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Alters

Mitch Alters

Mitch Alters enters her sixth season at Oakland University and his fourth as head coach of the men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs, continuing to guide the Golden Grizzlies toward sustained success in the pool.

Alters returned to Oakland in July 2021 as associate head coach under longtime head coach Pete Hovland. He previously spent three seasons at the University of Richmond and two years as a graduate assistant at the University of Arkansas. A four-year letterwinner for Oakland from 2013-2016, Alters began his coaching career after completing his collegiate career with the Golden Grizzlies.

As Oakland’s head coach, Alters guided both programs to another Horizon League championship sweep during the 2025-26 season. The titles extended Oakland’s conference championship streak to 13 consecutive seasons for both teams. The men’s team captured its 48th straight conference championship, while the women won its 32nd consecutive title.

At the 2026 Horizon League Championship, Oakland won 17 events, finished runner-up in 16, and placed third in 12. The Golden Grizzlies also set 10 school records and seven Horizon League records, while senior Chris Palvadre qualified for the NCAA Championships. Oakland earned both the Men’s and Women’s Freshman of the Meet awards, extending a three-year run in which an Oakland women’s swimmer has received the conference’s freshman honor. 

After earning Horizon League Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year honors in 2024-25, Alters was named the league’s Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year in 2025-26. He became a conference coach-of-the-year recipient for both teams during his first three seasons leading the program.

During the 2024-25 season, Alters led Oakland to its 47th consecutive men’s championship and 31st straight women’s title. The championship featured individual victories from Jonas Cantrell in the 1,650 free, Harry Nicholson in the 100 back, Charlie Brown in the 100 frees, Chris Palvadre in the 200 breast, Grace Albrecht in both the 100 and 200 back, Ronja Riihinen in the 100 free, Jordyn Shipps in the 200 fly, and Ellie Chalifoux in the three-meter dive. Oakland also won both 400 freestyle relay events.

Albrecht was named Women’s Freshman of the Meet, Chalifoux was selected as Women’s Diver of the Meet, and Nicholson earned Men’s Swimmer of the Meet honors. Alters’ first conference coaching honor, the Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year, followed a season in which the Oakland men’s team won the league championship by more than 300 points.

In his first season as Oakland’s head coach in 2023-24, Alters led both teams to a Horizon League championship, earning the program’s 46th men’s and 30th women’s straight conference titles. Oakland captured individual titles in the women’s 200 back, women’s 100 free, men’s 200 back, men’s 100 free, women’s 200 fly, and men’s 200 fly, as well as both 400 free relay events. Clarissa Bezuidenhout was named Freshman of the Year, while Riihinen, Nicholson, Christian Bart, Jordyn Shipps, and Auburn Nugent also delivered championship-winning performances. The titles marked Alters’ first conference championships as head coach.

Before returning to Oakland, Alters helped lead Richmond back to an Atlantic 10 Championship during the 2020-21 season. In one of the most unprecedented seasons in history, the Spiders brought home the Atlantic 10 Championship trophy in convincing fashion, scoring 687.5 points, the most points for a winning team since Richmond won during the 2012-13 season with 737.00 points. 

Freshman Alexa Connors earned Richmond's 14th Atlantic 10 Most Outstanding Rookie Performer award. Overall, the 2020-21 team earned 13 individual All-Time Top 10 times and broke three school records. Lauren Medlin is now Richmond's top 100 freestyle performer, finishing first in the meet with a 49.61 time. Claire O'Shaughnessy broke the school record, becoming the first Spider to crack the 2-minute mark in the 200 fly at 1:59.53. 

The quartet of Medlin, Maggie Purcell, Katelyn Pennell and O'Shaughnessy took down a record that had stood for a decade in the 400 freestyle relay, finishing at 3:21.03, 0.07 seconds faster than the record set in 2011. Four of five relay teams brought home medals, led by the 400 freestyle relay team's school record. 

Purcell earned a pair of gold medals, taking first in the 200 IM in 2:00.17 and defending her title in the 200 breaststroke in 2:13.70. Medlin's school record in the 100 freestyle also brought home gold. The 200 medley relay, the 800 freestyle relay and the 400 medley relays all brought in silver medals. 

