KIMBERLEY RYBCZYK HEAD COACH

Kimberley Rybczyk was named Head Women’s Basketball Coach at her alma mater Western Connecticut State University in April of 2002. A 1988 graduate of Western Connecticut State University, Rybczyk returned to the Danbury, Connecticut school after one season as Head Coach at Southwestern University.

A year ago, WestConn went 9-17 and 5-9 in the Little East Conference for the second straight year.  Its biggest win of the season came in early February when the Colonials defeated 2002-03 national runner up and arch- rival Eastern Connecticut State University, 71-70 at the O'Neill Center.

In her first season, the Colonials also went 9-17 overall and 5-9 in the highly competitive LEC.

In 2001-02, Southwestern finished with a 10-15 overall record and were 7-11 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. They finished sixth in the conference after being picked to finish ninth (out of 10 teams).

Prior to her stint at Southwestern University, Rybczyk served as head women’s basketball coach at Rensselaer (N.Y.) since the mid-1990s. In 2001, her squad posted a 23-5 record, won the UCAA conference championship, and appeared in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. Since taking over at Rensselaer, Rybczyk notched a career record of 98-56, which makes her the winningest coach in RPI history.

Rybczyk filled the position left vacant after Jody Rajcula retired in March of 2002 after 21 years at the helm. Western Connecticut posted an overall record of 383-168 during Rajcula’s tenure.

In 1988, Rybczyk was a Division III Third Team All-American at Western Connecticut State University where she is still the career assist leader with 606 assists. She ranks sixth on the Colonials’ all-time steals list with 199.

Rybczyk was named UCAA Coach of the Year twice, WBCA Division III, District 2 Coach of the Year once, BCANY Coach of the Year once, and New York State Women’s Collegiate Athletic Association Coach of the Year once. Also, Rybczyk’s squad has been ranked twice among the top 20 in the nation academically by the WBCA in Division III for cumulative team GPA.

Before her tenure at Rensselaer, Rybczyk was an assistant coach at the University of Hartford (Conn.) for three seasons and was also an assistant coach at Pace University (NY), Central Connecticut State University, and Quinnipiac College (Conn.). In addition, Rybczyk coached the Adirondack Team in the Empire State Games Open Division (NY) during the summer of 1999 where she led her team to the bronze medal. She also coached in the Nutmeg State Games Open Division (Conn.) from 1991-1994 where her team earned three gold medals in four years.

A native of Cromwell, Connecticut, Rybczyk was the first female inducted into the Cromwell Athletic Hall of Fame during the spring of 1992.