University of Minnesota Athletics

Women's Swimming: Constantly Improving

11/7/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving

The University of Minnesota women’s swimming and diving teams embarks on its second season with co-head coaches Kelly Kremer and Terry Nieszner at the helm. With a star- studded freshmen class and a quality finish at the Big Ten Championships in their first year, the coaches look for this year to be a constant step forward in the building of their regime.

“Last year was a starting point for us. I felt good about where we placed as a team because I don’t think that we could have finished better the teams in front of us,” Kremer said. “I hope we are better this year. We’d like to move up in the Big Ten rankings, whether that’s fifth, fourth I just want us to be better. I’d like to take some positive steps forward this year.”

“I think we want to increase our sense of pride within our team and earn respect within the Big Ten and at NCAAs,” Nieszner added. We hope that other schools say that Minnesota is a team to be reckoned with and that is a team that you want to be a part of.”

SENIOR CLASS
The Gophers have a strong group of talented freshmen, but the coaches want make sure that in order for their team to be successful it all stems from leadership. That leadership will be looked upon by the Gophers’ 10 seniors. Heading up the senior class are captains Bridget McCoy and Sarah Perrott. McCoy, a breaststroker, and Perrott, a sprint freestyler, will especially be looked upon to lead this young group. Along with McCoy and Perrott, the Gophers will also look to Kate Hardt, Cecile Lamour, Katherine Marshall, Mary Patrek, Katie Proell, Abby Ruess, Jennifer Warmington and Katie Wind to mold the team into a strong force within the conference and nationally.

“We’ll need that leadership with our big freshman class that we have swimming this year,” Nieszner said. “We have a new group of talented freshmen, but we need our seniors to help this group move forward and lay the ground work for them. They have been through a lot of change here and have dealt with that change well. They are a great group of people and we feel confident that they can help us improve this program.”

NEWCOMERS
Minnesota welcomes one of its best freshmen classes in recent history this year. The Golden Gophers have 15 freshmen on the roster. Of the 15, four were 2005 summer national qualifiers in Christine Jennings (Longmont, Colo.), Yuen Kobayashi (Osaka, Japan), Meredith McCarthy</ a> (The Woodlands, Texas) and Kait Strickland (North Berwick, Maine). The Gophers also kept their home-state swimmers in the area with Minnesota state champions Stephanie Gross (Sauk Rapids, Minn), Stacy Busack (Fergus Falls, Minn.), Erica Schiffler (Woodbury, Minn.) and Jenny Shaughnessy (Rochester, Minn). Also adding depth to Minnesota&rsquo;s roster will be Linzey Bachmeier (Mandan, N.D.), Katie Brosseau (Rogersville, Mo.), Jenna Gamble</ a> (Tucson, Ariz.), Erin Holtmeyer (Omaha, Neb.), Brianna Hubbard (Stacy, Minn.), Danielle Ridder (Ballwin, Mo.) and Andrea Rosenberg (Grafton, Wis.).

&ldquo;We have a great class of freshmen coming in to swim for us,&rdquo; Kremer said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s just a number of our freshmen that can make such an immediate impact this year for us. A majority of them have big meet experience and can help us on relays at the conference level and individually can make it to the NCAA&rsquo;s.&rdquo;

SPRINT FREE
Although the Gophers lost Katy Coombe, who holds the school record in the 50-yard freestyle, to graduation, they return three of their top five swimmers this year. Leading the pack is senior captain Sarah Perrott. In her junior campaign, Perrott clocked a time of 23.34 and participated in the free relays at the Big Ten Championships. She finished second on the team with 112 dual meet points. Perrott was a member of the Gophers&rsquo; recordholding 200 free relay team in 2004. Also returning is Jennifer Hasling, who will compete in both the 50 free and the backstroke events. Krista Kezbers also returns for the Gophers after finishing with the fourth-fastest time in the 50 free. Kezbers competed at the Big Ten Championships and finished the season with a time of 23.72 in the event. The Gophers also add freshmen freestylers Erin Holtmeyer, Meredith McCarthy, and Stacy Busack to the mix. Holtmeyer was a four-time state champion and a U.S. National qualifier in the 50 free. McCarthy was a national qualifier in the 100 free. She finished second in the 100 free and was a member of the champion 800 free relay at the 2004 Junior Nationals. Busack is the state recordholder in the 50 free and won the state championship in 2003 and 2004.

