Buzzards Bay, Mass. --  Megan Giammalvo, who has served for the past five seasons as Massachusetts Maritime’s Assistant Softball Coach, has been named as the Buccaneers’ new Head Softball Coach.  The promotion, effective immediately, was announced earlier today by Bob Corradi, Massachusetts Maritime’s Dierctor of Athletics.

A resident of New Bedford, Mass., Giammalvo takes the reins of the program from Lindsay DeStefano, who resigned after two seasons earlier this spring to take the position of Head Softball Coach at Lasell College.  Giammalvo joined the staff in 2008 as an assistant under then Head Coach Christine McCarey and has worked primarily with the pitchers and catchers during that time. 

Giammalvo is no stranger to the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, as she was a standout performer at Salem State University and served as an assistant coach for the Vikings during the 2005-06 campaign.  She received her degree in Elementary Education from Salem State in 2006 and earned a master’s degree in the same field of study from American International College in 2011.

“I’m very honored to serve in this position at the Academy, as I have a great deal of respect for its tradition both in the classroom and in competition,” Giammalvo says.  “I want to thank Coach Corradi for his confidence in my abilities to work with our student-athletes, and I look forward to building the program in the years to come.”

“I first want to thank Coach DeStefano for her hard work and commitment to the program over the past two years, as she has a great future ahead of her,” Corradi says.  “I can’t think of a better person to take over the program than Megan—Coach G knows what it takes to be successful in this conference, and she knows what type of commitment our student-athletes have on and off the field.  I’m grateful that our student-athletes will be able to learn from her.”

An elementary school teacher in the New Bedford Public Schools, Giammalvo has also served for the past four seasons as the junior varsity girls’ volleyball coach and assistant varsity volleyball coach at Apponequet Regional High School, where she works under the guidance of former Buccaneer baseball standout and Apponequet Director of Athletics Jim Cabucio ’82.

Massachusetts Maritime will begin the Megan Giammalvo era on Saturday, March 16, 2013 when the Buccaneers host Lyndon State in a non-league doubleheader at Alison Rollins Field beginning at 1:00 p.m. EDT.