2010 Atlantic 10 Women's Swimming & Diving Champions

For almost 30 seasons, Zhihua Hu has served as the diving coach for the Fordham swimming & diving program and has brought a wealth of international experience to his role as mentor of the Rams' divers.

Under Hu's tutelage, Molly Dunn qualified for the NCAA Zone Diving Championship in both 2019 and 2020, while setting a record on the three-meter board with Natalie Ortof qualifying for the NCAA Zone Diving Championship in 2022.

For 2022-23, Fordham saw Millie Haffety become the first female Ram to win a diving event at the Atlantic 10 Championship, earning gold in the three-meter dive, and set school marks in both the one-meter and three-meter dives.  She and teammate Lilia de Oliveira Pelaez also both qualified for the NCAA Zone A Diving Championship.

In 2017, three Fordham divers, Wendy Espina-Esquivel, Stephanie Kerkeles, and Christopher Craig, all scored at the 2017 Atlantic 10 Championships.  Espina-Esquivel captured Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors for the second straight year in the one-meter dive, while also qualifying for the NCAA Zone "A" Diving Championship in the one-meter and three-meter competitions for the second straight year, after breaking the school record in both events.

In 2015-16, Hu guided Espina-Esquivel and Natalie Wodniak in the Atlantic 10 Championship, where both divers scored in both diving events.  Espina-Esquivel would earned Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors on the one-meter board, becoming only the second female diver to earn All-Atlantic 10 accolades.  She would also go on to the Zone "A" Diving Championships, where she placed 17th in the three-meter competition.

The 2009-10 season was a special one for the Fordham divers, as the women's trio of Andrea Krok, Elizabeth Dorger, and Brittany Salas, all scored in the top eight finishers in both diving competitions at the Atlantic 10 Championships, while Ben Otto scored in the top flight of the three-meter competition. Krok also earned Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors in the one-meter board, and broke both the one-meter and three-meter diving marks at Fordham.

Previously, Otto captured third in the three-meter board at the 2009 Atlantic 10 Championship, with Krok setting a then school mark in the three-meter board at 281.55, under Hu's coaching. The trio of women's divers duplicated their scoring feat at the 2011 Atlantic 10 Championship with Dorger Breaking Krok's one-meter diving record during the season. In 2007-08, Donnie Callara earned Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors on the one meter board while setting school records on both boards, under Hu's guidance.

In 2006-07, Hu saw Marisa Colangelo set a new Fordham women's diving record on the one meter board as she scored 267.23 points for six dives against St. Francis, breaking the former school record of 265.20 set by Mary Beth Graham in 1994.

In 2005-06, Hu assisted Callara as he set a school record with a 349.20 score on the one meter board against St. Francis, surpassing the old record of 344.70 while in 2004-05, Callara set the school mark on the three meter board (six dives) as he qualified for the NCAA Regionals with a score of 349.20.

Hu, who prior to his arrival at Rose Hill served as the diving coach at the College of New Jersey, is a native of China, where he was an Olympic Training Camp Coach with the 1996 and 1992 Chinese Olympic Teams.

As head coach, he was responsible for coaching Zhuochen Yu to a Gold Medal at the 1995 World Championships and to a Silver Medal at the 1996 Olympics. Hu also coached Hailian Xiao to a Bronze Medal at the 1996 Olympics and Liang Tan to a Silver Medal at the 1992 Olympics.

As an assistant coach, his divers won Gold Medals at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, and a Bronze Medal at the 1992 Olympics. Hu has also served as a coach with the Chinese National Team as well as head coach of the Zhejiang Provincial Diving Team.