UNLV has hired Mikaela Macklin, a former Mountain West Conference Swimmer of the Year, as their new assistant coach.
Macklin just graduated from San Diego State earlier this year, and quickly jumped into the coaching ranks. She was named the 2013 MWC Swimmer of the Year after winning conference titles in the 200 breaststroke, 200 IM, and 400 IM.
From competitor to coach, the UNLV men (but not women) compete in the same conference in which Macklin starred for four years. UNLV will not face San Diego State in the regular season this year, nor did they last year. In the 2012-2013 season, though, an early year match-up saw Macklin win the 200 fly, 200 breast, and 200 IM as SDSU rolled through the Rebels. The final score showed only a three-point margin, but San Diego State exhibitioned four of the meet’s 16 events.
Now, she’ll flip around and hope to bring the UNLV women some of that same success. UNLV graduated their two women’s NCAA qualifiers from last year’s team, Katelyn Herrington and Rachel Dixon. The men’s team, however, returns most of their NCAA squad that finished 19th – including All-American sprinter Dillon Virva, who was a 19.19 in-season.
They return three of the four legs of their 15th-place 400 medley relay last year, and all three of those returning legs will be just juniors. The one leg they will have to replace is the breaststroke leg – but there they bring in German swimmer Yannick Lindenberg, who has been an impressive 1:01.7 in the long course 100 breaststroke already.
The spot that Macklin was hired for was opened up when assistant Lisa Childers left the program after last season.
UNLV’s 2014-2015 schedule is below:
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2014-2015 SCHEDULE
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| Date | Opponent / Event | Location | Time / Result |
| 10/24/14 | vs. 35th Annual Alumni Meet | Las Vegas | 11:00 AM PT |
| 11/01/14 | vs. Arizona | Las Vegas | 2:00 PM PT |
| vs. Utah | Las Vegas | 2:00 PM PT | |
| 11/07/14 | vs. Denver | Las Vegas | 4:00 PM PT |
| 11/08/14 | vs. BYU | Las Vegas | 12:00 PM PT |
| Mizzou Invitational | |||
| 11/20/14 | Day 1 (Mizzou Invite.) | Columbia, Mo. | All Day |
| 11/21/14 | Day 2 (Mizzou Invite.) | Columbia, Mo. | All Day |
| 11/22/14 | Day 3 (Mizzou Invite.) | Columbia, Mo. | All Day |
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| Arizona Diving Invitational | |||
| 11/21/14 | Day 1 (Arizona Diving Invite.) | Tucson, Ariz. | All Day |
| 11/22/14 | Day 2 (Arizona Diving Invite.) | Tucson, Ariz. | All Day |
| 11/23/14 | Day 3 (Arizona Diving Invite.) | Tucson, Ariz. | All Day |
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| 12/06/14 | vs. Arizona State | Las Vegas | 12:00 PM PT |
| UNLV Winter Invitational | |||
| 12/13/14 | Day 1 (UNLV Winter Invite.) | Las Vegas | All Day |
| 12/14/14 | Day 2 (UNLV Winter Invite.) | Las Vegas | All Day |
| 12/15/14 | Day 3 (UNLV Winter Invite.) | Las Vegas | All Day |
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| 01/06/15 | at CSU Bakersfield | Bakersfield, Calif. | 1:00 PM PT |
| 01/17/15 | vs. UC Santa Barbara | Las Vegas | 11:00 AM PT |
| 01/24/15 | vs. Air Force | Las Vegas | 12:00 PM PT |
| Air Force Diving Invitational | |||
| 01/30/15 | Day 1 (Air Force Diving Invite.) | Colorado Springs, Colo. | All Day |
| 01/31/15 | Day 2 (Air Force Diving Invite.) | Colorado Springs, Colo. | All Day |
| 02/01/15 | Day 3 (Air Force Diving Invite.) | Colorado Springs, Colo. | All Day |
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| 01/31/15 | vs. Wyoming | Las Vegas | 12:00 PM PT |
| Mountain West Championships | |||
| 02/18/15 | Day 1 (Mountain West Champ.) | San Antonio, Texas | All Day |
| 02/19/15 | Day 2 (Mountain West Champ.) | San Antonio, Texas | All Day |
| 02/20/15 | Day 3 (Mountain West Champ.) | San Antonio, Texas | All Day |
| 02/21/15 | Day 4 (Mountain West Champ.) | San Antonio, Texas | All Day |
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| WAC Championships | |||
| 02/25/15 | Day 1 (WAC Champ.) | San Antonio, Texas | All Day |
| 02/26/15 | Day 2 (WAC Champ.) | San Antonio, Texas | All Day |
| 02/27/15 | Day 3 (WAC Champ.) | San Antonio, Texas | All Day |
| 02/28/15 | Day 4 (WAC Champ.) | San Antonio, Texas | All Day |
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| 03/01/15 | vs. Women’s Last Chance Meet | Austin, Texas | All Day |
| NCAA Diving Regionals | |||
| 03/05/15 | Day 1 (NCAA Diving Reg.) | TBA | All Day |
| 03/06/15 | Day 2 (NCAA Diving Reg.) | TBA | All Day |
| 03/07/15 | Day 3 (NCAA Diving Reg.) | TBA | All Day |
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| 03/08/15 | vs. Men’s Last Chance Meet | Seattle, Wash. | All Day |
| NCAA Women’s Championships | |||
| 03/19/15 | Day 1 (NCAA Women’s Champ.) | Greensboro, N.C. | All Day |
| 03/20/15 | Day 2 (NCAA Women’s Champ.) | Greensboro, N.C. | All Day |
| 03/21/15 | Day 3 (NCAA Women’s Champ.) | Greensboro, N.C. | All Day |
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| NCAA Men’s Championships | |||
| 03/26/15 | Day 1 (NCAA Men’s Champ.) | Iowa City, Iowa | All Day |
| 03/27/15 | Day 2 (NCAA Men’s Champ.) | Iowa City, Iowa | All Day |
| 03/28/15 | Day 3 (NCAA Men’s Champ.) | Iowa City, Iowa | All Day |
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Strange comment, Swim. Everyone starts somewhere! This was posted as an entry level job. She was smart to accept a position on this much improved program. GO Rebels!!
Unfortunately, having to have one female on staff typically leads to situations like this. I’m not saying Mikaela doesn’t deserve the job, she may have been the best fit. But in a lot of situations, female coaches can get hired with less experience than male coaches because there needs to be a female on staff.
Someone with little to no experience gets the job.