M/W Swimming: Mines at Adams State – Alamosa, Colo. – Friday, 4 p.m. [RMAC Network]

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SEASON OPENER
The 2026-27 season opener has arrived for the Colorado School of Mines men's and women's swimming teams. The Orediggers will start their new campaign Friday evening with a dual at Adams State. Racing begins at 4 p.m. with 10 events on the docket. Some non-traditional races in the mix should make for a fun evening of swimming to start the season. Mines diving won't open its official slate until Oct. 16.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Friday's races won't have live results, but they will be streamed on the RMAC Network.
 
RMAC NETWORK
The RMAC Network continues to have a pay-per-view model for all events. Fans can purchase monthly and annual subscriptions that will provide them access to all regular-season, championship, and archived broadcasts on the RMAC Network. A monthly subscription costs $25, and an annual subscription costs $130. Single-game passes are available for $12.50, which grants access to a single game for 24 hours. For technical support questions, fans can contact Hudl Support or email the RMAC directly (rmac@rmacsports.org). For further support, fans can visit the RMAC Network Help page.
 
ORDER OF EVENTS
Friday's slate includes 10 total events with two relays and eight individual races. The shorter order also has some non-traditional races mixed in. Check out the full rundown below.
- 200-medley relay
- 800-free
- 50-free
- 200-IM
BREAK
- 100-fly
- 100-free
- 100-back
- 300-free
BREAK
- 100-breast
- 500-free crescendo relay
 
PRESEASON RECOGNITION
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) released its preseason coaches' polls and all-conference teams Thursday afternoon. Mines' men were voted second with one first-place vote and four second-place votes totaling 21 points, just four back of RMAC favorite Colorado Mesa. Additionally, Vladislav Kazakin and Jack Fulham were named Preseason All-RMAC. Kazakin's honor was in the 500-free after he won RMAC gold last season. Fulham earned the distinction in the 100-fly. The Oredigger women were also voted second in their preseason poll thanks to one first-place vote and seven second-place votes for a total of 57 points. Colorado Mesa also topped that list with 64 points. Mines' Preseason All-Conference honorees on the women's side were Mikaela Khan and Anna Bream. Khan was recognized for her conference title in the 200-fly. Bream, the defending RMAC Freshman of the Year, grabbed distinction for her gold medals in the 200-IM and 400-IM.
 
STAFF UPDATES
Mines Head Coach Claire McDaniel and her top assistant Brad Shannon added some fresh faces to the swimming & diving staff during the offseason. Danny Blevins signed on as the new diving coach. He also serves as the head coach of the Mines club baseball team. Rich LeDuc also joined the staff as an assistant coach, taking over the role of longtime assistant Andy Foley.
 
THE RETURNERS
Mines' men have 15 individuals returning from last season's squad. Topping that list are all-Americans Cameron MacMillan, Vladislav Kazakin, and Brenden Cook. Additionally, the men's senior class includes Kevin Burns, Lucas Hoke, and Joseph Lev-Tov. The other nine Oredigger veterans on the men's team are Bruno Albertoni, Evan Angeline, Fausto Angelone Lopez, Dan Berke, Jack Fulham, Nathan Moss, Jackson Steider, Lucas Waasdorp, and Reid Wilkerson. Mines' women tout 14 returners on the roster. Ava LaBrose, Jennifer Pierson, Michelle Murphy, Anna Bream, Mary Flikkema, Kaya Flaherty, and Mikaela Khan were all-Americans last season. Julie Gill, who raced at the national meet as well, along with Zooecia Phoebus are the senior leaders on the team. Rounding out the veteran Oredigger women are Eden Addison, Willow Coburn, Samantha Crane, Elizabeth Powers, and Abigail Swanson with Coburn representing another national qualifier from last season.
 
FRESH FACES
In total, Head Coach Claire McDaniel brought in 14 newcomers for the 2026-27 season including 13 true freshmen and one transfer. The fresh faces on the men's side include Travis Black, Sebastian Guio, Dylan Heikkila, Zach Marshall, William McCaffery, Tyler Mury, and Gavin Richmond. Gherman Prudnikau, a graduate of Grandview High School, transferred back home from Ohio State as well. The women's freshmen class features Aly Cutforth, Monica DiGaetani, Liv Doruk-Olsen, Lizzie Landuyt, Kaitlyn LaTendresse, and Zoe McGee.
 
AT THE HELM
Colorado School of Mines Swimming Head Coach Claire McDaniel enters her eighth season at the helm for the Oredigger men and women. During her time on deck for the Orediggers, McDaniel has won RMAC Coach of the Year four times on the men's side (2021, 2022, 2024, 2025) and three times on the women's side (2021, 2022, 2023). She coached the RMAC Women's Swimmer of the Year in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. She also coached the RMAC Women's Freshman of the Year in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2026. Overall, McDaniel has helped Mines send a total of 41 swimmers and 15 relays to the NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships with one diver advancing to the NCAA qualifier. Those selections have resulted in a total of 40 all-American finishes. Furthermore, McDaniel's women hold all but one program swimming record (22 of 23) along with 10 facility records. Her men hold 20 of 23 program records including every relay mark along with 13 facility records. McDaniel's teams have also succeeded in the classroom as proven by 19 College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-Americans. Her men's teams in 2020-21, 2022-23, and 2023-24 also won the RMAC Brechler Award as the team boasting the highest combined GPA in the conference.
 
UP NEXT
Mines will host its annual Alumni Meet on Saturday, Oct. 3, as part of Homecoming Weekend. After that, the men host Colorado Mesa on Friday, Oct. 16, before the men and women travel to Pueblo, Colo., for action against Adams State and CSU Pueblo on Saturday, Oct. 17.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines swimming on "X" (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram at @MinesSwimming. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, "X" and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.