DAVIS, Calif. --- Lennie Zalesky, a three-time All-American wrestler and former assistant coach at powerhouse University of Iowa, was named as UC Davis men's wrestling coach after a nationwide search, Director of Athletics Greg Warzecka announced on Saturday.    Zalesky, currently head wrestling coach and counselor at Culver Military Academy in Culver, Ind., has also been the top assistant at the University of Indiana and was an assistant coach under legendary coach Dan Gable at Iowa.    Zalesky's brother, Jim, is the current coach of Iowa, which has captured nine of the past 10 national championships. Lennie Zalesky wrestled on four Hawkeye teams which captured NCAA Championships.     "We are extremely fortunate to find a coach of Lennie's caliber," said Associate Director of Athletics Larry Swanson, who headed the search committee. "He brings valuable experience as a coach, recruiter and wrestler which we think will help push our program forward."    Zalesky has extensive coaching experience at both the collegiate and high school levels. From 1986-90 he was an assistant for Gable at Iowa with special emphasis on recruiting and teaching technique. He continued his coaching at Palmer High School in Palmer, Alaska, from 1990-98, winning a state title, producing 17 individual state champions and earning 1996 Alaska Coach of the Year honors.    Zalesky returned to the collegiate ranks in 1998, serving as the top assistant at Indiana until last year. He focused mainly on recruiting and technical development of the Hoosier program    "I'm excited for the opportunity to take the program to the next level," Zalesky said. "My philosophy is I'd like to get the athletes to be good students of the sport and learn technique, be competitive when they get on the mat and be gentlemen when they get off.    "I'd like to see the wrestlers learn the techniques which make the sport exciting for the fans and the coaches."    Zalesky's career as a wrestler was also impressive. He twice finished as national runner-up in the 142-pound division at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, was a three-time Big Ten Champion and was named team MVP in 1982. He was a member of four NCAA championship teams at Iowa and later earned silver medals at the 1983 Pan American Games and the 1984 World Cup competition.    He wrestled on Iowa teams which compiled a 73-2-1 record and won four national titles during his vareer.    Zalesky graduated from Iowa in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in finance. He earned additional undergraduate degrees from Iowa in 1990 in education and Russian language before adding his  master's in Slavic linguistics from Indiana last year.    "This is a very good thing for UC Davis wrestling," said sophomore wrestler Cris Brines, who was on the search committee, "I feel that our team has the opportunity to  grow tremendously under Coach Zalesky and be competitive with the best teams in the Pac-10."    UC Davis finished 10-7 overall and seventh at the Pac-10 Championships during the 2000-01 season. Zalesky replaces Mike Burch, whose contract was not renewed.    Zalesky is scheduled to start later this month.