. He earned his 400th victory as the Pioneer women’s coach on Nov. 12, 2019, against Purchase, his 300th win as the men’s coach on Dec. 4, 2012, against Maritime, his 700th overall victory on Oct. 19, 2016, against Old Westbury and his 800th overall win on Oct. 22, 2022 during a quad match against Bard, Purchase, Sarah Lawrence and Western Connecticut State. Gurka enters the 2024-25 campaign with a 402-223 mark as the men’s head coach and a 437-220-4 record as the women’s head coach for an overall slate of 839-443-4 in 47 seasons.
Making history is nothing new to Gurka. In 1989, he became the first swim coach in NCAA (all Divisions) history to win 100 meets as coach of both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams at one school.
Gurka has coached 16 All-Americans, the most recent being seven-time honoree Kristin Clegg, who set school records in the 100 IM, 50-, 100- and 200-yard backstrokes (2002-06). Joe Gentile was one of the all-time Pioneer greats on the men’s side, winning five national championships (including two then-Division III records) in the 1980s en route to being named the New Jersey Athletic Conference Male Student-Athlete of the 1980s. Among his many accomplishments, Gentile also has the distinction of being the first swimmer to win the 50-, 100- and 200-free events at a single NCAA Championships.
Gentile is one of 11 swimmers Gurka coached who have earned entry into the William Paterson University Alumni Association Athletic Hall of Fame. The other nine are Brian Lavin (’89), Tonya Shipp Bradshaw (’91), Connie Wassberg (’92), Melissa Bedford-Gutekunst (’93), Laurie Gazdalski Genna (’96), Rebecca Schirrman Gruver (’02), Kristin Clegg-Bell (’06), James Crowder (’99), Sheri Glenn Wachenheim (’93) and Voyteck Karas (’10).
A three-time all-state swimmer at Wayne Valley High School, Gurka earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education while competing in the butterfly and individual medley at the University of Maryland. He and his wife, Janet, have three children: sons Eddie and Brian, and daughter Lauren. Eddie was a swimmer at Marist College, and Brian competed at RPI.
Gurka’s WP Coaching Highlights
- 839 overall wins across 48 seasons (1976-2023)
- 437 wins as the women’s head coach
- 402 wins as the men’s head coach
- Fourteen NCAA Championship appearances (nine with the women’s team and five with the men’s team)
- Three team Metropolitan Championships titles (one women’s, two men’s)
- Eleven men’s Metropolitan Conference dual-meet championship titles
- Ten women’s individual and four relay all-Americans
- Seven men’s individual and one relay all-Americans
- Eight Metropolitan Conference Dick Krempecki Outstanding Senior awards (five women, three men)
- One Metropolitan Conference Most Outstanding Women’s Swimmer
- Six NJAC major award winners (One Male Diver of the Year, two Female Diver’s of the Year, one Female Swimmer of the Year, one Female Rookie of the Year)
- Thirty-three All-NJAC Team selections (21 women, 12 men)
- Eight academic all-Americans (six women, two men)
- One Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar
- Thirty-eight Academic All-Metropolitan Conference Team recipients (28 women, 10 men)
- Nine academic all-district honorees (six women, three men)
- 144 spots on the Academic All-NJAC Team (93 women, 51 men)