Lindenwood University Men's Swimming

Owen is entering his fifth season as the head coach of the Lindenwood men's and women's swimming and diving teams in 2016-17.  Owen has needed just four seasons to turn Lindenwood into one of the top swimming programs in NCAA Division II. In just three years of eligibility for the national championships, the Lions and Lady Lions have qualified 63 individuals for nationals, and 60 have returned with All-American or honorable mention accolades. Lindenwood has won six individual national championships, and the program has six top-20 team finishes, four top-10 team finishes, and two top-five team finishes. Owen has led Lindenwood to two mens swimming and diving conference championships, and the two programs have combined to set 41 school records. In 2015-16, the Lindenwood mens swimming team made school history by finishing second at the national championship, the best finish for any sport at Lindenwood at the NCAA level. The womens team also continued to improve by finishing ninth at nationals. Serghei Golban won three individual national titles, and also broke the NCAA Division II record in the 50 free. Eleven men swimmers were All-Americans and three were honorable mention All-American. Five womens swimmers earned All-American honors and seven were honorable mention.   At the RMAC Championships, the womens team was runner-up while the mens team finished third. Alecia McGillivray was the RMAC Swimmer of the Meet and the RMAC Swimmer of the Year. Cristian Vasquez was the RMAC Freshman of the Year and Owen was named the Mens Coach of the Year. Both the mens and womens teams won seven RMAC titles, and a total of 29 swimmers earned all-conference honors.   In the classroom, the womens team received the RMAC Brechler Award for having the highest team GPA in the conference. Felix Eigel was named the RMAC Male Athlete of the Year and Trisha Ishikawa won the RMAC Summit Award. A total of six swimmers were RMAC first-team All-Academic, and 17 others were mentioned on the RMAC Honor Roll. In 2014-15, both teams earned top-10 finishes at the NCAA Division II National Championships, including a third-place showing for the mens team. Lindenwood also captured its first NCAA Individual National Championships with womens swimmer Alecia McGillivray winning two titles and mens swimmer Krzysztof Jankiewicz winning one championship. Seven womens swimmers earned All-American honors and two others earned honorable mention All-American awards. Eight mens swimmers earned All-American accolades, and four men were honorable mention. At the conference level in 2015, Lindenwood joined the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The mens team won the conference championship by 180 points, and the womens team came in third. Owen was named the RMAC Coach of the Year, and he coached the RMAC Mens Swimmer of the Meet. Lindenwood won 14 individual conference championships and 27 swimmers and divers earned all-conference honors. Four Lindenwood swimmers and divers earned 2015 RMAC first-team all-academic awards, and 15 were named to the RMAC Honor Roll. Maike Tweesman and Matthew Wagner both won the RMAC Summit Award for having the highest GPA at the conference championship event. In his second season at Lindenwood, the mens team won the New South Intercollegiate Swim Conference Championship, the first conference title for the Lindenwood swimming program. Both teams had a top-20 finish at the 2014 NCAA Division II National Championships in their first seasons of eligibility.   The Lindenwood mens team won the NSISC Championship by over 70 points over the host school, Delta State. Owen was named the NSISC Swimming Coach of the Year after helping Lindenwood win 12 of the 21 events at the competition, and having 11 swimmers and divers earn all-NSISC honors.   Eight members of the mens program advanced to the NCAA Division II National Championships, where the Lions finished in 12th-place. Sylwester Borowicz-Skoneczny earned All-American honors, and the other seven were all honorable mention All-American.   On the womens side in 2013-14, the Lady Lions finished second at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championships, just 30 points shy of the leader. Lindenwood won 10 titles and 13 swimmers and divers earned all-conference honors. Alecia McGillivray was named the NSIC Swimmer of the Meet and NSIC Freshman of the Year. Owen won another conference Coach of the Year honor.   Six members of the womens team earned spots at nationals. McGillivray earned three All-American awards and Kyleight Troxel was also a NCAA All-American. Three others earned honorable mention All-American honors, and Lindenwood finished 18th overall.   