&ldquo;I think our sprint freestyle may be stronger than it was last year,&rdquo; Kremer said. &ldquo;Sarah is one of our captains and is the leader in our sprints. Jenny Hasling is back and is a year better. We&rsquo;ll be very strong in the sprint free.&rdquo;

MIDDLE DISTANCE AND DISTANCE FREE
The Gophers strongest events are their freestyles, including the middle distance and distance frees. With the the likes of the returning swimmers and the incoming freshmen joining the mix, the Gophers will excel in the stroke. The Gophers return two versatile swimmers in Kate Hardt and Valerie Tukey. Hardt finished the 2004-05 season as the team&rsquo;s most valuable player. She led the team in dual meet points with 211 and is the Gophers&rsquo; returning point scorer at the Big Ten Championships a year ago with 35 points. She held the Gophers&rsquo; fastest times in the 200 free (1:48.38) and the 500 free (4:49.39) and the second fastest in the 1,000 (10:06.54) and the 1,650 free (17:08.10). Tukey led the Gophers in the 1,000 free and the 1,650 free with times of 10:04.67 and 16:55.03. Tukey finished the season with CSCAA Academic All-American honorable mention honors, her first accolade.

&ldquo;Kelly and I know that we need Kate and Val to be leaders in the free events,&rdquo; Nieszner said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ll be competitive in the middle distance group throughout the season and in the dual meets.&rdquo;

Along with Hardt and Tukey, the Gophers will also look to returners Jennifer Chang, Amy Killpatrick, Sharon Leary, Erin O&rsquo;Neil and Jennifer Warmington to help the Gophers score points for the Gophers this season.

Minnesota adds seven newcomers that will make an immediate impact to the free events. Yuen Kobayashi finished sixth at the 2004 Olympic Trials in the 200-meter free and competed with Mission Viejo this past summer. She participated in the 200-meter free and the 400 free at summer nationals. Christine Jennings was a U.S. national qualifier in the 200, 400, 800, 1500 free events. She placed 25th at the 2004 Olympic Trials in the 400 free. Also competing in the middle distance free events will be freshmen Meredith McCarthy. In her senior year, McCarthy won the Texas state championship in the 100 free. Also adding depth to the freestyle events will be Katie Brosseau, Jenna Gamble, Jenny Shaughnessy and sophomore transfer Morgan Sonstegard. Gamble will be used in the distance free events, while Brosseau and Sonstegard will compete in the individual medley. Shaughnessy will compete in the free, the butterfly and the IM.

&ldquo;Last year when we went into a Big Ten meet and one of our four freestylers weren&rsquo;t performing well, we were in trouble because we didn&rsquo;t have the depth,&rdquo; Kremer said. &ldquo;This year we&rsquo;ll probably have five six people contending for the four spots. That being said, it raises the level for everyone and gives you a chance to be more competitive. We are much deeper and stronger in these events than a year ago. This will raise the level of performance for everyone and gives us the opportunity to be more competitive both individually, and with our relay teams.&rdquo;

BACKSTROKE
The Golden Gophers return a strong backstroker in senior Katie Wind. In her junior campaign, Wind led the backstrokers with a time of 55.98 in the 100 back and 1:59.72 in the 200 back. Wind set a lifetime best time of 2:17.51 at the 2005 ConocoPhillips Summer National Championships in Irvine, Calif. Wind's preliminary time was good enough to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Trials.

&ldquo;She&rsquo;s a different swimmer now then she was four months ago,&rdquo; Kremer said. &ldquo;In swimming, you can go to best times or go to another level all together and she did that for us in August. She&rsquo;s not just going to be a leader in the backstroke events, but she&rsquo;s a leader by example for the others because of her work ethic.&rdquo;

Also returning for the Maroon and Gold is Jennifer Hasling. In her sophomore season, Hasling competed in the 100 back and posted the team&rsquo;s second-best time of 57.36. Hasling was a CSCAA Academic All-American honorable mention. Jaclyn Gazvoda will also compete in the back events, clocking the team&rsquo;s third-best time in the 200 in 2:05.92. Erin O&rsquo;Neil and Emma Sinkler return for their second seasons with the Gophers. The Gophers add one freshmen to the backstroke event in Stephanie Gross. Gross was the Minnesota state 100 backstroke champion in 2004 and held six school records and four section records with Catherdral High School.

