Caiming Xie Position: Head Men's Diving Coach

In his 30-year career as a diving coach, Caiming Xie has helped his protegés win BIG EAST titles, All-America honors, and gold medals. A proven winner, Caiming's experience reaches the world over, he is entering his 12th season as head men's and women's diving coach at Notre Dame in 2007-08.

During his tenure, he has coached two All-Americans on the women's side, as well as the top two men's divers in school history. Caiming's male divers have posted each of the top seven scores in school history in one-meter championship diving, as well as eight of the top 10 off the three-meter board.

He was named the BIG EAST Men's Diving Coach of the year for the third-straight season in 2007 after helping Michael Bulfin capture two all-BIG EAST honors at the meet, while Sam Stoner earned one all-conference accoloade.

Xie tutored Steven Crowe to an appearance at the 2007 NCAA Zone C Diving Championships after a solid showing at the BIG EAST meet, where he placed sixth of the one-meter board and eighth off the three-meter. He also caputured his first-career win as he took the three-meter competition in a dual meet at Louisville.

The 2005-06 season was one of the finest for men's diving at Notre Dame. Bulfin became just the second diver in program history to qualify for the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. Bulfin also earned all-BIG EAST honors off the one-meter board, while his teammate Stoner garnered all-conference honors in the three-meter competition. Both Bulfin and Stoner competed at the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships. Bulfin qualified for the NCAAs with his fourth-place showing off the three-meter board at the Zone competition. He would also finish ninth off the one-meter board, while Stoner was 10th, after registering a 17th-place showing in the three-meter. The success of his diver's helped Caiming garner the BIG EAST Conference Men's Diving Coach of the Year Award for the fourth time. He also collected the honor in 1999, 2004 and 2005.

In 2005, Stoner placed fifth at the BIG EAST Championships off both boards and would go on to finish 17th out of the 32-diver field at the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships. That marked the top finish for an Irish rookie in one-meter action in the meet since Andy Maggio was 14th in 2000.

Caiming, the first full-time diving coach in Notre Dame history, recruited and developed three divers in the class of 2003. The group, which went undefeated in 2001-02, was a key to Notre Dame's dual-meet fortunes over a four-year span, and all three left among the best eight divers in school history on the one-meter board.

Maggio was the most dominant Irish men's diver ever, holding three of the five University diving records. In 2002, he finished fourth at the NCAA Zone Diving Meet, missing by just six points Notre Dame's first berth to the NCAA Men's Championships in 27 years.

Joe Miller and Tong Xie, Caiming's son, each delivered career-best peformances in their final seasons, a sign of Caiming's ability to help divers improve dramatically during their time with him.

Caiming also tutored 2001 graduate Herb Huesman throughout his career, which ended with him as the holder of three varsity records.

On the women's side, Caiming was responsible for the development of Heather Mattingly and Meghan Perry-Eaton, the first two diving All-Americans in Notre Dame history.

The last four seasons have been the most successful in Irish women's diving history, featuring five BIG EAST titles, four All-America honors, and a trio of BIG EAST Championships Most Outstanding Diver awards. In 2003-04, Perry-Eaton turned in the most impressive campaign ever by an Irish diver, as she was beaten just one time during the regular season before sweeping the springboard events at the BIG EAST Championships by more than 40 points each en route to being tabbed the meet's top diver. Perry-Eaton then became the first Notre Dame diver ever to win a title at the NCAA Zone C Championships, taking first off the one-meter board. At the NCAA Championships, she delivered the highest-ever finish for a Notre Dame swimmer or diver, taking third in that event, ending up just 3.30 points behind the national champion and securing All-America honors. She followed that up with two more conference titles (for a BIG EAST record five in her career), her third conference diver-of-the-year award, and two more All-American honors. She was fifth at NCAAs in one-meter and 15th in three-meter.

In 2002-03, Perry-Eaton became the first Notre Dame diver -- and first non-University of Miami diver since 1996 -- to win a conference championship, placing first in the one-meter competition. She also was second on the three-meter board and was named the BIG EAST's top diver. Perry-Eaton then qualified for the NCAA Championships, where she placed ninth in the one-meter event and 20th on the three-meter board to earn honorable mention All-America honors.

In 2001-02, Heather Mattingly became the first Irish diver to earn All-America honors, finishing eighth in the three-meter competition at the NCAA Championships. Mattingly also earned honorable mention on the one-meter board, taking 12th. She was the first Notre Dame diver to qualify for the NCAAs in four consecutive years -- also earning honorable mention All-America in 2001 (13th in 3m) and 2000 (12th in 1m, 12th in 3m).

Before coming to Notre Dame, Caiming was the head diving coach for three years at the University of Toledo, earning Mid-American Conference diving coach-of-the-year laurels in each of his last two seasons. Prior to his stint with the Rockets, Caiming served as an assistant coach for the '91-92 season at Pittsburgh.

Boasting a wealth of international experience on his resume, Caiming served as the 1980 Chinese Olympic diving coach. He also has served as a technical consultant for United States Diving since 1994 and has held clinics and presentations for the United States Diving national team.

The Chinese national team coach from 1977-90, Caiming coached Sun Shu-Wei, a gold medalist in the men's platform competition at the '92 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, and Zhu Jin-Hong, who finished fourth in the women's platform in Barcelona.

Caiming's divers also have earned medals at the Asian Games, World Cup, World University Games and World Championships.

A competitive diver in his own right, Caiming won the springboard competition at the Asian Games in 1974 and earned first place in the platform and second in the springboard competition at the National Games of China in 1975.

A 1985 graduate of the Beijing Institute of Physical Education, he also won numerous Chinese diving championships.

Caiming and his wife, Ping Tong, have one son, Tong, who graduated from Notre Dame in 2003 after a successful career as an Irish diver.