Off the pool, Lindenwood also excelled in 2013-14. The mens team was named a CSCAA Team Scholar program after posting an all-time best GPA of 3.26 during the fall semester. The womens program earned that award for both the fall and spring semesters, including a program-best GPA of 3.44 in the spring. In Owens first season at Lindenwood in 2012-13, the mens team finished second at the season-ending NSIC Invitational and Ramunas Paknys was named the Swimmer of the Meet at that competition. The womens team was fifth at the NSIC Championship and Michelle Bell was named the NSIC Diver of The Year. Owen came to Lindenwood after spending four years at Drury University as an assistant coach. During his time at Drury, Owen helped the Panther mens and womens swimming and diving programs become a preeminent national champion contender year in and year out. The Panthers mens team won its eighth consecutive NCAA Division II national championship in Owens final season and the Drury women won three national championships while Owen was at the school. Before moving into the coaching ranks, Owen was a standout swimmer at Drury. He was a four-time letterwinner for the Panthers, and captain of the 2002-03 national championship team. Owen was a 15-time All-American, a national champion in the 1,650 yard freestyle his freshman year, and 800 yard freestyle relay his senior year. After his junior season, he was named Drurys Most Valuable Swimmer. After completing his swimming career for the Panthers he served as a graduate assistant from 2003-05 and earned his masters degree in Business. Owen received his bachelors degree in Exercise Science from Drury in 2003. He was also the head age group coach and coached the senior group for Springfield Aquatics for 10 years. Owen is a native of Cape Girardeau, Mo., and is married to former swimming standout and Drury Athletics Hall of Fame member, Kathleen.  

Lau is entering his sixth season as Lindenwood Universitys assistant mens and womens swimming coach in 2016-17. Last season, Lau was a member of the coaching staff for the mens swimming and diving team which finished second at the national championships, and the womens team which finished ninth. Serghei Golban captured three individual national championships en route to breaking the NCAA record in the 50 free twice, and the two teams combined for 16 All-Americans and 10 honorable mention All-Americans.   At the RMAC Championships, both teams had top-three conference showings. The Lions and Lady Lions captured a combined 14 conference titles, and 29 swimmers and divers earned all-conference honors.  Cristian Vasquez was named the freshman of the year, Alecia McGillivray was honored as the swimmer of the year, and Felix Eigel earned academic athlete of the year. In 2014-15, Lau helped the mens team finish third at the NCAA Championships, and the womens program improved to tenth at nationals. Lindenwood captured the first three NCAA Individual National Championships in program history, 15 swimmers and divers earned All-American honors, six earned honorable mention All-American accolades, and Krzysztof Jankiewicz also set a new NCAA division II record in the 100 backstroke. At the conference level in 2014-15, the mens team won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), and the womens team came in third. Lindenwood won 14 individual conference championships and 27 swimmers and divers earned all-conference honors. The mens and womens programs saw 14 Lions qualify for the NCAA Division II National Championships during their first official NCAA Division II season in 2013-14. The Lions and Lady Lions collected five All-American distinctions and 30 honorable mention All-American nods. Throughout the season, all 19 womens swimming school records were broken, in addition to 16 records that were broken by the mens squad.   The mens program finished 12th at nationals and captured the New South Intercollegiate Swimming Conference Championship. This was the first NCAA conference championship in program history.    The womens program finished 18th at the national championships and it was runner-up at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.  At NSIC Championship, Alecia McGillivray was selected as the Swimmer of the Meet and Freshman of the Year.  In 2012-13, the mens team finished second at the season-ending Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championships and Ramunas Paknys was named the Swimmer of the Meet. During the summer, Paknys was named to Lithuanias World University Games Team and competed in Kazan, Russia. The womens team finished fifth at the NSIC Championship and Michelle Bell was named the NSIC Diver of The Year. The mens and womens programs set 25 school records during this final year of transition from the NAIA to the NCAA Division II level. In 2011-12, the mens team won the Liberal Arts Championship and the womens squad was runner-up at that competition. The two programs swept the four Swimmer and Diver of the Meet awards while setting 17 championship records at the teams biggest competition of the season.   