JOE DYKSTRA
HEAD COACH OF SWIMMING AND DIVING 

The Utah swimming and diving teams have had an impressive first five seasons under head coach Joe Dykstra. 

Last season, Utah broke a pair of relay records on the men's side as Dykstra sent his largest Ute contingent to the NCAA Championships. In the 200 medley Paul Ungur, Jack Burton, Ben Scott and Rodolfo Moreira swam a time of 1:24.46 in the morning's preliminaries. In the finals, they finished with a time of 1:24.59 to become the first Utah relay team to earn All-American status since 1975.

In the 200 free relay, Ungur, Moreira, Liam O'Haimhirgin and Austin Phillips finished with a time of 1:17.94 to set a new program standard. Ungur was also a standout at the Pac-12 Championships, capturing the 100 back, setting a new school record and becoming the first individual medalist at the conference event (third in program history). 

Ungur, Burton, Scott and O'Haimhirgin would also smash the school record in the 400 medley relay. and for the second year in a row, Scott broke the school record in the 200 fly at the annual Pac-12 event.

On the women's side, Jordan Anderson reached the NCAA Championships for the first time, competing in the 400 IM and 200 fly. She set the school record in the 400 IM at the Pac-12 Championships while teammate Sarah Lott did the same in the 200 back.The Utah women had a 3.46 grade point average during the 2018 spring semester after recording a 3.49 GPA in the fall of 2017, its highest mark since 2010. This was the 11th-straight semester the Utes earned a team academic award from the CSCAA. Utah had seven CSCAA Scholar All-Americans and placed 14 swimmers on the Pac-12 All-Academic Teams

The Utah men's team had a 3.11 grade point average, ranking third among Pac-12 schools. The Utes had six student-athletes named to the Pac-12 All-Academic First Team in 2018, most in the conference. It also placed a program record 12 student-athletes on the CSCAA Scholar All-American team.

Dykstra is also heavily involved with the NCAA Swimming & Diving Committee and in his fourth year, is serving as the committee chair.

In 2017, Stina Colleou made her fourth trip to the NCAA Championships, while Genny Robertson made it for a second straight season. 
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Colleou and Robertson both competed in the 100 and 200 breast. Colleou qualified in the 200 breast with a time of 2:09.90, which she set at the beginning of the season at the Ohio State Invitational. Her time was the seventh fastest in the Pac-12 and ranked in the top 30 in the nation. At the 2016 NCAA Championships, she finished 25th in the 200 breast with a time of 2:10.36, fourth among Pac-12 swimmers in the event. 

Robertson's time of 2:10.33 in the 200 breast tied for 34th in the nation and was a top-10 time in Pac-12 competition. She placed 34th in the 200 breast at the 2016 NCAA's with a time of 2:11.79.

The three other competitors were all men making their first trips to the event, Ungur swam in the 100 back as well as the 50 free. In the 100 back, he qualified with his time of 45.69, which he set at the Pac-12 Championships earlier this month. His time was the fourth fastest in the Pac-12 and the 18th fastest in the nation. 

Daniel McArthur also swam in the 100 and 200 back. His time of 1:41.66 in the 200 back ranked in the top 30 for the NCAA and was an NCAA 'B' cut consideration time.

Joining McArthur in the 200 back was Austin Phillips. He also competed in the 200 free and 200 IM. His time of 1:34.20, which he set at the 2017 Pac-12 Championships, ranked in the top-10 in Pac-12 competition.Utah concluded another solid year in 2016 with a pair of All-American nods and then sent eight swimmers and two divers to the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, two swimmers to the Canadian Olympic Team Trials and two swimmers to the European Aquatics Championships.

Bence Kiraly along with divers Purss and Jacob Crayne competed at the NCAA Championships. Kiraly finished 12th during the prelims in the 500 free with a time of 4:15.77, just two-hundredths of a second off his time at the Pac-12 Championships. In the finals, he placed 14th overall with a time of 4:16.74.

Kiraly also placed 30th in the 200 free with a time of 1:35.45. His best time,1:34.65 was .41 seconds off of the school record and ranked seventh in the Pac-12. Kiraly finished with 16 total wins in eight different events

In 2015, the Utes sent 11 student-athletes to the NCAA Championships. The men's side finished 22nd with 40.5 points, the third-best finish (1966, 15th) and the highest point total in Utah school history.
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Kiraly, Nick Soedel and Crayne all earned All-American honors for the Utes in their respective events. Kiraly earned honors in the 500 free where he took 12th with a time of 4:15.20. In prelims, he touched in 4:13.83, breaking Utah's school record of 4:14.67 which he set at the 2014 Pac-12 Championships. Soedel also earned All-American honors when he touched in 12th in the 50 free with a time of 19.44. 

