Bio

Matthew Nodell took over as head coach of the Owls women's swimming and diving programs for the 2023-24 season.

Season Highlights:

2025-26:   The Owls enjoyed a strong season, buoyed by an excellent recruiting class.  First-years Isabella Zeppa and Autumn Sutherland each set school records, with Zeppa taking the 50 and 100 freestyle marks while competing at the Little East Championships, and Sutherland set the 50 butterfly mark during the regular season, and then lowered her school-record time at the LEC Championship meet.  In December, the Owls' team won the Bridgewater State Invitational for the first time, and the team improved its placing at the Little East Conference meet from the previous year, finishing 6th at the meet.   Zeppa won the conference title in the 50 freestyle, and Sutherland, and Emily Donatio each earned silver medals.  The Owls performances were made more impressive as the team trained off campus all season long as the Ely Pool on campus was undergoing a significant renovation and upgrade of the pool's mechanical systems.

2024-25: The Owls won four dual meets and also placed second at the Bridgewater State Invitational. At the Little East Conference Championships, under the leadership of Nodell, senior Alexa Richter broke two school records: the 100 individual medley and the 50 butterfly. 

Coaching Bio:

Nodell joined the Owls after years of experience in swimming and diving, as he spent the previous three years as the head varsity swim coach at Belchertown High School. During his time coaching at Belchertown, Nodell was also an assistant swim coach for Monson Parks and Recreation, training and teaching up to 24 children at a time.

“I am pleased our search for a new coach led us to Coach Matt Nodell” said Nancy Bals, Associate Athletics Director and Senior Woman Administrator at Westfield State, who chaired the search committee.  “Matt comes to us highly recommended. He is a solid candidate with a strong coaching background, strong values and great communication skills. He will be an asset to our staff and a great addition to our Owl family. I look forward to introducing him to the team and working with him going forward to sustain a successful women’s swimming & diving program.”

Nodell is also a former athlete himself as he was a four-time CSCAA Scholar All-America swimmer for Elms College where he graduated in 2021 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management.

Matthew is currently the manager at M&R Transportation LLC in Holyoke, Mass. after being promoted from assistant manager in 2019. He is responsible for the overall growth of the company in terms of customer growth, addition, and relations as well as dispatching and human resources.