Kristy Castillo is in her ninth season as an assistant coach on the swimming and diving staff at her alma mater. Castillo has been in the position since she graduated from The University of Akron in 2003.

The North Canton, Ohio native, who attended Glen Oak High School, was promoted to full-time assistant on June 1, 2003. She assists head coach Nittaya Klim in all aspects of the program, including individual instruction in each event, recruiting, and team travel.

Castillo is no stranger to the pool or UA, as she was a four-year letterwinner for the Zips from 1999-2002. Castillo captained her junior and senior squads and set five school records, including the 100-yard freestyle. She still owns some of the programs top times in several events including the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard medley relay, 400-yard medley relay, 200-yard freestyle relay, and 400-yard freestyle relay.

After completing her eligibility in 2002, Castillo served as a student assistant coach and has spent the past five summers as a member of Skip Kenney and Lea Maurer's coaching staff at the International Swim Camp held at Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif.

Castillo earned her B.S. in physical education, with an emphasis in sport management in May 2003, and was as competitive in the classroom as she was in the pool, earning honors on the Dean's List six times during her academic career.

She completed her master's in sports science and coaching in August of 2006 and began teaching part-time in UA's sports science and wellness department.