Oakland University

Mitch Alters joined the Golden Grizzlies men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs in July 2021 as the associate head coach. Alters joined Oakland after spending three seasons at the University of Richmond. Prior to his time with the spiders, Alters spent two years as a graduate assistant at the University of Arkansas and was a four-year letterwinner for the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies of the Horizon League. Alters helped lead Richmond back to an Atlantic 10 Championship during the 2020-21 season. In one of the most unprecedented seasons in history, the Spiders brought home the Atlantic 10 Championship trophy in convincing fashion, scoring 687.5 points, the most points for a winning team since Richmond won during the 2012-13 season (737.00). Freshman Alexa Connors earned Richmond's 14th Atlantic 10 Most Outstanding Rookie Performer award. Overall, the 2020-21 team earned 13 individual All-Time Top 10 times, and broke three school records. Lauren Medlin is now Richmond's top 100 freestyle performer, finishing first in the meet with a 49.61 time. Claire O'Shaughnessy broke the school record becoming the first Spider to crack the 2-minute mark in the 200 fly at 1:59.53. The quartet of Medlin, Maggie Purcell, Katelyn Pennell and O'Shaughnessy took down a record that had stood for a decade in the 400 freestyle relay, finishing at 3:21.03, 0.07 seconds faster than the record set in 2011. Four of five relay teams brought home medals, led by the 400 freestyle relay team's school record. Purcell earned a pair of gold medals, taking first in the 200 IM (2:00.17) and defended her title in the 200 breaststroke (2:13.70). Medlin's school record in the 100 freestyle also brought home gold. The 200 medley relay, the 800 freestyle relay and the 400 medley relays all brought in silver medals. Connors had a pair of individual silvers in the 500 freestyle (4:50.92) and the 1650 freestyle (16:41.62). Fellow freshman Pennell added a silver in the 200 backstroke (1:58.20). Richmond brought home six bronze medals as part of its championship effort. Purcell took third in the 400 IM (4:18.14), Medlin in the 50 freestyle (23.30), O'Shaughnessy in the 100 (54.83) and 200 butterfly (1:59.53). Sara Greene took third in the 100 breaststroke (1:01.84) and Pennell in the 100 backstroke (54.80) During the 2019-20 season, Alters helped the Spiders earn a fourth-place finish at the Atlantic 10 Championships at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio. Alters saw the Spiders finish with 11 medalists in the conference meet and had five relays earn medals. He worked with senior Hannah Gouger as she took first in both the 100 and 200 backstroke events, becoming the first person in A-10 history to win both backstroke competitions in all four years of eligibility and the third person all-time to win two events in all four years of competition. Sophomore Maggie Purcell had a highly decorated season with Alters' tutelage. Purcell was named the Atlantic 10 Performer of the Week three times during the season, and took first in the 200 breaststroke event at the Atlantic 10 Championships, turning in a time of 2:12.84, second-best all-time at the University of Richmond. Gouger's two backstroke times, Purcell's 200 breaststroke and Jordan Kohut in the 100 backstroke, the Spiders had four times earn an NCAA B Cut. Alters also played a pivotal role in recruiting as two of his freshman etched their names into the Spider All-Time Top 10. Lauren Medlin is currently sixth in program history in the 100 freestyle and Claire O'Shaughnessy currently sits ninth all-time in the 100 butterfly. In Alter's first year with the Spiders, Richmond had four competitors qualify for NCAA events at the end of the regular season. Three divers in Alex Beran, Maddy Chao and Sydney Weiskopf qualified for NCAA Zone Diving in Annapolis. Hannah Gouger set a new school and A-10 Conference record in the 200-backstroke, finishing with a time of 1:53.56 at the UNC Last Chance meet and becoming one of just seven Spiders to qualify for the NCAA Championships meet in Austin, Texas. Gouger went on to qualify for the Olympic Trials at the TYR Pro Series after swimming a 1:02.39 time in the 100-backstroke. Richmond finished in fourth place at the Atlantic 10 Championships in Ohio. Gouger has now set the school record in the 200-backstroke in each of her first three seasons as a Spider. Gouger was named the A-10 Championships Most Outstanding Performer after winning the 100 and 200-backstroke events with NCAA qualifying times as well as meet and A-10 records, finished in third place in the 50-freestyle and appeared on four relay teams at the A-10 meet. The Swim and Dive team was one of just six Spider programs to earn the NCAA Public Recognition awards for APR Success after finishing the year in the top 10 percent of their sports in the most recent Academic Progress Rates (APR). At Oakland University, Alters was twice selected as a team captain and the Golden Grizzlies won their conference championship all four seasons. He was a College Swimming Coaches Association of America All-American Honorable Mention in 2016 and he won the Horizon League in the 200 Fly. Alters was a Horizon League Academic All-Conference honoree and was named to Horizon League Fall Honor Roll three times. As a graduate assistant at Arkansas, Alters oversaw and conducted workouts for the team and individual training groups, working with sprint, stroke and distance during the season with a focus on the sprint group. He also planned official and unofficial visits as well as coordinating team travel and compliance management. While in Fayetteville, Alters also worked with the Aquahawgs Razorback Aquatic Club as an assistant coach, where he worked with swimmers of all ages, focusing on technique and training habits. He also helped coach the senior level group during a transition phase for coaching at the senior level. Other coaching opportunities including working as an assistant swim coach and swim instructor at Canton City Schools, Starting Line Health and Fitness and Heart of the Hills.

