Rob Cragg recently completed his tenth season as the diving coach for the University of Pennsylvania. A 1975 Penn graduate, Cragg is the greatest diver in school history, receiving multiple All-America and All-Ivy honors in his career.
Cragg's expertise was immediately evident during the 2009-10 season, his first, as both his male and female divers set school records this season. Senior Melissa Gardel broke a 20-year-old record in the 3-meter diving event with her score of 316.95 in the regular season and followed it up with a second-team All-Ivy performance in the Ivy League Championships. On the men's side, Cragg's son Jeff broke his father's 29-year-old record in the 1-meter diving event with a score of 349.13, a mark which also set a new pool record.
Cragg was a three-time All-Ivy selection and two-time All-America honoree for the Red and Blue over his four-year career. The former Quaker also made three appearances at the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships. As a senior, he was named first-team All-Ivy and finished fourth on the one-meter board and seventh on the three-meter board at the NCAA Championships. Cragg's cumulative points earned the Quakers an overall 17th place in the country, despite the fact he was the only Penn athlete competing. It is still Penn's highest finish in the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships.
Following graduation, Cragg took third on the one-meter springboard and fifth on three-meter at the U.S. Diving National Championships. The performance earned him a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team. At the 1976 Games in Montreal, Cragg finished fifth in the three-meter springboard diving event and was a member of the U.S. National Diving Team until his retirement from the sport in 1980.
Cragg previously served as coach of the Penn diving team from 1987 through 1991.
