Competitor Coach of the Month is a recurring SwimSwam feature shedding light on a U.S.-based coach who has risen above the competition. As with any item of recognition, Competitor Coach of the Month is a subjective exercise meant to highlight one coach whose work holds noteworthy context – perhaps a coach who was clearly in the limelight, or one whose work fell through the cracks a bit more among other stories. If your favorite coach wasn’t selected, feel free to respectfully recognize them in our comment section.
The University of Wyoming has been on fire through the early stages of the 2023-24 NCAA season, with head coach Dave Denniston leading both the men’s and women’s teams to unblemished records through the month of October.
The Cowgirls kicked off the campaign with a dominant victory over Colorado State on Oct. 6, walking away with a 171-129 decision to snap the Rams’ streak of 23 straight dual meet victories.
Last season, Wyoming dropped an early November dual to Colorado State by a score of 169-131.
“I think our women exceeded expectations,” Denniston said after the meet. “You don’t really know with the first meet how it’s going to play out. I’m really proud of how these girls swam. We had so many great little moments throughout the meet. To have a victory and start our own winning streak, I think is something our girls are taking a lot of pride in.”
The Cowboys made their regular season debut alongside the women’s team two weeks later on the road at Air Force, with Wyoming cruising to a sweep over the Falcons (M 191-109, W 169-131). The men also topped Air Force early last season, but the women fell short.
Wyoming closed out the month by sweeping Colorado School of Mines over the weekend, honoring their seniors in style with a pair of dominant victories.
The Cowboys and Cowgirls will turn the page to November with a busy weekend, set to host Colorado Mesa on Friday before the women battle Northern Colorado on Saturday.
Denniston, who took over the Wyoming program in April of 2017, led the women’s team to a 3rd-place finish at the 2023 Mountain West Conference (MWC) Championships last season, while the men’s team placed 4th at the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Championships.
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Great to see coach Denniston doing such a great job. Congratulations!