On the women's side, Colleou achieved a time of 2:10.61 in the 200 breast and placed sixth at the 2015 Pac-12 Championships after setting the Utah mark at the 2014 NCAA Championships (2:08.35). Giuliana Gigliotti took seventh in the 50 free at the 2015 Pac-12 Championships, where she recorded her personal-best and Utah's second-fastest mark all-time of 22.28. 

The Utes had four All-Americans, set 29 school records, and had 14 NCAA top 50 times during Dykstra's first year. Utah was ranked in the top 25 throughout the season with both teams finishing in the top 35 at the NCAA Championships. The Utah men started out the season with an upset win over 12th-ranked Arizona.

Highlights from Dykstra's inaugural year include Kersten Merry becoming the first female diver in Utah history to earn All-America honors at NCAA's. She finished ninth on platform. Also earning All-America honors was Traycie Swartz in the 100 free (11th), Colleou in the 200 breast (9th) and Purss on the one-meter (9th). Utah had nine individual qualifiers and eight relay-only qualifiers sent to the NCAA Championships in 2013-14.

At the Pac-12 Championships, Soedel (100 free) and Kiraly (1,650 free) won the first-ever Pac-12 men's swimming titles in school history. Soedel's season-best time in the 100 free of 41.97 was the fourth best in the country in the event this season. Kiraly broke a 25-year old school record in the 200 fly. For the women, Colleou was the top collegiate competitor in the 200 breast event at the US Short Course Nationals, finishing third.

Dykstra, a two-time Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year, spent seven years as the head women's coach at North Texas before coming to Utah. Prior to North Texas he spent six years as the associate head men's and women's coach at Washington from 2001-06. He was also a four-year swimmer for the Huskies.

Dykstra guided North Texas to a runner-up finish at the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Championships, the best finish in school history earning co-Coach of the Year honors. Kimmy Phillips became the first swimmer in North Texas' 15-year history to qualify for the NCAA Championships in 2013. The Mean Green achieved a No. 4 final ranking in the 2013 CollegeSwimming.com mid-major poll, the highest ranking in school history. Dykstra, who was also the Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year in 2008, led the program to four consecutive third-place finishes from 2009-12. The Mean Green set several school records during his tenure at the school.

In the classroom, North Texas received College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America status every semester from 2007-12. The team posted a 3.62 team GPA in the fall of 2012, the highest among all NCAA Division I swimming and diving teams. 

?As an associate head coach at Washington, Dykstra helped the Huskies to 19th and 25th-place finishes at the 2003 and 2004 NCAA Championships.

In 1999 and 2000, Dykstra served as a graduate assistant coach at Tennessee. The Volunteers finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships both years, during which time he also assisted in coaching an Olympic gold medal winner and a world record holder.

MICHELE LOWRY
CAMP DIRECTOR & HEAD DISTANCE COACH

Michele Lowry is in her sixth season with the University of Utah swimming and diving team and serves as assistant head coach/head distance coach.
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During her second season at Utah, Bence Kiraly finished fourth in the 1650 and 11th in the 500 freestyle at the NCAA Championships.  Kiraly’s 1650 was the highest placing swim for the Utes in more than two decades.

In her first season with the Utes, Lowry helped coach Kiraly to Utah's first-ever Pac-12 individual championship in the 1650 free, which he also qualified for the NCAA Championships. She was also instrumental in guiding Sami Zuch to the NCAA Championships in the 1650 free, as well as her setting new school records in both the 1000 and 1650 free events.  
Prior to her move to Salt Lake City, Lowry was an assistant coach at North Texas for three years, where she helped the Mean Green rewrite 36 different school records and capture a second-place finish at the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Swimming and Diving Championships. 
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Under Lowry's tutelage in her final season at UNT, Kimmy Phillips became the first Mean Green swimmer to qualify for the NCAA Championships, where she took 26th in the 1650 freestyle (16:19.26) and 52nd in the 500 freestyle (4:48.61).

Before Phillips, Catia Weickgenant broke the school's 500 Freestyle record four times, as well as setting the Sun Belt Conference record twice, the Mizzou Invite record, and the conference-meet record. Weickgenant also won a Sun Belt weekly award and took gold at the SBC Championships in the 500 Freestyle. 

A native of Hailey, Idaho, Lowry competed for the University of Denver, where she was one of the most accomplished swimmers in the history of the SBC. She qualified for the NCAA Championships as a senior in the 400 IM and the 1650 Freestyle for the Pioneers and was named the SBC's Most Outstanding Female Swimmer in 2008-09.

While at Denver, Lowry set school records in the 400 IM (4:12.99), 1650 Freestyle (16:25.85), 1000 Freestyle (9:55.80), and was a member of the record-breaking 800 Freestyle Relay team.  Lowry is also very involved in the sport of open water swimming, taking multiple athletes to the USA Swimming Open Water National Championships and coaching at the USA Swimming National Open Water Camps.
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Lowry earned a bachelor's degree in management from the University of Denver in 2009, and earned her master's degree in higher education from North Texas in May 2012. She also served as a Student-Athlete Affairs Coordinator at UNT where she was the academic advisor for the men's and women's golf teams during the 2012-13 academic year.

