DENTON – The University of North Texas named Brittany Roth as interim head coach of the swimming and diving program on Friday. She takes over for Brendon Bray, who accepted the head coaching position at the University of Nevada.
“I am so grateful for the opportunity Brendon Bray gave me three years ago when we came to this team together,” Roth said. “I have appreciated our friendship, and I have learned so much from him; I am so happy for Brendon and his wife, Beth, as they move closer to home in this transition.”
A native of Crawfordsville, Indiana, Roth recently completed her third season as an assistant coach at North Texas, having helped lead the Mean Green to a fourth-place finish at the Conference USA Championships, the best team finish since joining the league for the 2013-14 season.
“I am so excited about stepping into the head coach position, and the confidence and trust the University has shown me throughout this time,” added Roth. “We have a special program here at North Texas, and our student-athletes are not only some of the most talented, hardworking, dedicated people as well as grateful and genuine. I am looking forward to carrying on what Coach Bray and I started here three years ago, and I am excited to enhance the program in ways that I’ve been dreaming about. I am so thankful for this opportunity, and I am excited about what the future brings.”
The league championships capped one of the most successful seasons in school history, as they finished with the second-most dual-meet wins (7-4) and second-best winning percentage (.636) in school history.
Freshman Rebekah Bradley earned all-conference honors in the 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke, including a first-place finish in the 200 backstroke, while sophomore Claudia Kitching earned all-conference honors in the 100 breaststroke and 200 breaststroke.
Prior to North Texas, Roth spent three seasons with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs. She helped coach 31 individual league champions over the course of the three seasons and sent the first-ever female in Horizon League history and the first ever Panther to swim in the NCAA Championships.
Roth was a four-year swimmer at Ball State, where she qualified for the 2006 U.S. Open in the 100 and 200 backstroke, before beginning her coaching career at Frankfort High School in Frankfort, Indiana, where she was the high school boys’ and girls’ swimming and diving head coach, as well as the coach of the USA Swimming Sugar Creek Swim Club Satellite program.
Swimming news courtesy of North Texas Swimming & Diving.
