Nike Winter Swim Clinic at University of North Texas

The 2022-23 season marked a new era for UNT swimming, as the Mean Green joined The American a year ahead of the rest of the university's programs moving from Conference USA to The American. UNT went 3-2 in dual meets with wins over New Mexico, UIW and Little Rock. UNT finished eighth in The American Championships with 506 points. The Mean Green qualified nine swimmers or the CSCAA National Invitational Championship and had three divers qualify for the NCAA Zone D Championship.

The 2021-22 season marked the program's final year in Conference USA and finished fourth at the C-USA Championships, highlighted by bronze medal-winning performances from Saylor Hawkins in the 3-meter springboard and the 400 freestyle relay team of Shaena McCloud, London Farris, Bryanna Vasquez and Alvena Walpole. UNT went 3-2 in dual meets with wins over UIW, New Mexico State and Little Rock. The Mean Green qualified nine swimmers or the CSCAA National Invitational Championship and had three divers qualify for the NCAA Zone D Championship.

The Mean Green finished the 2020-21 season with a 2-2 record, dropping dual meets against SMU and Rice. Before the event’s cancelation, North Texas qualified five relays and 12 individuals for the CSCAA National Invitational Championship. The season concluded with a third place finish at the Conference USA Swimming and Diving Championships, tied for the program’s best finish in program history.

The team also medaled in four events at the meet. Senior Leigh Faires McGee earned second in the 200 free (1:48.17) and third in the 100 free (49.83), and the team scored the bronze medal in both the 800 free relay (McGee, Vasquez, Farris and Walpole – 7:24.76) and the 400 free relay (Walpole, Vasquez, Farris and McGee – 3:23.44).

Senior Meghan Miller became the sixth North Texas student-athlete to compete at the NCAA Zone Championships. The North Texas captain qualified for the Zone Championships with a personal best score of 280.72 in the win over Little Rock on February 6. Divers had to reach a benchmark of 265.00 for the 2020-21 season to qualify for the event.

In 2019-20, North Texas pushed it’s home dual win streak to six straight including the Mean Green’s win over the TCU Horned Frogs by the score of 161.5-138.5 on December 7. The Mean Green finished fifth at the Conference USA Championships highlighted by a third place finish by the 800 free relay team made up of junior Leigh Faires McGee, sophomores Bryanna Vasquez and Alvena Walpole and freshman London Farris. North Texas qualified five student-athletes for the CSCAA National Invite which was ultimately canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

In year three, Roth was named Conference USA’s Co-Coach of the Year after guiding North Texas to its highest winning percentage for dual meets in program history. The Mean Green went 6-2 in duals, including two wins over metroplex rival TCU. North Texas earned its highest finish at the Conference USA Championships, taking home third place as a team. The Mean Green took home seven medals and five school records. North Texas was one of 57 teams invited to the CSCAA National Invitational Championships where they finished 17th.

The 2018-19 team was honored out of the pool with four student-athletes (Brooke Beddingfield, Meghan Rousset, Kathleen Rousset and Brittany Thurstin) receiving the C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal for achieving a 3.75 cumulative GPA or better. Another 20 student-athletes were named to the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll.

During Roth’s second season at the helm, she coached CSCAA National Invitational Champion Claudia Kitching to gold in the 200 Breaststroke. Kitching’s performance at the CSCAA National Invitational set a meet and school record. North Texas finished fourth at the Conference USA Championships for a second consecutive season, taking home bronze medals in the 400 Medley and 400 Freestyle relays.

In its first season under Roth, the North Texas swimming and diving program achieved several program firsts and new records set. The 2016-17 squad matched its highest finish (fourth) at the Conference USA Championships to date, having six members of the team medal in three different events. The squad finished the season 6-4 in dual meets, including a first-place showing at the Little Rock Invitational and a dual meet victory over TCU.

In one year under Roth, the Mean Green sent four swimmers to the USA Winter Nationals in Atlanta for the first time in program history. Additionally, five North Texas records fell under Roth’s leadership. North Texas posted five NCAA “B” standard times, had six swimmers land on the all-conference team and continued to excel academically with a 3.15 team grade-point average as seven student-athletes achieved a 4.0 and 17 earned above a 3.5.

Roth was named the interim head coach on July 1, 2016.

Roth spent three seasons as an assistant coach at North Texas, helping the Mean Green to a fourth-place finish at the Conference USA Championships, the best team finish since joining the league in 2013.

The league championships capped one of the most successful seasons in school history, as it finished with the second-most dual-meet wins (7-4) and second-best winning percentage (.636) in school history.

Freshman Rebekah Bradley earned all-conference honors in the 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke, including a first-place finish in the 200 backstroke,the first for the program since joining the league. Sophomore Claudia Kitching also earned all-conference honors in the 100 breaststroke and 200 breaststroke.

The duo combined for 15 NCAA B time standards in those four events, and Bradley set the school record in the 100 backstroke with a time of 53.13 in the preliminaries of the Conference USA Championships.

In 2014-15, Roth helped North Texas to a 4-4 record, including a 3-1 start, the best start in program history. The team earned all-conference honors in the 400 medley relay and 400 IM.

Seniors Krista Rossum and Mona Groteguth set three program records and notched NCAA B-qualifying times in five events. Rossum’s program-best marks came in the 200 IM (2:00.35) and 400 IM (4:15.22) in consecutive days at the C-USA meet, while Groteugth claimed the 200 backstroke record (1:56.20) at Incarnate Word’s Christmas Invitational.

In 2013-14, the team’s first season in C-USA, Mean Green swimmers set four program records and achieved NCAA B-qualifying times in three events. Rossum originally broke the school record in the 400 individual medley at the Houston Invitational and then went on to break it again at the conference championships finishing with a 4:16.95 time. Groteguth set program records in the 100 backstroke (54.02) and 200 backstroke (1:56.62), accomplishing both feats at the Houston Invitational.

Before making her way to North Texas, Roth spent three seasons with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs. She helped coach 31 individual league champions over the course of the three seasons and sent the first-ever woman in Horizon League history and the first ever Panther to swim in the NCAA Championships.

Roth worked with Emily McClellan, the program’s first woman, and also the first woman from the Horizon League, to earn a spot at the NCAA Championships. She swam in the 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke and 200 IM at the 2011 NCAA Championships. McClellan posted the league’s first ever NCAA A-qualifying times in the 100 and 200 breaststroke and just missed honorable mention All-American honors at the 2012 NCAA Championships. That same season, Roth also helped the men’s program finish with an undefeated record.

Prior to her career in Milwaukee, Roth spent two years at Frankfort High School in Frankfort, Indiana, where she was the high school boys’ and girls’ swimming and diving head coach, as well as the coach of the USA Swimming Sugar Creek Swim Club Satellite program.

Roth was a four-year swimmer at Ball State, where she qualified for the 2006 U.S. Open in the 100 and 200 backstroke. As team co-captain her senior year, she claimed the team’s High Point Award and twice earned Mid-American Conference Academic All-Team honors and was nominated MAC Senior of the Year.

In addition to claiming all-league second-team honors on two occasions, she broke school records in both the 100 and 200 backstroke and was a part of a record-setting 400 medley relay team. After her four years of eligibility had passed, she worked a season as the student assistant at Ball State.