Oct. 30, 2008

Courtesy of Stanford Athletics

STANFORD, Calif. - David Durante, a former All-American Cardinal gymnast and national all-around champion, has been named the squad's second assistant coach and will return to The Farm to serve as an assistant coach alongside head coach Thom Glielmi and first assistant JD Reive.

Durante graduated from Stanford in 2002 with a B.S. in human biology and a minor in psychology. He capped off his stellar career with the Cardinal, taking fifth place on horizontal bar at the 2002 NCAA Championships and earning All-American status for his performance. During his senior year, Durante was selected to the U.S. Senior Men's National Team and has been a staple on the squad for the past six years, and barely missed making the six-man roster sent to Beijing to represent the United States in the 2008 Olympic Games.

Durante brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Stanford men's gymnastics squad, and has had much success in the gym in recent years. In 2007, he took home the Visa U.S. National Championships all-around crown was also selected to the World Championship Team for the second year in a row. He competed at the 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships and was a member of the 4th-place-finishing American team. Prior to that, he recorded strong performances at the prestigious Winter Cup Challenge in Las Vegas, Nev., twice winning the all-around title in 2006 and 2005, and adding a parallel bars title (2006) and second place finish (2005).

"I'm very excited to be coming back to Stanford," said Durante. "Thom and JD have done a great job with the program and I am honored to be a part of it again. I am looking forward to helping in anyway I can so that we can bring a National Championship back to Stanford this year."

"Dave is a tremendous addition to the coaching staff," added Glielmi. "Being just off the international competition circuit he can relate to the demands of training and the nuances of elite level competitions. He is a great technician and communicator, but his love of the sport and Stanford are the intangible that are so apparent and appreciated by the athletes and coaches."