New UNLV swimming coach with big act to follow
For 35 years, UNLV swimming was Jim Reitz, and rightfully so.
He not only made the Rebels contenders, but the program kept getting better, with the men’s team winning 10 of the last 11 conference championships under his guidance.
It’s a tough legacy to follow, but Ben Loorz is willing to give it a try. He’s not some outsider who doesn’t truly get the Reitz legacy; Loorz coached under him from 2007 to 2010.
“I think one of the things I really benefited (from) as an assistant coach underneath him was the fact that he gave us a lot of trust, a lot of power and a lot of freedom to be great coaches,” Loorz said. “So in that sense I intend to model what I do on Coach Reitz.”
Both men’s and women’s swim teams open the season at noon Saturday at UNR, and Loorz is excited to get going. But Loorz is taking a long-term approach because of the recent downturn in recruiting as the program went a year with an interim coach, Bobby Folan.
Not that he expects much of a dip from the men’s side, aiming to compete for the Western Athletic Conference championship this season. For the women, he sees that side vying for the Mountain West title in closer to three years.
In trying to build both programs, Loorz said he wants to take advantage of the technological advances to attract top swimmers.
“I wouldn’t say take a different tact because it’s still based on trying to find the right people for this program,” Loorz said. “It’s still based on trying to recruit character. It’s still based on recruiting both nationally and internationally. Those are all things that Coach Reitz did. In terms of our techniques and how we’re casting our net … it looks different.
“Now we can text recruits. That’s a game-changer. … Myself, I’m not a big texter. I really value face to face, I value voice to voice, but if I’m relying solely on those in this day and age, I’m going to fall by the wayside.”
Whether Loorz builds on Reitz’s accomplishments will eventually play out. Reitz led teams to 14 conference championships, was named league Coach of the Year 16 times, and made the top 30 at the NCAA Championships 17 times.
Loorz knows the expectations.
“What a privilege to come back and take over the program and not only pick up where he left off, but see if we can build some new things,” Loorz said. “There’s a lot of tradition here, and that’s a real benefit to coming in and taking over a program. One of my main challenges this year and projects is to begin some of the things that are important to me over the traditions that are already existing here.”
MORE SWIMMING — Loorz hired Landon Marzullo as the Rebels’ diving coach and Igor Kowal as an assistant. Marzullo most recently coached the High Stakes Diving Club in Las Vegas. Kowal was a graduate assistant coach of the Fresno State women’s team last season.
VOLLEYBALL — UNLV is making a strong argument for one of the 32 at-large bids to the 64-team NCAA Tournament should the Rebels fall short in capturing the Mountain West crown. The Rebels (16-2, 5-1) have an RPI ranking of No. 15, and they dropped out of first place after losing to now front-runner Colorado State (11-5, 5-0) on Saturday.
Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow on Twitter: @markanderson65
