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Damon Newman enters his second season as the Wildcats coach in 2007. In his first season with the program, Newman took over a team that had lost three key letterwinners from the previous season and guided Villanova to a third-place finish at the MAAC Tournament last spring. After posting a 5-5 record against conference opponents during the regular season, the Wildcats defeated Iona 9-8 in the consolation game of the conference tournament.
During the 2006 season, Newman coached the league's top offensive player in current assistant coach Kim Pare. As a senior last season, Pare was named the MAAC Offensive Player of the Year and a first team All-MAAC performer. Villanova made tournament appearances at Princeton and the ECAC Championship in 2006 and earned a win over Gannon in the opening game of the ECAC tournament.
Prior to his arrival on the Main Line, Newman spent four seasons as an assistant coach for both the men's and women's water polo teams at Iona College. The women's team won 49 games over his final three seasons and captured the 2003 MAAC championship. The Gaels went 19-6 during the 2003 season, posted a 5-0 record against conference opponents and were ranked as high as No. 13 in the nation. Iona also posted a 14-9 record and third-place conference finish in 2005.
In addition to his duties at Iona, Newman spent two seasons as the head coach of the water polo and swimming teams at Wilton High School. He also worked at the Wilton YMCA and has over 15 years of experience as a water polo player and coach.
As a collegiate player, Newman starred at Iona and was a four-year letterwinner who served as the team's primary two-meter defender. He became just the second person in team history to be a three-time team captain. Newman finished his career ranked second on the school's all-time list with 115 kick-outs and also emerged as a leading offensive player. Despite being known for his defensive skills, Newman was ranked 30th in team history with 142 career points after scoring 68 goals and accumulating 74 assists.
Newman graduated from Iona in 2001 with a degree in Criminal Justice. After his graduation he was actively involved with the U.S. Water Polo Hudson Valley team. Newman has competed in the Junior Olympics, Junior Nationals and Senior Nationals.
Originally from the Philadelphia area, Newman was a member of Villanova men's water polo coach Dan Sharidan's Young Athletes of America program. He grew up in Lower Gwynedd and was an all-state water polo player at Wissahickon High School. Newman currently resides in Lower Gwynedd.
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