DALLAS (SMU) - Ozzie Quevedo has been named Head Women's Swimming Coach at SMU, Director of Athletics Rick Hart announced today. Quevedo comes to the Hilltop from Alabama, where he served as associate head coach, having joined the Tide in 2019.
 
"For 37 years, Steve Collins led this program with integrity, competed for championships and built a solid foundation for success. I want to thank him for his dedication and for setting a bar of undisputed excellence," said Quevedo. "I am excited to lead this program moving forward and build upon what has been done with hopes to reach even greater heights. The Robson & Lindley Aquatics Center, Barr-McMillion Natatorium and Holt Hickman Outdoor Pool make up one of the best swimming facilities in the nation and we are blessed to have these world-class resources to develop current and future Mustang swimmers.
 
"As I leave Tuscaloosa, I want to thank Greg Byrne (Alabama A.D.), our sport administrators - Dr. Karin Lee, Tiffini Grimes and Marie Robinson, as well as Coach Margo Geer, our entire coaching and support staff and every student-athlete I had the humbling opportunity to coach at Alabama over the past four incredible seasons.
 
"I would also like to thank Rick Hart, Ryan McCabe and all those on the search committee for the opportunity to lead the women's program," Quevedo added. "Rick has established a tremendous vision for SMU Athletics and I am so glad to be joining the team. My family and I are proud to call SMU home and cannot wait to get started."
 
"We are delighted to welcome Ozzie, Irene, Victoria, Camilla and Nicholas to the Hilltop," said Hart. "Ozzie's experience as an elite athlete, a coach at some of the top swim programs in the country and his vision for the future of SMU women's swimming propelled him to the top of our list. He will continue our tradition of excellence established under Steve Collins and win championships with integrity. I'd like to thank the search committee and our swimming alumni for their support during this process."
 
Quevedo joined the Crimson Tide swimming and diving staff as associate head coach in June 2019 and served as interim head coach from December 2020 through May 2021, before being promoted to senior associate head coach in July 2022.
 
In the 2022-23 season, Quevedo helped the Alabama men's and women's teams to top-20 finishes at the NCAA Championships, as they finished 19th and 14th, respectively. The year also saw 17 swimmers and divers earn CSCAA All-America accolades, while Derek Maas earned the prestigious Elite 90 Award, marking the first time an Alabama swimmer or diver won the award.
 
During the 2021-22 season, the Crimson Tide women earned its highest finish at the NCAA Championships in program history, taking fourth place with a school-record 288 points. The Alabama men would post their eighth-consecutive top-15 national finish, taking 14th at NCAAs. The men and women would see a combined 17 swimmers and divers earn 58 All-America honors. At the Southeastern Conference Championships, the Tide men were second, their best finish since 1987, while the women were third, their best finish since 1994. The men and women combined to earn 23 medals at the conference meet, including 11 gold. Overall, the Crimson Tide broke 13 school records during the 2021-22 season. On the women's side of the slate, every swimming record but one (the 400 individual medley) was held by a member of the 2021-22 team.
 
Quevedo was recognized as one of the nation's top coaches when, prior to the 2021-22 season, he was named to the United States National Team coaching staff and served as an assistant coach on Team USA's 2021 FINA World Short Course Championships squad in Abu Dhabi.
 
Under Quevedo's tutelage, Rhyan White continued to thrive on the national and international scene during the 2021-22 season. White started an extraordinary year at the 2021 United States Swimming Olympic Team Trials. Already the first Alabama woman to ever earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic Swim Team after taking second in the 100-meter backstroke, White became the first UA woman to win an event at the U.S. Olympic Trials, taking the top spot in the 200m backstroke by more than a half second, going 2:05.73, bettering her own school record and personal best in the event by more than a second. White earned a silver medal as part of Team USA's 400m medley relay contingent at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. She also took fourth in both the 100m and 200m backstrokes in Tokyo. After returning to campus, she earned a spot on the 2021 U.S. FINA World Short Course Championships that competed in Abu Dhabi in December, winning gold in the 200m backstroke by nearly half a second. She also earned a silver medal as part Team USA's 200m medley relay. At the 2022 SEC Championships, she swept the 100 and 200 backstroke titles for the third-consecutive year, while taking silver in 100 butterfly, giving her nine individual SEC medals over the past three years. She also took gold in the 200 and 400 medley relays with school, SEC Championships and SEC records. Her efforts at the 2022 NCAA Championships propelled Alabama to fourth place, its best team finish at the national championships in program history.
 
White rolled right back into international competition following the NCAA Championships, earning a place on the 2022 FINA World Long Course Championships team at the U.S. International Team Trials. At the U.S. Team Trials, she took second in the 200 backstroke with a career-best 2:05.13, dipping under the previous U.S. Open record and ranking third in the world in 2022. White also ranked fifth in the world in 2022 in the 100m backstroke. At the FINA Championships in Budapest, Hungary, White earned a bronze medal in the 200 backstroke for the U.S. and Kalia Antoniou from Cyprus was a semifinalist in both the 50 and 100 free. For her efforts, Antoniou earned the prestigious 2022 "Sports Women Of The Year Award" for Cyprus.
 
