GREELEY, Colo. - Northern Colorado has named Lisa Ebeling the new head coach of the women's swimming and diving program.
Ebeling arrives at UNC after four seasons as the assistant at Alabama where she helped coach both programs and was the recruiting coordinator for the women's team. In her first season with the Crimson Tide, the women's team enjoyed a standout season in the classroom. After turning in the highest team grade point average in the nation during the fall of 2013, the women's team finished third during the spring semester with a 3.65.
The 2014-15 season was just as impressive at Alabama. Ebeling helped guide a record-shattering season that saw the men's and women's teams break a combined 21 school records, including 19 of 36 swimming records. Both the men and the women made significant moves up the rankings at both the SEC and NCAA Championships.
The 2015-16 season marked another big step forward for the Crimson Tide program on the national stage. With its sixth-place finish in 2016 and 10th-place finish in 2015, the Alabama men's team earned its first back-to-back top-10 NCAA finishes since 1985 and 1986. The women's team took 28th at the 2016 NCAA Championships, its best finish since 2005. The program also had 38 student-athletes named NCAA All-Americans.
"I am honored and excited about the opportunity to return home and lead the forward development of the swimming and diving program at UNC," Ebeling said. "I am very impressed with the support from the administration and with their vision for the team and the entire athletic department. This program has an immense amount of potential and I believe it is an exciting time to be a Bear."
The Colorado Springs, Colo., native came to Tuscaloosa after stints as an assistant coach at Utah and Rutgers. She was part of the coaching staff in the Utes' inaugural season as part of the Pac-12 in 2011-12, during which Utah broke 15 school records.
A three-time All-American at Arizona, Ebeling helped the Wildcats win the 2006 Pac-10 championship. She also earned Academic All-America honors during her Wildcat career and was honored with the Mary Roby Academic Achievement Award.
She graduated from Arizona with a bachelor's degree in elementary education in 2007 and coached at the Phoenix Swim Club while pursuing her master's degree at Arizona State.