On Friday, Southern Methodist University Women’s Swimming and Diving announced the hiring of Lisa Ginder as an assistant coach. The hire comes after the team announced last month that Alice McCall, a program alumna who had joined the staff at the start of the 2025-26 season, was leaving the program.
“Coach Lisa Ginder is a proven recruiter, developer, and leader. Her understanding of building relationships, developing athletes, and creating a championship culture makes her an incredible addition to SMU Women’s Swimming & Diving,” said head coach Ozzie Quevedo in the university’s press release.
Ginder comes to SMU from Colorado State, where she has served on staff for the past seven years, four as an assistant coach, three as an associate head coach, and throughout as recruiting coordinator. While with the women’s-only program, she coached the distance freestyle and 400 IM groups and produced several All-Mountain West honorees. The school most recently placed eighth out of 11 teams at the 2026 Mountain West Conference Championships, though she helped the team to a third-place finish in 2023-24, the program’s best since 2002.
Before arriving at CSU, Ginder spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Fordham University, and prior to that began her coaching career as a graduate assistant at Bryant University for two seasons.
Ginder graduated from the University of Denver in 2014, having swam all four years with the program. She helped the Pioneers win back-to-back Sunbelt Conference titles in 2011 and 2012, and won an individual conference title in the 500 free in 2009.
The SMU women placed 14th out of 15 teams at the 2026 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championships in February.
Ginder joins a SMU women’s coaching staff that includes:
- Ozzie Quevedo, Head Coach
- Darian Schmidt, Head Diving Coach
- Mike Bottom, Assistant Coach
- Montserrat Lavenant, Graduate Assistant Coach
- Andrea Podmanikova, Graduate Assistant Coach
A brilliant hire! This coach will get it done.
Great hire for the Mustangs! The program historically has been very elite and Ginder brings not just a lot of experience but the energy and ability to connect with the athletes that this team is needing. She is going to be such an asset!
I think our definition of very elite is very different
The team finished top 8 at NCAAs every year in the 90s, including 2nd in 1996. I assume that’s what OP is referring to.
SMU actually has a very proud swimming history going back decades. They definitely have slipped some since the 90’s when they had some really stout swimmers on both sides, but you talk to swimmers from the 90’s and earlier and they are very proud, and rightfully so, to have represented SMU. Watching those 90’s teams was so much fun.