Anibal Nieves, who earned All-America accolades at East Stroudsburg University in 1989 and later competed internationally for Puerto Rico in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games, was announced as the interim head coach of the Warriors’ new women's wrestling program in December, 2018.
Women's wrestling will began competition in 2019 as ESU's 21st intercollegiate sport. Nieves, who also serves as the head coach for ESU's men's wrestling program, has several years of successful experience coaching both genders.
ESU recorded its first victory in program history on February 10, 2020 as the Warriors defeated Springfield Tech, 32-6. The Warriors also garnered their first national ranking from the NWCA in March, 2020. Cascen was one of 60 wrestlers from 14 different institutions to earn Academic All-America status.
Tatyana Ortiz would become the first All-American in program history after finishing fourth for ESU at the National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championships in March, 2020. Ortiz helped ESU to place 17th in the team standings as eight wrestlers represented the Warriors in Adrian, Michigan.
Shola Cascen earned the distinction of becoming the program's first Scholar All-American after being recognized for her work in the classroom by the NWCA is May, 2020.
A Division I national qualifier at 134 pounds in 1988 and 1989 who placed sixth nationally during his senior season, Nieves brings over 15 years of head coaching experience to ESU. Most recently, he has served as head women’s and assistant men’s coach at Springfield Technical Community College in Springfield, Mass. for the past six seasons.
Nieves led nine NCWA Women’s All-Americans at Springfield Tech, including four national champions, and he was named NWCA Women’s Coach of the Year in 2017. He additionally worked as a trainer for two-time U.S. Olympian Elena Pirozhkova, who was the women’s World Champion at 63 kilograms in 2012.
Prior to his position at Springfield Tech, Nieves was the head men’s coach at Division III Western New England for five years. He previously led American International’s Division II men’s program from 1994-2003 and was honored as the DII East Regional Coach of the Year in 2000.
Nieves has coached 11 men's All-Americans at the Division II level. His student-athletes’ academic success has stood out as well, with Nieves leading a total of 20 NCAA Scholar All-Americans at his previous programs.
Nieves had a 62-13-5 record in two seasons at ESU, notching one fall, 11 technical falls and 15 major decisions, and had a 22-3-5 mark in duals. He also was an NJCAA national champion at SUNY Delhi in 1985-86, capturing the title at 134 pounds.
Following his career at ESU, he competed for Puerto Rico in the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympic games, earning a 10th place finish at 62 kilograms at the 1992 Barcelona Games. A nine-time national champion in Puerto Rico, he also took home silver medals at the 1991 and 1995 Pan American Games.
Nieves remains active internationally, serving as the wrestling coach for Haiti at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
