BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The CWPA Remote interview series continues as McKendree University men’s and women’s head coach and collegiate club assistant coach Colleen Lischwe talks with Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Director of Communications Ed Haas about recruiting for and coaching water polo programs on both collegiate levels.
First appointed the program’s Graduate Assistant in its inaugural year, she was named the head coach for the women’s water polo team at McKendree in February 2017. In June 2018, Lischwe took over as head coach of the men’s water polo program and stands as the lone female head coach of a men’s NCAA water polo program.
On the women’s side, in her first season with McKendree as a collegiate club programs, Lischwe was selected as the 2017 CWPA Midwest Division Coach of the Year . She took over the reins of the program as head coach in February 2017 and led the Bearcats to their first Midwest Division Championship match. The following season, Lischwe lead the Bearcats to a 9-16 record in their first season as a varsity program as a part of the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) with a seventh place finish at the conference championship. Most recently, Lischwe helped the 2019 Bearcats to an 11-15 record, their best season to date. Prior to the start of the 2020 season, Lischwe was awarded the Sandy Nitta Distinguished Coaching Award by USA Water Polo for her work developing women’s water polo at the collegiate level.
After serving as assistant coach to the men’s program for its first two seasons, Lischwe became head coach of the team in June 2018 and delivered the team’s most successful season in program history. Lischwe lead the team to their first winning season in 2018, finishing with a 15-13 record overall. During her first season at the helm, Lischwe earned the 2018 Coach of the Year Award at the CWPA Division II Championship and was presented with the Dick Russell Coach of the Year Award at the 2018 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC)-West Championship. Additionally, McKendree won their first MAWPC-West Conference Championship, terminating a 20-game winning streak by Gannon University along the way and defeating Salem International University in the finals. Following the win, McKendree made their first appearance at the MAWPC Championship Tournament.
In 2018, Lischwe was honored with the 2018 Monte Nitzkowski Distinguished Coaching Award for the Midwest Zone by USA Water Polo. In 2019, she again led her team to the MAWPC-West Championship game.
As a player, Lischwe had a successful high school and college playing career. Named Missouri High School Female Player of the Year from 2005-2007, Lischwe was named to numerous All-Conference and All-District teams. Following her high school career, Lischwe starred at Marist College, a Division I program in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. As a starter and successful player for the Red Foxes, the attacker helped lead the team two Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) championships. During her time at Marist, Lischwe competed in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) National Championship tournament twice, finishing eighth in 2008 and seventh in 2009. In 2018, Lischwe received her Master of Business Administration from McKendree University.
Prior to coaching at McKendree, Lischwe served as the head water polo coach at Kirkwood High School in St. Louis, MO. Additionally, Lischwe acted as the Midwest Zone Women’s Cadet Coach for from 2010-2016 through the USA Water Polo’s Olympic Development Program and reprised this role in 2019. In addition to her collegiate coaching duties, she also coaches both the boy’s and girl’s groups at St. Louis Area Polo, a club team in her home town of St. Louis, Mo.