During the 2020-21 season, while serving as interim head coach, Quevedo helped the UA women match their highest national finish in school history while Cora Dupre, Flora Molnar, Kalia Antoniou and Morgan Scott capped off the Tide's historical run by winning the 400 freestyle relay, just the second Alabama NCAA relay title and the first by the women's program. White continued to score big for the Tide, earning silver in the 200 backstroke, bronze in the 100 backstroke and fifth in the 100 butterfly at NCAAs.
 
The Crimson Tide's relay win closed a phenomenal week-long showing that ended with Alabama taking fifth place with a school-record 266 points. Alabama bettered its previous high-point total by more than 80 points. In addition to tying its best NCAA Championships finish since 1983, it was the Tide women's first top-25 finish since 2005 and first in the top-10 since 1994.
 
The Tide men posted their seventh-consecutive top-15 NCAA Championships team finish, taking 15th place at the national championships. Overall, 15 Tide men and women combed to earn 48 All-America honors in 2021.
 
At the 2021 SEC Championships, the men and women combined to win 10 gold medals, including four relay and six individual titles. Overall, Alabama earned 20 gold, silver or bronze medals at the SEC Championships and White won the SEC Commissioner's Trophy and was named the SEC Female Swimmer of the Year. As a program, Alabama broke 11 school records, including four relays in 2020-21.
 
On the international stage at the 2021 Fina World Championships in Abu Dhabi, Kaique Alves (Brazil) earned a bronze medal in the 4x200 freestyle relay and Diana Petkova (Bulgaria) was a semifinalist in the 100 IM.
 
In Quevedo's first season in Tuscaloosa, the Tide qualified 24 student-athletes for the NCAA Championships, earning 57 All-America honors, winning a league-best nine SEC titles, setting SEC records in four different events and breaking 23 school records over the five days of the SEC Championships.
 
Quevedo also helped White to a breakout sophomore season in 2020 that saw her win SEC gold in the 100 and 200 backstroke and set SEC records in both events as well as shattering the school marks in the 100 and 200 backstroke and 100 and 200 butterfly. She was the No. 1 seed in the 200 backstroke heading into the 2020 NCAA Championships before they were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Quevedo joined the Tide following three seasons as Florida State's assistant head coach. During his time in Tallahassee, the Seminoles made an impressive jump in the national rankings, going from 31st in 2017 to 14th in 2019.
 
Quevedo's tenure at FSU followed three seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Auburn (2013-16), where he worked with all groups, including the professionals who competed in the 2016 Olympic Games where he was a head coach for Suriname.
 
Prior to Auburn, Quevedo coached on the club and high school levels and was the head coach of National Training Center Aquatics in Clermont, Florida, where he produced senior and junior national swimmers. In addition to NTCA, he coached both the men's and women's teams at the Montverde Academy.
 
An NCAA champion, six-time All-American and five-time SEC champion, Quevedo specialized in the butterfly and freestyle and was a vital part of bringing home the Tigers' second NCAA title in 1999. In 2000, he was a part of the Tigers' NCAA champion 200 freestyle relay squad that set a U.S. Open and NCAA record that stood for four years. Quevedo graduated from Auburn with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice in 2004.
 
A 2000 Olympian for his native Venezuela, Quevedo swam the 100 butterfly and 400 freestyle relay in Sydney. He was the Venezuelan national champion in the 50m and 100m butterfly events in 2000 and set the masters long-course world record in the 50m butterfly (24.15) in 2009. He is also a two-time Pan-American Games medalist.
 
Quevedo and his wife Irene, have three children, daughters Victoria and Camilla and son Nicholas.
 
Quevedo succeeds Collins, who led the Mustangs for 37 seasons before announcing his retirement in March.
 
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What They Are Saying About Ozzie Quevedo
 
"Ozzie is one of the bright minds in coaching today. He is constantly striving to learn and grow in his capacity as a coach and mentor to young people. He will be a great leader for SMU women's swimming." – Bob Bowman, Arizona State Head Swim Coach
 
"I have known Ozzie since his days competing at Auburn University. He is a smart and curious young coach with a great patient coaching demeanor. He has made a difference everywhere he has coached. SMU will make great strides under his leadership. He is an outstanding choice to follow in the footsteps of Steve Collins. Excited to see his imprint on the Mustangs." – Dave Salo, Head Coach Novaquatics, Former USC Head Swim Coach
 
"I'm excited for Ozzie and look forward to his guiding this next chapter of SMU Swimming and Diving. Ozzie has the experience and confidence to build upon SMU's successful history and I look forward to some fun and fast competitions. Welcome to Texas Ozzie!" – Carol Capitani, Texas Head Coach

"Happy for Ozzie to have this opportunity to lead a Program.  Ozzie is a great coach and I've enjoyed my interactions with him over the years.  He is a lot of fun, energetic, knowledgeable, and competitive.  I'm a fan of Ozzie's, excited to see what he does with the Program, SMU got a good one." - Todd DeSorbo, Virginia Head Coach