Justin Vink became the Mount's head coach for men's and women's water polo in July 2023.
His first season at the helm was punctuated by the women's performance at the MAAC Championships, as the team upset No. 2 seed LIU 9-8 behind a last-second goal from Beatrice Vieira. Vink's teams earned 22 victories between them over the course of the year. The women's team repeated the feat against LIU in his second season.
Before getting elevated to the head coaching job, Vink served as the assistant coach for the team since their inaugural season. Working under head coach
Alyssa Diacono, he helped lay the groundwork for the upstart program, resulting in winning seasons for both teams in the past year. On the women’s side, the team went 7-6 in their first season in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), qualifying for the postseason tournament. Student-athletes under their guidance garnered 10 all-conference honors, with one All-American honor and a Rookie of the Year. 24 members of the teams received All-Academic honors.
Previous credentials include a graduate assistantship at Salem University in West Virginia and coaching jobs with the club team at the University of Southern California, and at Harvard Westlake, John F. Kennedy and Fairview High Schools in California and Pennsylvania.
Vink honed his craft at Penn State Behrend, where he played driver for the Lions from 2011-2014. He competed every season, scoring 82 goals, registered 57 assists and tallied 56 steals. In his freshman campaign, he was pressed in as a goalkeeper, completing nine saves.
Originally from Los Angeles, Vink graduated from Penn State Behrend with a degree in communications in 2015 and a master's in sport management from Salem this past December.
THE VINK FILE
MEN'S HEAD COACHING RECORD
| Year |
Record |
Conference |
Notes |
| 2023-24 |
7-23 |
1-11 |
MAWPC Tournament |
| 2024-25 |
6-29 |
3-11 |
MAWPC Tournament |
| Total |
13-52 |
4-22 |
|
WOMEN'S HEAD COACHING RECORD
| Year |
Record |
Conference |
Notes |
| 2023-24 |
15-15 |
4-7 |
MAAC Semifinals |
| 2024-25 |
16-14 |
4-7 |
MAAC Semifinals |
| Total |
31-29 |
8-14 |
