Brian Michalak, who was promoted to head baseball coach at University of St. Francis this past June after the retirement of legendary coach Gordie Gillespie, has added another title to his Saints' resume.

Michalak, 50, has been named interim head coach of the USF women's basketball program. He replaces Ryan Haun who resigned from the Saints' athletics staff in early September.

"One of the top goals of our athletics program has always been to find the best coaches possible that will serve our University and student-athletes well for years to come and we won't settle for anything less," USF Athletics Director Dave Laketa said.

"We received over 200 applications for the vacancy," Laketa continued, "and while some did boast impressive credentials, in the end, the committee did not feel that they were the right fit for St. Francis.

"Thus, we made the decision that we did to hire Brian Michalak, who has nine years of collegiate women's basketball coaching experience, on an interim basis.  Brian, along with his assistants Samantha Quigley and Cosima Tines, will do good things for our program this coming year and turn a difficult situation into one that will work out well in the end."

The basketball coaching position is not an unfamiliar one for Michalak. The 1983 St. Francis alumnus served as head coach of the women's program at Lewis University from 1993-2002. He directed the Lewis women's team to a 117-126 record and the school's third-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II National Basketball Tournament in 1998 with a team that finished 23-5. Highlighting his nine-year tenure on the Flyers' bench was a three-year stretch (1998-2000) in which his clubs posted a cumulative record of 57-25.

Prior to assuming the women's coaching position in 1993, Michalak spent six years as an assistant men's basketball coach for the Flyers.

He ascended to the head baseball coaching position at USF this summer after spending four years as Gillespie's top assistant coach. During those four seasons, Michalak helped direct the Saints' baseball squads to Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference championships in both 2008 and 2010, a CCAC Tournament title in 2011 and appearances in the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round in both 2010 and 2011.

Michalak takes over a team that finished just 10-22 a year ago but reached the CCAC Tournament semifinals after posting a road upset over Indiana University South Bend in the first round. The Saints return three senior starters – guards Julie Schiffler and Brandi Pudik and guard/forward Michelle Karr – who were also the top three scorers on the 2010-11 squad.

"This would be a great opportunity for anybody to have the chance to coach women's basketball at St. Francis and I feel honored that I have been chosen for the position," Michalak said. "I thoroughly enjoyed coaching women's basketball when I did it the first time (at Lewis) and I am excited about getting out to the practice court with our team here at St. Francis."

Michalak will be assisted on the bench by Tines and Quigley.

Tines is a former Saint that had her playing career cut short due to injuries. She starred on the court as a prep at De La Salle Institute in Chicago before enrolling at St. Francis. She has served as an assistant coach for the past three seasons.

Quigley makes her coaching debut after graduating from DePaul University where she was a two-time second-team All-Big East Conference guard. A Joliet native and a Joliet Catholic Academy alumnus, Quigley is the daughter of two St. Francis Hall of Fame members. Her late father, Pat Quigley, played basketball and tennis for the Saints, while her mother, Chris Prieboy, played both basketball and softball at St. Francis and is the all-time leading scorer in the history of the USF women's basketball program. Quigley's stepfather, Don Strle, also is a former Saints' basketball player and was a teammate of her father while playing for legendary Saints' coach Pat Sullivan.

"Our recent coaching searches – men's basketball, cross country/track, football, soccer, softball – have turned out very well," Laketa added, "and we expect the same of this position when we re-open the search at the end of the season when we know that there will be a larger pool of candidates."

"Now that the position is full time, it is, without a doubt, a priority of mine to get this right," Laketa continued. "The fluctuation in the women's basketball program over the past few years has not been good and we need that to change immediately."