&ldquo;Jackie made our Big Ten team for the first time as a sophomore,&rdquo; Nieszner said. &ldquo;Emma put in a great summer of training and I think that will show in the short course season.&rdquo;

BUTTERFLY
The Gophers lost a few key seniors from last, year, but Minnesota hopes to fill the void this year with the returners as well as adding a few freshmen to the equation. One of the most versatile swimmers on the team returns for her sophomore season in Erin O&rsquo;Neil. As a freshmen, O&rsquo;Neil clocked the second-fastest times in both the 100 and 200 fly. Lindsey St. Martin returns for her third year as a Golden Gopher. Last year, St. Martin held the team&rsquo;s third-fastest time in the fly events as well as swimming the freestyle strokes. Like St. Martin, Krista Kezbers will swim both the fly and free events. Jamie Howard will also look to contribute in the fly this year.

&ldquo;Lindsey St. Martin will be back and can certainly be the leader of the group,&rdquo; Nieszner said. &ldquo;Krista Kezbers</ a> is swimming well 100 flys and we hope that she can step up this season.&rdquo;

The Gophers will add freshmen Linzey Bachmeier, Danielle Ridder, Jenny Shaughnessy and Kait Strickland. Kremer and Nieszner feel that some of the freshmen will really step up in the fly events and be able to contribute points. &ldquo;Although I think Jenny can have an impact in whatever she swims, I think she&rsquo;ll have a major impact in the fly events,&rdquo; Kremer said. &ldquo;Her sprint fly is great and is certainly capable of swimming a 200.&rdquo;

BREASTSTROKE
Like last year, one of Minnesota&rsquo;s deepest strokes is the breaststroke. The Gophers return six swimmers in the 100 and 200 events. The Minnesota coaches feel that the best is yet to come from this group. Leading the pack is senior captain Bridget McCoy. Last year, McCoy held the team&rsquo;s best time in the 100 (1:03.58) and the second-best time in the 200 (2:17.49). She led the breaststrokers in dual meet points (100) and the Big Ten Championships (30.5). McCoy was also an CSCAA Academic All-American honorable mention. Also returning are seniors Katherine Marshall, Mary Patrek, Katie Proell and Abby Ruess. The group of seniors combined for 90 points in dual meet action and two earned points at the Big Ten Championships. Also returning for the Gophers is junior Erika Bjorklund. In her sophomore season, Bjorklund competed in her second Big Ten Championship and earned 27 points in the regular season.

The Gophers add transfer Jamie Howard and one freshmen in Andrea Rosenberg. Rosenberg held the high school record in the 100 breaststroke and was the Speedo sectional qualifer.

&ldquo;We have a great group of breaststrokers,&rdquo; Kremer said. We have a nice balance of sprint and 200 breaststrokers. They push each other in practice, support one another, and have goals of being one of the Top Breaststroke groups in the Big Ten this year.&rdquo;

INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
Minnesota will have a variety of swimmers that will compete in the individual medley this season with eight listed on the roster. The Gophers&rsquo; leader from the 2004-05 season was Kate Hardt. Last year, Hardt held the team&rsquo;s fastest time in both the 200 and 400 individual medley. Abby Ruess held the team&rsquo;s second-fastest time in each event, clocking 2:05.37 and 4:28.92, respectively. Erika Bjorklund returns for her second year in the event. Minnesota will have a few new faces in the IM this season. Jamie Howard, who did not compete last year, will race in the event this season. Freshmen Danielle Ridder, Kait Strickland, Katie Brosseau and Jenny Shaughnessy will be looked upon to make an immediate impact in the IM events. Ridder was a junior National qualifier in the 400 IM as well as a sectional qualifier. Strickland competed in the 400 IM at the 2005 and 2004 national championships, finishing as high as 24th overall.

