ODESSA, Texas (October 16, 2024) – The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving Coaches' Polls have been released, and UT Permian Basin swimming & diving begins the 2024-25 season ranked fifth in the conference on the men's side and sixth on the women's side.

The Falcons received eight points on the men's side, leading Adams State (6) in sixth place. On the women's side, UTPB received 27 points and topped CSU-Pueblo (24) in seventh, Nebraska-Kearney (18) in eighth and Adams State (9) in ninth place.

The 2024 RMAC Championship is set for Feb. 11-15 with Colorado Mesa serving as host in Grand Junction.

Men's Poll
Six-time defending Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men's swimming champion Colorado Mesa begins the 2024 season in a familiar spot – atop the RMAC Men's Swimming & Diving Coaches' Poll.  Colorado Mesa garnered all five possible first-place votes and a maximum 25 points. Colorado School of Mines received the other first-place vote and 18 points and was tied for second with Oklahoma Christian.

Simon Fraser followed that trio with 15 points and was fourth in the poll. Texas Permian Basin (eight points) and Adams State (six) rounded out the six-team poll.

CMU went on to finish fifth in the NCAA Division II Men's Swimming & Diving Championships in 2024 – the second consecutive year the Mavericks finished fifth at the championships.

Women's Poll
Colorado Mesa enters the 2024 season with six consecutive Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference titles to its credit and is favored to run that streak to seven as it was picked as favorites in the league's coaches' poll.

Colorado Mesa was the top pick of seven of the league's nine coaches, who could not vote for their own team, and scored 63 of a maximum 64 points. Simon Fraser claimed the remaining two first-place votes and scored 54 points to finish second in the poll.

The Colorado School of Mines was picked third behind the Mavericks and Red Leafs, scoring 52 points. The Orediggers were followed by Oklahoma Christian (45 points) and Western Colorado (32 points), who rounded out the top five.

Texas Permian Basin led the second half of the poll with 27 points to finish sixth. CSU Pueblo (24 points), Nebraska-Kearney (18), and Adams State (nine) closed out the nine-team poll.

Colorado Mesa followed up their 2023 RMAC championship with a second-place finish at the 2023 NCAA Women's Swimming & Diving Championships.

Key Returners
Notable returners on the men's side for UTPB include graduate student Evan Siegrist and seniors Szymon Gilzynski and Legend Jankowski. The women's side will be led by senior Olivia Blackman and junior Emma Gerhart, along with senior diver Kathe Hepfer.

At the 2024 RMAC Championships, Siegrist set school records in both the 1650 freestyle and the 400 IM. Siegrist was swimming like a fish in the 400 IM on Thursday, resulting in him finishing with - unknowingly at the time - a school record, as his time of 4:04.28 would be converted to 3:59.28 due to the NCAA altitude adjustment. The previous school record had been 4:01.55 set by Siegrist in 2023. Then during the final day of competition on Saturday, Siegrist was seventh in the 1650 freestyle with an NCAA "B" Cut of 16:02.65. With the NCAA altitude adjustment, his time of 15:42.65 broke the school record of 15:59.41 that he set in 2022.

Siegrist also had a win for UTPB men's swimming & diving team on Day one of the Colorado College Classic at Schlessman Natatorium. Siegrist swam 16:25.02 to win the 1650 freestyle by over 29 seconds.  His time broke the pool record.

Gilzynski broke a pool record for UTPB men's swimming & diving team on Day two of the Colorado College Classic at Schlessman Natatorium. Gilzynski swam 49.75 to win the 100 fly.  It was the fourth fastest time in school history.  Gilzynski broke the pool record of 49.83 which had stood for 21 years.

At the RMAC Championship, Gilzynski was sixth in the 100-yard butterfly (49.23). His time was the second-fastest in school history.

Helping Out His Former Program
UT Permian Basin Athletics announced the hiring of alum Brian Schroeder as the Interim Head Coach of the men's and women's swimming & diving programs in August 2024.

The water has always been good to Schroeder. As a child, he grew up near a neighborhood pool and started competitive swimming at five years old. He would become a lifeguard and coach of the Meadows Marlins swim team for three years. When it was time to go to college, Schroeder took a chance and left his hometown of Sugar Land to join the men's swim team at The University of Texas Permian Basin, where he would meet his future wife, Kelly. Schroeder swam for the Falcons from 2006-2010 and served as team captain during his final two years (2008-2010). His primary events were the sprint Freestyle and Backstroke.

Schroeder's recent career has been as a controller for Reverence Operating LLC (Oct. 2020-current) and Sewell Family of Companies (June 2015-Oct. 2020). Brian and Kelly have always made time for the UTPB swim team by supporting the team since graduating.

Schroeder graduated from UTPB with his Master's degree in Professional Accountancy in August 2012. He would go on to become an Odessa Under 40 honoree, being recognized as one of the top young professionals in Odessa in 2018. His passion for coaching has extended to coaching his kids' sports teams.

About the RMAC
The RMAC is a premier NCAA Division II conference located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with 15 member schools. The RMAC sponsors 22 varsity NCAA sports and has produced 65 NCAA Division II national champions and 52 national runners-up since 1992.

RMAC Men's Swimming & Diving Coaches' Poll
RMAC Women's Swimming & Diving Coaches' Poll