Connors had a pair of individual silvers in the 500 freestyle, finishing in 4:50.92, and the 1650 freestyle in 16:41.62. Fellow freshman Pennell added a silver in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:58.20. Richmond brought home six bronze medals as part of its championship effort. Purcell took third in the 400 IM (4:18.14), Medlin in the 50 freestyle (23.30), and O'Shaughnessy in the 100 (54.83) and 200 butterfly (1:59.53). Sara Greene took third in the 100 breaststroke in 1:01.84 and Pennell in the 100 backstroke in 54.80.

During the 2019-20 season, Alters helped the Spiders earn a fourth-place finish at the Atlantic 10 Championships at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio. Richmond finished the conference meet with 11 medalists, while five relays earned medals. 

Alters worked with senior Hannah Gouger as she took first in both the 100 and 200 backstroke events, becoming the first person in Atlantic 10 history to win both backstroke competitions in all four years of eligibility and the third person all-time to win two events in all four years of competition. 

Sophomore Maggie Purcell had a highly decorated season with Alters' tutelage. Purcell was named the Atlantic 10 Performer of the Week three times during the season, and took first in the 200 breaststroke event at the Atlantic 10 Championships, turning in a time of 2:12.84, second-best all-time at the University of Richmond. 

Gouger's two backstroke times, Purcell's 200 breaststroke and Jordan Kohut's100 backstroke, the Spiders had four times that earned an NCAA B Cut. Alters also played a pivotal role in recruiting as two of his freshmen etched their names into the Spider All-Time Top 10. Lauren Medlin is currently sixth in program history in the 100 freestyle, and Claire O'Shaughnessy currently sits ninth all-time in the 100 butterfly. 

In Alter's first year with the Spiders, Richmond had four competitors qualify for NCAA events at the end of the regular season. Divers Alex Beran, Maddy Chao and Sydney Weiskopf qualified for NCAA Zone Diving in Annapolis. 

Gouger set a new school and Atlantic 10 Conference record in the 200-backstroke, finishing with a time of 1:53.56 at the UNC Last Chance meet and becoming one of just seven Spiders to qualify for the NCAA Championships meet in Austin, Texas. Gouger went on to qualify for the Olympic Trials at the TYR Pro Series after swimming a 1:02.39 time in the 100-backstroke. 

Richmond finished in fourth place at the Atlantic 10 Championships in Ohio. Gouger set the school record in the 200-backstroke in each of her first three seasons as a Spider. Gouger was named the Atlantic 10 Championships Most Outstanding Performer after winning the 100 and 200-backstroke events with NCAA qualifying times, meet records, and Atlantic 10 records. She also finished in third place in the 50-freestyle and appeared on four relay teams at the A-10 meet. 

The Richmond swimming and diving team was one of just six Spider programs to earn the NCAA Public Recognition awards for APR Success after finishing the year in the top 10 percent of their sports in the most recent Academic Progress Rates (APR). 
 
As a graduate assistant at Arkansas, Alters oversaw and conducted workouts for the team and individual training groups. He worked with sprint, stroke, and distance during the season, with a focus on the sprint group. He also planned official and unofficial visits, as well as coordinating team travel and compliance management.
 
While in Lafayette, Alters also worked with the Aquahawgs Razorback Aquatic Club as an assistant coach. He worked with swimmers of all ages, focusing on technique and training habits, and helped coach the senior-level group during a transition phase for coaching at the senior level.

As a student-athlete at Oakland, Alters was twice selected as a team captain, and the Golden Grizzlies won their conference championship all four seasons. He was a College Swimming Coaches Association of America All-American Honorable Mention in 2016, and he won the Horizon League in the 200 fly. Alters was a Horizon League Academic All-Conference honoree and was named to the Horizon League Fall Honor Roll three times.

Other coaching opportunities include working as an assistant swim coach and swim instructor at Canton City Schools, Starting Line Health and Fitness, and Heart of the Hills.