The 2024 North Coast Athletic Conference Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year, Alex de la Peña is entering his eighth season as Oberlin’s head swimming & diving coach and aquatics director in 2025-26.
The 2023-24 season saw tremendous strides within the program with both programs posting their highest points at the NCAC Championships in school history. Oberlin set 13 school records, set 50 top-ten 10 times, and 14 ‘A’ Final performances at the conference meet.
Additionally, the Yeomen earned four All-NCAC performances with Erik Fendorf in the 50-yard free and 100-yard butterfly, and in the 200 - and 400-yard medley relays. Fendorf, (50 free, 100 free, 100 fly), and Chahine Saïd (1650 free) each posted NCAA ‘B’ cut times.
Both the men’s and women’s teams also won the Malone College Midseason Invitational, besting 13 other schools.
The men’s team finished in 6th out of 9 teams at the 2023 NCAC Championships, scoring 200 more points than at the '22 meet. The Yeomen also took 2nd out of 11 teams at the annual Oberlin Midseason Invite in November 2022. During the finals, the men's 200 medley relay set a new school record time of 1:32.80 while finishing in the top-three.
The women’s team earned a fifth-place finish out of 8 teams at the 2023 NCAC Championships, improving their score by 132 points from the 2022 meet. The Yeowomen also captured 1st out of 12 teams at the annual Oberlin Midseason Invite in November 2022.
In his six years at the helm, Oberlin swimmers have set ten school records, 71 top-10 program times, and increased the point total each year at the NCAC Championships. Under de la Peña's tutelage, the men's and women's teams earned the most points in program history at the 2023 NCAC Championship until it was bested in 2024. Since the 2018-2019 season, there have been 26 A Final performances at the conference championships - 23 of which came from the past two seasons.
de la Peña also helped Michael Lin '19 break a pair of school records in the 100 & 200 Breaststroke, while guiding Miguel Siwady '26 to an NCAA B Cut in the 1650 Freestyle.
Prior to Oberlin, de la Peña served as head women's swimming coach and director of aquatics at Pfeiffer University (NC) where he guided the Falcons to a fourth-place team finish at the conference championship meet in 2018. Eight individuals also earned all-conference honors.
Before going to Pfeiffer, de la Peña worked at the Cleveland Sports Institute in a variety of roles including coaching swimming and strength & conditioning while serving as aquatics coordinator. He's also held Division I assistant coaching positions at UNC Wilmington and Brown University from 2013-2016.
de la Peña's first collegiate head coaching position was at Monmouth College (IL) from 2011-13. During his tenure, the Fighting Scot swimmers produced 23 All-Midwest Conference selections, one Midwest Conference champion, 19 school records and 88 top-ten times in program history.
He began his collegiate coaching career at Oberlin from 2009-11 when he helped guide swimmers to 11 school records and 81 top-ten times. Additionally, three athletes achieved NCAA "B" cut times including one national qualifier.
A native of Northeast Ohio, de la Peña swam collegiately at Baldwin Wallace University and was a two-year team captain while being a part of several team records and top-ten times in program history. After graduating from BW with a bachelor's degree in sport management and business administration, he earned a master's degree in educational administration at St. Lawrence University (NY) while working as a graduate assistant coach.
| ALEX DE LA PEÑA CAREER COACHING RECORD |
| Season |
NCAC Men's Finish |
NCAC Women's Finish |
| 2018-19 |
8th |
7th |
| 2019-20 |
8th |
7th |
| 2020-21 |
Season canceled due to COVID-19 |
| 2021-22 |
6th |
5th |
| 2022-23 |
6th |
5th |
| 2023-24 |
5th |
5th |
| 2024-25 |
4th |
5th |
