Rachel Friel enters her second year as an assistant coach for the North Texas swimming and diving program.
“I am so excited to have Rachel on board as our assistant coach,” Roth said. “She brings a natural energy to the sport that is not only contagious but empowering, and I am looking forward to her working with our athletes.”
Friel heads to North Texas after coaching at Texas Ford Aquatics in Frisco for the last 10 months.
"I’m honored to have this opportunity to work alongside head coach Brittany Roth and be a part of the Mean Green family,” Friel said. “I am excited to continue the success North Texas swimming and diving has seen and help the athletes move forward and progress to the next level.”
Friel brings an impressive résumé to Denton.
The Hong Kong native competed collegiately at BYU, where she garnered the Mountain West conference’s Swimmer of the Year award two times as well as competed in the NCAA Division I National Championships three separate times.
She competed in the 200 butterfly and both the 200 and 400 individual medley.
In addition to a successful collegiate career, Friel represented Hong Kong in several international competitions including the World University games in Serbia (2009) and again in Shenzhen China (2011). Friel also competed in the 2008 Olympic trials in Hong Kong and the USA.
Once she completed her eligibility at BYU in 2011, Friel stayed in Provo, Utah, as a graduate assistant before accepting the swimming head coaching at Maple Mountain High School in August 2012.
“Coaching is my passion,” Friel explained. “I plan on doing whatever I can to help our athletes achieve their goals in and out of the pool."
In her coaching career, Friel has coached six Olympic trial qualifiers and two men who went on to compete in the 2012 Olympic Games in London representing El Salvador and Bolivia.
Friel resides in Frisco with her husband.