Andre Barbins embarks on his second decade at St. Mary's as the 2008-09 campaign marks his 11th season at the helm of the Seahawk men's and women's swimming programs.  A year ago, Barbins was selected as the 2008 Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) Women's Swimming Coach-of-the-Year after leading SMCM to a second-place finish at the CAC Championships.

His selection as the CAC Coach-of-the-Year marked the second time that Barbins received the honor as he last earned it in 2004.  Barbins owns a 10-year dual meet mark of 50-40-1 (37-31-1 CAC) with the women and 26-54 (20-45 CAC) on the men's side.

The women have set 33 school records since his arrival in 1998, including six a year ago, and have had five Seahawks qualify for the NCAA Championships, while the men have broken 19 school records.

The Seahawk swimmers have also excelled out of the pool as the women have been tabbed as a College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) All-Academic team during all 10 years of Barbins' tenure and the men have earned the honor the past eight seasons.

A 1993 graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University, he was a four-year letterwinner and team captain for the Battling Bishops.  After leaving OWU, Barbins spent one season as the head coach at Regina H.S. in Euclid, Ohio, and one season as an assistant coach at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

He left Ohio for Washington (Md.) College in Chestertown where he earned a master's degree in psychology while serving as a graduate assistant coach for two seasons.  After his stint at Washington, Barbins spent a year and a half as an assistant coach at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee.

A Cleveland native, he currently makes his home in Solomons, Maryland, with his wife, the former Sharon Eliassen, and their one-year old daughter, Anya.