ODESSA, Texas (September 25, 2025) – 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 2025-26 season ranked fifth out of six teams in the conference on the men's side and eighth out of nine teams on the women's side.

"The preseason polls are representative of where our Falcons placed last year in conference," spoke Head Coach Brian Schroeder. "We are continuing to work hard to continue excellence both in the classroom and pool. Our men's and women's teams have potential to climb up the rankings this year with our leadership in the returners and the 22 new additions to the team."

The Falcons received eight points on the men's side, leading Adams State (6) in sixth place. It was the same ranking and number of votes for both UTPB and ASU as last year.

On the women's side, UTPB received 18 points, leading Adams State (11). Last year, the UTPB women's team was ranked sixth in the preseason poll.

The 2025-26 RMAC Swimming & Diving Championships are set for Feb. 10-14 with Colorado Mesa once again serving as host in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Men's Poll
Colorado Mesa University is the unanimous pick to win the 2025 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Men's Swimming & Diving Championship, as selected in the league's preseason coaches' poll, which was released Thursday in conjunction with the 2025-26 All-RMAC Men's Swimming & Diving Preseason Team.

Colorado Mesa, the defending and nine-time RMAC champion, received all five first-place votes and 25 points in the poll. They were followed by Colorado School of Mines, which received the remaining first-place vote and scored 20 points. Simon Fraser University was picked third in the poll, followed by Oklahoma Christian, Texas Permian Basin, and Adams State.

Women's Poll
Colorado Mesa University women's swimming and diving team is the unanimous favorite to win the 2025-26 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference women's swimming and diving championship as selected in the league's preseason coaches' poll, which was released Thursday in conjunction with the 2025-26 All-RMAC Women's Swimming & Diving Preseason Team.

Colorado Mesa, the defending and seven-time RMAC champion, received all eight possible first-place votes and 64 points in the poll. Simon Fraser University, which received the remaining first-place vote and six second-place votes, was picked second with 56 points. Colorado School of Mines received three second-place votes and three third-place votes to finish with 49 points and a third-place spot in the poll.

Oklahoma Christian was picked fourth, followed by Western Colorado and Colorado State University Pueblo in the middle of the nine-team poll. Nebraska-Kearney, Texas-Permian Basin, and Adams State round out the preseason poll.

2024-25 Season Recap:
In Head Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving Coach Brian Schroeder's first season in 2024-25, the UTPB men's swimming & diving team was 6-1 in dual meets to go along with wins at the Hendrix Relays and the Hendrix Classic. The Falcons' women's team, meanwhile, was 3-4 in dual meets while finishing second at the Hendrix Classic.

Following a double dual meet against McMurry University and Austin College in the final action of the Fall season, sophomore Colin Doyle was named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Men's Swimmer of the Week while senior Kathe Hepfer earned the RMAC Women's Diver of the Week award. This was the first time in program history that a swimmer from the UTPB men's or women's swimming & diving programs had been recognized by the RMAC with a weekly award. It was also the first time UTPB earned two RMAC awards in the same week in program history.

Throughout five days of competition at the 2024-25 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championship in Grand Junction, Colorado, the UTPB men's team finished fifth out of six teams while the UTPB women finished eighth out of nine teams. The Falcons earned four All-RMAC honors. Leading the way was freshman Brendan Twomey of the men's diving team, who earned two second-team all-conference honors on the diving boards. The men's 200 freestyle relay team – Colin Doyle, Leo Eleftherakis, Daniel Bednarski and Nathan Powell - was also second-team all-conference. In addition, junior Emma Gerhart from the women's swimming & diving team was named First Team Academic All-RMAC.

UTPB also continued its tradition of qualifying divers for the NCAA pre-qualifying meet as senior Kathe Hepfer and junior Camilla Aguilar participated in the 2025 NCAA DII Women's Swimming & Diving Championship Diving Qualification Meet in Indianapolis, Indiana. In the 1-meter event, Hepfer was 44th with a total score of 152.20 while Aguilar was 45th with a total score of 142.85. In the 3-meter dive, Aguilar was 38th with a total score of 180.45 while Hepfer was right behind her in 39th with a score of 180.25.

The Falcons had success last year not just in the pool, but also in the classroom, as they had five athletes earn Academic All-District honors. Evan Siegrist, Owen Putnam, Chase Alderman, Nathan Powell and Emma Gerhart were each picked for the 2024-25 Academic All-District® Team, selected by College Sports Communicators. In addition, both the UTPB men and women's swimming & diving teams earned College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America Team honors during each semester.

Key Returners
Notable returners on the men's side for UTPB include senior Owen Putnam, senior Owen Ward, redshirt senior Taven Wilson-Kadrmas (diving), junior Chase Alderman, junior Colin Doyle, junior Tommy Betancour, junior Zane Garner, junior David Charles, and sophomore Brannan Espericueta. The women's side will be led by senior Erika Hajduk, redshirt junior Camilla Aguilar (diving), sophomore Rowan McWhorter, sophomore Alondra Ortiz, and sophomore Gia Delgado.

At the 2024-25 RMAC Championship, Owen Putnam finished eighth in the 200 butterfly (1:55.81), 11th in the 400 IM (4:03.96) and 12th in the 200 IM (1:53.81); Colin Doyle was ninth in the 100 butterfly (50.09) and 12th in the 100 freestyle (47.16); Chase Alderman finished 14th in the 200 breaststroke (2:10.49), 15th in the 100 breaststroke (58.38) and 16th in the 200 IM (1:55.66); Zane Garner was 13th in the 100 backstroke (51.98); David Charles finished 15th in the 200 butterfly (2:02.31); Tommy Betancour was 16th in both the 100 butterfly (51.47) and the 200 butterfly (2:03.75); Owen Ward finished 16th in the 100 freestyle (48.26); and in diving, Taven Wilson-Kadrmas finished fifth in the 1-meter dive (308.95). On the women's side, Rowan McWhorter finished ninth in the 200 IM (2:09.52) and 15th in the 100 breaststroke (1:07.23) while Camilla Aguilar finished seventh in both the 1-meter dive (342.60) and the 3-meter dive (398.35).

Opening Weekend
The UTPB men's and women's swimming & diving teams will open their respective seasons this weekend at Oklahoma Christian University in Edmond, Oklahoma. On Friday, September 26, at 6:30 p.m., the men's team will take on OC in a dual meet with the women's team competes with OC and Nebraska-Kearney in a tri-meet. All teams will then return to the pool on Saturday, February 27, for the Sam Freas Invitational at 12 p.m.