Alex de la Peña has joined the Seahawks’ coaching staff as assistant coach for both the men’s and women’s teams, according to the announcement made by UNCW head swimming and diving coach Jason Memont on October 21.
De la Peña comes to Wilmington from Providence, Rhode Island, where he spent the last year as assistant swim coach of the men’s and women’s teams at Brown. After longtime Brown head coach Peter Brown announced his retirement in early July, and the athletic department subsequently announced it was splitting the men’s and women’s programs and hiring new coaches, de la Peña effectively wore four hats until they filled the empty positions.
UNCW put out a press release today, quoting UNCW head coach Memont: “Alex brings a wealth of college coaching experience and will immediately help us with his knowledge of training methods. He also will be a huge asset in recruiting and organizational skills. Alex is known for his work ethic which will be extremely important for us to continue the tradition of success at Wilmington.”
From 2011 through 2013 de la Peña was the head swimming and diving coach at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. His men’s and women’s teams both earned third-place finishes at the 2013 Midwest Conference Championships. One of his athletes won a conference title that year, and during his two seasons at the helm 23 earned All-Midwest Conference honors and 88 recorded top-10 times. Prior to his time at Monmouth, de la Peña served as assistant coach at Oberlin College and graduate assistant at St. Lawrence University.
