Release Posted July 8, 2026
PORTLAND, Ore.—Lewis & Clark College Director of Physical Education and Athletics Mark Pietrok announced the appointment of Emily Melina as the new head men’s and women’s swimming coach on Wednesday afternoon.
Melina comes to Lewis & Clark with over 20 years of swimming coaching experience. She has coached at the NCAA DI, high school and club level and has held multiple roles with USA Swimming. She is very familiar with the Zehntbauer Swimming Pavilion after leading the Lake Oswego Swim Club for nearly 15 years. Lake Oswego has consistently been ranked as a USA Swimming Silver Medal Swim Club – the designation ranks clubs on their ability to develop 18-and-Under Athletes and teams earn Silver status if they rank in the top 100 clubs in the nation. Lake Oswego has placed multiple swimmers on the USA National Junior Team and had athletes ranked in the top-10 nationally and the top-100 internationally.
“We are excited to welcome Emily to the Lewis & Clark Athletics family,” Pietrok said. “She brings an exceptional background as both a student-athlete and a coach, along with a passion for developing young people and building successful programs. Emily has earned tremendous respect throughout the region for her leadership, integrity, and commitment to excellence, and she has consistently achieved success at every stage of her coaching career.
We are confident she will have an immediate and lasting impact on our student-athletes, both in-and-out of the pool. Her ability to foster a positive team culture, and help student-athletes reach their full potential aligns perfectly with the values and mission of Lewis & Clark College. We look forward to the future of our program under Emily's leadership.”
Melina swam for NCAA DI UCLA for four seasons (1998-2002) and was a finalist at the PAC-10 Championships and a member of the All-Academic PAC-10 Team multiple times. She was voted the Most Inspirational and Hardest Working by her teammates. After graduation, Melina started her coaching career as a volunteer assistant coach at NCAA DI Washington State University, where she worked with the Cougars women’s program from 2002-04. Washington State broke multiple program records and had two student-athletes named All-Americans during her time in Pullman. She spent one season as a graduate assistant coach at NCAA DI Boston University in 2005. Melina also had successful stints as a high school head coach at Moscow HS in Idaho (2002-04) and Cleveland High School in Portland (2010-11).
“I'm incredibly honored and excited to lead the Lewis & Clark swimming program,” Melina noted. “Returning to the collegiate level is a special opportunity because it allows me to combine everything I've learned over more than two decades of coaching, with the chance to mentor student-athletes during one of the most important stages of their lives. College swimming is about much more than fast times—it's about helping young people grow into confident leaders, teammates, and successful adults.
My vision is to build a program defined by excellence, accountability, and genuine connection. I want Lewis & Clark to be a destination for student-athletes who are passionate about competing at a high level, while embracing the outstanding academic experience the college provides.”
Outside of her coaching responsibilities, she currently serves in a leadership role with the Oregon Swimming Board of Directors (General Chair), the USA Swimming Club Development National Committee (Committee Chair) and the American Swim Coaches Association Board of Directors (Vice President). She previously served as a council member with the USA Swimming Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion National Council. Melina has also covered the sport of swimming as a writer and editor with Splash Magazine and Collegeswimming.com.