MARIUS ALEKSA
ASSISTANT SWIMMING COACH AND RECRUITING COORDINATOR

Marius Aleksa enters his fourth season as assistant coach of the Utes.

Aleksa made the move to Salt Lake City following a volunteer stint at Ohio State, where he also coached the OSU swim club. Prior to working with the Buckeyes’ squad, Aleksa spent two seasons at Motor City Aquatics in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., where he primarily worked with the senior and national groups.

A University of Chicago alum, Aleksa was a four-year letterwinner for the Maroons’ swim team from 2008-2012. Aleksa finished his four-year career with the Maroons, leaving with five school records and having also won the Mary Jean Mulvaney Award for having the highest student-athlete GPA.
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Aleksa remains inside the school’s all-time top-10 performance lists in both the 50 free and 100 free events.

JOS SMITH
ASSISTANT SWIM COACH

Jos Smith was hired as assistant swim coach in October 2018.

Smith arrived in Salt Lake City after two years as an assistant swim coach and director of recruiting at Pitt. While working with the Panthers, both teams increased their point totals at the ACC Championships, breaking 17 school records last season. In total, nine Panthers advanced to the NCAA Championships

Prior to Pitt, Smith was an assistant swim coach at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. In Wilmington, he coached all of the specialty groups for both the men's and women's teams, primarily headlining the distance squad. He helped coach two conference finalists and a school record setter, in addition to helping with recruiting efforts.

Before joining the Wilmington staff, he served as both a volunteer and assistant coach with the University of Georgia. With the Bulldogs, he assisted the top-ranked women's team and top-five men's team in the country, lending assistance with both recruiting and coaching efforts.

He has also worked with the Athens Bulldog Swim Club, Swim Macon, the Mount de Sales Academy, Swim Macon Management, Inc., Haile Plantation Golf and Country Club and GATOR Swim Camp. 

An accomplished swimmer in his four years at the University of Florida, Smith earned a bachelor's degree in Animal Science in May of 2010. In his time with the Gators he led the team to a second place finish at the SEC Championship and a fifth-place mark at the NCAA Championships.

Individually, he competed in both the SEC Championships and NCAA Championships. Smith was a four-time NCAA All-American, two-time SEC Academic Honor Roll honoree and competed in the 2008 Olympic Trials in the 50 and 100 free. 

TAMI JOHNSON
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS & ALUMNI RELATIONS

Johnson enters her seventh season with the Utes and she begins her fifth season as the Program's Director of Operations & Alumni Relations.

Johnson joined the University of Utah coaching staff as an assistant coach in August 2012. During Johnson's first season with the Utes, she coached the breaststroke and butterfly groups to five individual NCAA `B' cuts and a school record in the 200 breast. She was also part of the 2012-2013 Utah coaching staff that had three individual NCAA qualifiers and set 12 new school records.
 
During the 2013-2014 season, Johnson was part of the staff that saw record-setting performances and one of the most successful seasons in history of the Utah Swimming and Diving program, which included the teams setting 28 new school records, having two Pac-12 Conference individual champions, 17 NCAA participants and four NCAA All-Americans.
 
In the spring of 2014, Johnson transitioned to Director of Operations & Alumni Relations for the program.  During her time in this role, she has led the day-to day team operations, overseen fundraising campaigns, doubled the active swimming and diving alumni base, hosted the China Coaches Program in 2016 and 2018, and presented at the University of Arizona’s inaugural International Sports Diplomacy Conference earlier this year. 

She also enjoys volunteering in the local community and has been involved with the Fisher House, Zane Beadles Golf Tournament, Children's Center Gala and VA Summer Games.

Prior to coming to Utah, Johnson was a Head Age Group Site Coach with the Bluefish Swim Club from 2006-2012. During this time, she enjoyed watching the development of the swimmers and the growth of the site from 5 to 50+.

Johnson also started a Masters group while at Bluefish and worked under USA National Team coach and Bluefish owner, Chuck Batchelor, who has led many swimmers to national and international success.

Johnson grew up swimming for Schroeder YMCA in Brown Deer, Wis., and was a Junior National qualifier as well as part of the team that captured the YMCA Spring National Women's Championship in 1999. She later went on to coach Senior, Age Group, and Masters groups at Schroeder from 2004-2006.

In the summer of 2006, Johnson coached at the Paralympic World Champ Trials in Austin, TX.  She then went on to work with two Paralympic swimmers from 2014-2016.

Johnson swam at Iowa State University and received Academic All-Big 12 honors and graduated 4.0 Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Marketing in 2005.

She enjoys staying active through swimming, biking, and hiking as well as other hobbies such as playing guitar and writing.