Let’s go back to the college application process. Did you want to apply somewhere close to home? Or go as far away from home as possible?
 
For Mackenzie Looze, her answer is a bit of both. 
 
“I’ve lived in Bloomington my whole life, and so I wouldn’t have liked something different. But as I was going around, and considering other schools, basically, the only other school I considered was Kentucky, just because of Lars (Jorgensen, Kentucky head swimming coach),” Mackenzie said.  “He is about the same person as my father. And because of that, I realized that maybe I would have just liked to stay with my dad, you know, and I fell in love with the team.”
 
After swimming for her mother, Kandis, at Bloomington South High School, her family connection to swimming only continued. Once Looze decided to swim at Indiana University, that meant she was now coached by her father, IU Swim and Dive Head Coach Ray Looze.
 
“Well, she looks just like my wife. But she behaves just like me. Rest assured they’re going to get some positive traits, but also your negative attributes,” Ray said. “So she’s pretty stubborn. And, you know, that can be challenging at times. But it’s, it’s really, it’s worked better than I ever thought it would.”
 
Mackenzie enrolled at Indiana University in the fall of 2018 with former IU coaches thinking she would not be a very strong swimmer. But those doubters would be proven wrong very quickly. Mackenzie would finish the 2018 season as an CSCAA honorable mention All-American. 
 
And her career continued to flourish further than Mackenzie and Ray could imagine. Since her freshman season as a Hoosier, Mackenzie has become a five-time All American, a second team all Big Ten swimmer in 2022, and won the Big Ten Swimmer of the week award in November of 2021. However, the crown jewel of accomplishments, a chance to represent her country at the Phillips 66 International team trials, landed in Mackenzie’s lap last summer.
 
“Representing your country is like nothing else, you get a huge box of USA gear with the American flag all over it and your name on the cap,” Ray added.  “The US swimming team is, you know, I think they won 35% of medals at the Olympics. So that’s really, really special.”
 
Whether racing on the Big Ten stage or the international stage, Mackenzie has always had her family’s full support. Through all of the hours of travel and the sacrifice it takes to be an elite athlete, to have her father by her side while donning the stars and stripes is something that Mackenzie barely had the words to express.
 
“It’s amazing. I’m one of the luckiest people on deck, because I have someone that cares about me a lot,” Mackenzie said. “He cares about every single swimmer. But there’s an extra layer there, because I’m his daughter, you know, he really, really wants me to do well.”
 
As her time swimming on her father’s Hoosier squad comes to a close in March, the one word that Mackenzie has to describe her opportunity is gratitude.
 
“I am extremely fortunate that I got to do this and I got to share my college years with him,” Mackenzie said. “This is about the time when everyone gets to get away from their parents, but I chose to stay and that’s certainly because of the caliber of coach that he is, and I am immensely grateful that I got to do this with him.”