El Dorado’s Milich Quits as Water Polo, Swim Coach

Tom Milich said Sunday he has resigned as water polo and swim coach at El Dorado High School to become water polo coach at Fresno State.

Milich, 34, has been at El Dorado for seven years. He previously spent four years as an assistant coach at Newport Harbor.

“This is an opportunity to get into a NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Assn.) Division I program,” said Milich, who also is an assistant coach with the United States water polo team. “I’ve been coaching on the high school level for 11 years. I needed a change. I needed a challenge.”

Under Milich, the Golden Hawks’ water polo team won three Southern Section 3-A championships. The boys’ swim team also won three Southern Section 3-A championships.

Milich also was El Dorado girls’ swim coach during Olympic gold medalist Janet Evans’ four years at the school.

But despite having Evans, the Golden Hawks never won a Southern Section championship. El Dorado finished second last year in the 3-A meet. It was the highest finish for the girls’ team in school history.