LEBANON, Ill. – McKendree University men’s and women’s water polo head coach Colleen Lischwe announced the hiring of Alex Figueras as her lead assistant coach for both varsity programs and head coach of the institution’s men’s collegiate club team.
Figueras comes to McKendree after coaching with the St. Louis Area Polo club. He has experience coaching multiple skill levels of water polo athletes. Figueras acted as an assistant coach for the 2023 Junior Olympic team which captured the gold medal in the U18 division.
“I’m very excited to join the water polo coaching staff at McKendree,” said Figueras. “Having previously worked with Colleen Lischwe as both an athlete and a coach, I hold a great amount of respect for her and the program she has built. I can’t wait to get started and help this program succeed.”
He competed on the collegiate level at Washington University in St. Louis from 2019 through 2022, where he served as the team captain. In his first season with the Bears, he help Washington finish third in the Missouri Valley Division and win the 2019 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III National Collegiate Club Championship via a 9-7 defeat of New York University at Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania. Following the loss of the 2020 season to the COVID-19 pandemic, he returned to the pool to help Washington claim the 2021 Great Lakes Division crown and a third place finish at the Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship hosted at the Huntsville Aquatics Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
Prior to WashU, he spent the 2018-19 academic year at Pomona-Pitzer Colleges. He helped the Sagehens reach No. 15 in the National Top 25 poll, win the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) and reach the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship tournament.
Figueras holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis.
