Colorado Mesa University alumnus Tarek Farouk is in his first year as CMU’s Assistant Swimming Coach & Aquatics Director.
He returned to the El Pomar Natatorium and the Maverick program in October, 2026 after spending a year as the assistant coach at Colorado College in Colorado Springs.
At CC, he helped the Tigers win their first Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference women’s team title while the Tiger men won a second straight conference crown.
The Tigers also broke a combined ten school records while a pair of Tiger swimmers had top 20 ranking times in NCAA Division III for the 200 backstroke and 200 breaststrokes.
They also shined academically as the Tiger men had the highest GPA of any team in the country, regardless of division while the women had the top Division III and second highest GPA in the nation.
Previously, Farouk had served as the assistant coach at NCAA Division II Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina, where he was the lead coach for the Indians’ mid-distance races, including all strokes from 200 to 500 yards. While at Catawba, he helped swimmers, who break 30 school records and guided the men's 800 freestyle relay team that qualified for the 2025 NCAA Division II Championships for the first time in program history.
In addition, both teams finished in the top 20 at the national meet and were named the most improved teams in the country by SwimCloud after the team had 34 CSCAA First and Second Team All-America performances as the 2025 NCAA Division II Championships.
Prior to Catawba, Farouk worked for three years at the University of Montana, including as a teaching assistant for the integrative physiology and athletic training departments, a strength and conditioning intern and a coach for the Missoula Aquatic Club.
He swam for three years as an undergraduate at Colorado Mesa, then served as a volunteer assistant coach for the Maverick swimming programs for the 2020-21 season, helping the Mavericks sweep the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference titles.
He received a bachelor's degree in exercise science from CMU in 2021 and a master's degree in integrative physiology from the University of Montana in 2024.
His wife Maddie (Pressler) was also a multiple-time all-American, multiple-time RMAC Champion and former school-record holder for the Mavericks and has since gone to earn a doctoral degree in physical therapy at Montana.