During the 2008-09 season, Lau was an undergraduate assistant coach for the mens and womens swimming teams at Lindenwood, working as the primary coach for the individual medley specialized athletes. From August 2009 to March 2011, Lau served as a graduate assistant coach at Lindenwood and worked closely with the individual medley, middle-distance, and distance swimmers, while helping the mens team to third place finishes at the NAIA National Championships in 2010 and 2011. During this period, Laus athletes broke a total of 64 school records. His swimmers gathered nine NAIA All-American distinctions and collected three individual national championships.   Lau was a student-athlete for the Lions from 2004-08. He was a six-time NAIA All-American and was a member of Lindenwoods first national championship relay in the 400 medley in 2006. Lau was the first athlete in program history to earn All-American honors during all four years of eligibility. He served as the mens team captain from 2005 to 2008 and formerly held school records in the 100 & 200 fly, 200 IM, 200 & 400 medley relay, and 200 free relay. In the summer of 2011 and 2013 to 2016, Lau served as an assistant coach at the University of Texas at Austins Longhorn Swim Camp. He had the opportunity to work alongside the nations top coaches as well as Olympic Coach Eddie Reese and Carol Capitani. Lau also was able to work closely with Olympic gold medalists and former world record holders, Ian Crocker, Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Ricky Berens, and Garrett Weber-Gale. Lau earned his Bachelor of Science in Biology from Lindenwood in 2009. He also earned his Master of Science in Health Management from Lindenwood in 2010 and Master of Business Administration degree in 2012. He is certified with the American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) as a Level 4 coach.    An avid US Masters swimmer, Lau is a 2-time national champion in the 400 IM (24-29 age group, 2013) & 100 fly (30-34, 2016).  He is married to his wife Amanda, who is also a Lindenwood Swimming alumnus.

Pape is in his fourth season as the Lindenwood diving coach in 2016-17.   In 2015-16, Pape had three divers qualify for the national meet. On the womens side, Carleen Wayne and Shelby Werkema both qualified and earned All-American honors, with Wayne coming in fourth in the one-meter dive and Werkema finishing eighth in the three-meter dive. Schlyer Hohenberger had two top-10 finishes, including being an All-American in the three-meter event by finishing fifth.   At the RMAC Championships, four womens divers and three mens divers scored at the meet, and three divers earned all-RMAC accolades. Hohenberger and Wayne both had a runner-up showing. In 2014-15, Pape had three divers qualify for the NCAA Division II National Championships. David Cochran just missed All-American honors by finishing ninth in both the one-meter and three-meter diving events. Hohenberger also scored for the mens team in the one-meter event. On the womens side, Waynes best finish was 18th in the one-meter dive.  At the RMAC Championships in 2014-15, Wayne was RMAC runner-up in the one-meter dive, and third in the three-meter event. Cochran led the mens team with third-place showings in both events. Hohenberger and Werkema were also all-conference divers.   Pape led Lindenwoods divers to great success in his first season in 2013-14. Lindenwood advanced four divers to the NCAA Division II National Championship in the programs first season of eligibility for that event and all four earned honorable mention All-American honors. On the mens side, Cochran finished ninth in the three-meter dive and 13th in the one-meter dive, and Hohenberger also scored in the three-meter dive. For the Lindenwood women, Werkema was tenth in the one-meter dive and 14th in the three-meter dive, and Wayne was 13th in the one-meter dive.   At the conference level, Cochran swept the diving events at the NSISC Championships. Cochran was named the Diver of the Meet and Pape was awarded the NSISC Diving Coach of the Year award. At the womens conference championships, Wayne had top-five finishes in both diving events at the NSIC Championships.   Pape came to St. Charles after coaching one season at NCAA Division III Augsburg. He helped initiate the first official diving season in that schools history. Prior to Augsburg, he was a graduate assistant coach for two seasons at NCAA Division I South Dakota. Pape coached nine conference finalist at South Dakota as well as coaching numerous pool-record breaking performances. Pape was an all-conference and national qualifying diver at St. Cloud State from 2004-08. He was a five-time conference finalist and had a best showing of 15th on the three-meter dive at the national championship. Pape, who is originally from Bismarck, N.D., received his bachelors degree from St. Cloud State in elective studies, and earned his masters from South Dakota in Kinesiology and Sport Science.