Oakland University Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving and Head Coach Pete Hovland have announced the addition of Darin Abbasse to the coaching staff. "Having Darin back on deck and on my staff is a win-win for our student-athletes. His wealth of knowledge and the experience he will bring will be a tremendous asset to me and the program. Being a former swimmer and assistant coach of mine, Darin's transition should be seamless. I can't wait to get started," said Hovland. Abbasse comes to Oakland following a stint as the Head Swimming Coach for Liquid Lightning Swimming Club in Lake Orion, emphasizing technique and endurance for optimal performance. All-in-all, Abbasse brings over 37 years of experience to the staff. "I am very excited to join the OU Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving coaching staff and look forward to working with a great group of athletes. I'm grateful and thankful to Coach Hovland for the opportunity to join his outstanding staff and to continue the OU swimming and diving championship tradition," said Abbasse. Prior to Liquid Lighting, Abbasse worked for 23 years as a Lake Orion Community Schools Administrator to meet the needs of classroom environments and help lead the school district in curriculum development. With 37 years of experience in the water, Abbasse has coached three MHSAA league championship titles and several top five finishes at the MHSAA State Finals while with Birmingham Groves High School before moving on to Lake Orion. Student-athletes under Abbasse's tenure have churned out All-League, All-State, and All-America honors in both athletics and academics. Abbasse's wife, Dana, swam for Oakland as an NCAA champion and multi All-American while the couple's daughter, Kirstyn, is a recent OU graduate and was a part of four Horizon League Swimming & Diving championships plus granted the captain role her senior year.

Oakland University Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving along with Head Coach Mitch Alters announced the addition of Molly Hebzynski as Assistant Coach to the Golden Grizzlies' program. "The addition of Molly to our staff is a huge gain for our team, department, and campus. Her strong ability to communicate and passion for the sport was evident in the hiring process," said Alters, "I look forward to watching her work with our student-athletes and build upon our success here at OU." Hebzynski comes to Oakland from the University of Northern Colorado where she was a volunteer assistant coach while completing her Master's after a stellar swim career of her own at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, her home state. "I am beyond excited to be joining the staff at Oakland University," said Hebzynski, "The program has a rich history of tradition and excellence. After my initial call with Head Coach Mitch Alters, I knew it was the place for me. There is so much community and pride in being a Golden Grizzly and I'm honored to be a part of it. I'm looking forward to working with the fantastic student-athletes, staff, and administration." The Golden Bears finished third in the WAC Championships last February in Pharr, Texas with five top-three performances as Hebzynski aided in overseeing a team that has posted 189 personal bests from blue and gold student-athletes in the 2021-2023 seasons. During that time, Northern Colorado boasted 11 NCAA qualifying standards, 83 swims qualifying for the CSCAA National Championships, and 92 all-time marks in program history. Hebzynski spent two years after graduating from St. Cloud State working as a Marketing Coordinator in Minneapolis before returning to the pool deck full-time as Head Developmental Coach at Minnetonka Swim Club, before making her way to the University of Northern Colorado. "I also want to express my appreciation to the Northern Colorado coaching staff and athletes for providing me with a wonderful two years and creating an environment that allowed me to grow and thrive as a person and a coach," said Hebzynski. Hebzynski graduated from UNC in 2023 with a Master's in Sport and Exercise Science, Social Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity to capitalize off a Bachelor's in Mass Communication Advertising from St. Cloud State University in 2017.