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In 1977, the Poly Prep Girls’ Swim team began competing for the first time. From the home base of their historic pool, the Poly girls have had an impact in the Ivy Prep League, Easterns Championships, and NYSAIS competitions over the years. Fiona Greig ’97 established records that stood for years before heading off to Stanford, while Courtney Nolan ’08 pushed the team to an Ivy Prep League title with a thrilling last-second victory as a senior. In recent years, the program has been led by former international medalists Nikolay Shevchenko (Russia) and Alexander Protsenko (Ukraine). Coming off the girls’ second-place showing in the Ivy Prep League in 2020, the coaches will continue to implement rigorous and progressive training protocols.
Nikolay Shevchenko
Co-Head Coach
Business Phone: (347) 927-7722
Education: The City University of New York, College of Staten Island, BS; Krasnoyarsk State Pedagogical University “V. P. Astafyev”
Nikolay Shevchenko found his athletic calling upon being introduced to swimming before he could walk. He became a junior nationals finalist in Russia and, tempted by the idea of life in the United States, embarked on an All-American career at the CUNY College of Staten Island. Following through on another dream, Shevchenko in 2009 founded Avantis Swimming Academy (later Freedom Aquatics), an instructional school that grew to include a USA swimming competitive club team and multiple facilities in the NY-NJ area, while bringing fellow swim coach Alexander Protsenko into his life. The duo arrived at Poly together in 2018, and have since set about imparting their methodology on the student-athletes that Shevchenko describes as “getting better and better every year.”
Coaching Career Highlights:
Coaching Experience:
Swimming Achievements as an athlete:
Alexander Protsenko
Co-Head Coach
Business Phone: (917) 983-3777
Education: Drury University, MS; University of Ukraine, MS
Picking up swimming at the age of seven, the Ukrainian-born Protsenko soon began excelling in the pool. He became a three-time Ukranian national champion, earning a silver medal at the 2007 European championships, before carrying that excellence to a record-setting run at Drury University in Springfield, Missouri. From a volunteer coaching position at his alma mater, Protsenko continued his coaching pursuits at the Boys’ Club of New York in Flushing, Queens, until joining Nikolay Shevchenko at Avantis Swimming Academy (now Freedom Aquatics) in 2011.
Career Highlights:
The Poly Prep Boys’ and Girls’ Swim teams train in our on-campus pool.