John Olenowski went 92-128 in seven seasons at Manhattan. |
Drew picked John Olenowski to fill its women's head coaching vacancy on an interim basis. Olenowksi, who just finished a seven-year stint at Division I Manhattan, replaces Brittany Gaetano who moved on to Colby.
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Olenowski takes over the Rangers program after completing a seven-year run at the helm of Manhattan College, a Division I program in the MAAC. Under his guidance, the Jaspers appeared in consecutive national semifinals in the Women's Basketball Invitational. Olenowski has led nine All-MAAC players, including the 2016 Defensive Player of the Year. In 2010, Manhattan ranked third in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 50.9 points per game.
"I am thrilled to be named the head coach at Drew University," Olenowski said. "Drew is an outstanding academic institution and I'm looking forward to coaching our dedicated student-athletes. My goal is to have our program move into the upper echelon of the Landmark Conference."
Olenowski steps into the position vacated by Brittany Gaetano, who announced her resignation on July 27 to take the head coaching job at Colby.
A 1978 graduate of Saint Leo College, Olenowski began his coaching career at Morris Catholic High School in Denville, N.J., in 1979. Over 14 seasons (1979-82, 1995-2006), he guided the Crusaders to a 330-39 (.894) record and three New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) State Championships. During Olenowski's tenure, Morris Catholic also won 10 Colonial Hills Conference Championships, six Morris County Championships and seven NJSIAA Sectional Championships. MCHS also made a pair of appearances in the New Jersey Tournament of Champions, reaching the semifinals in 2003.
He also served as Morris Catholic's athletic director from 2003-06 and was in charge of Major Gift Giving. Olenowski was inducted into the Morris Catholic High School Hall of Fame in 1987 and the NJSIAA Hall of Fame in 2005. In 2007, he was presented with the NJSIAA Outstanding Coaching Achievement Award.
In 1982, Olenowski left Morris Catholic to take over the women's basketball program at Pace University. Over three seasons at the helm, Olenowski led the Setters to a 70-28 (.714) overall record, and the team increased its win total each season. Meanwhile, the headman won a pair of Empire State Conference Coach of the Year honors (1983-84, 1984-85). He mentored eight 1,000-point scorers and two All-Americans. In addition, his teams boasted a 100 percent graduation rate.
Drew went 7-18, 4-12 in the Landmark last season.