DIVING
If Minnesota diving looks a little different this year, it&rsquo;s because it is. Jason Baumann takes over the role as the diving coach after holding an assistant coach role at Indiana. With only three divers on the women&rsquo;s team, Baumann will take this year to take small steps, but hopes to make great strides in the end.

&ldquo;I&rsquo;m really looking forward to this year,&rdquo; Baumann said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited to be here. If we work together, we can accomplish great things. We look towards this year as a transition year. It&rsquo;s going to take time but I think by the time we get around to our conference season we can be prepared to do very well.&rdquo;

Minnesota&rsquo;s lone returner is junior Holly Jakits. In her sophomore season, Jakits was a Big Ten finalist in the platform, finishing sixth overall. Baumann thinks &ldquo;she&rsquo;ll have a good year and do well by the end of the year.&rdquo; The Gophers have two freshmen that will gain experience in just their first season. Brianna Hubbard was a Minnesota State finalist and a member of the Twin Cities Divers. She was also a three-time Junior west national qualifier. Erica Schiffler was named an All-American in 2002 and 2003. Schiffler was a member of the Twin City Divers and went to Junior Nationals three years.

&ldquo;Erica is going to be a fantastic diver for us,&rdquo; Baumann said. &ldquo;She&rsquo;s very capable, talented and qualified to compete at this level. I&rsquo;m looking forward to work with Brianna. I think that she has a lot of athletic potential and good athletes will do very well in this sport because it takes a lot of ability.&rdquo; The University of Minnesota women&rsquo;s swimming and diving teams embarks on its second season with co-head coaches Kelly Kremer and Terry Nieszner at the helm. With a star- studded freshmen class and a quality finish at the Big Ten Championships in their first year, the coaches look for this year to be a constant step forward in the building of their regime.

&ldquo;Last year was a starting point for us. I felt good about where we placed as a team because I don&rsquo;t think that we could have finished better the teams in front of us,&rdquo; Kremer said. &ldquo;I hope we are better this year. We&rsquo;d like to move up in the Big Ten rankings, whether that&rsquo;s fifth, fourth I just want us to be better. I&rsquo;d like to take some positive steps forward this year.&rdquo;

&ldquo;I think we want to increase our sense of pride within our team and earn respect within the Big Ten and at NCAAs,&rdquo; Nieszner added. We hope that other schools say that Minnesota is a team to be reckoned with and that is a team that you want to be a part of.&rdquo;

SENIOR CLASS
The Gophers have a strong group of talented freshmen, but the coaches want make sure that in order for their team to be successful it all stems from leadership. That leadership will be looked upon by the Gophers&rsquo; 10 seniors. Heading up the senior class are captains Bridget McCoy and Sarah Perrott. McCoy, a breaststroker, and Perrott, a sprint freestyler, will especially be looked upon to lead this young group. Along with McCoy and Perrott, the Gophers will also look to Kate Hardt, Cecile Lamour, Katherine Marshall, Mary Patrek, Katie Proell, Abby Ruess, Jennifer Warmington and Katie Wind to mold the team into a strong force within the conference and nationally.

&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll need that leadership with our big freshman class that we have swimming this year,&rdquo; Nieszner said. &ldquo;We have a new group of talented freshmen, but we need our seniors to help this group move forward and lay the ground work for them. They have been through a lot of change here and have dealt with that change well. They are a great group of people and we feel confident that they can help us improve this program.&rdquo;

NEWCOMERS
Minnesota welcomes one of its best freshmen classes in recent history this year. The Golden Gophers have 15 freshmen on the roster. Of the 15, four were 2005 summer national qualifiers in Christine Jennings (Longmont, Colo.), Yuen Kobayashi (Osaka, Japan), Meredith McCarthy</ a> (The Woodlands, Texas) and Kait Strickland (North Berwick, Maine). The Gophers also kept their home-state swimmers in the area with Minnesota state champions Stephanie Gross (Sauk Rapids, Minn), Stacy Busack (Fergus Falls, Minn.), Erica Schiffler (Woodbury, Minn.) and Jenny Shaughnessy (Rochester, Minn). Also adding depth to Minnesota&rsquo;s roster will be Linzey Bachmeier (Mandan, N.D.), Katie Brosseau (Rogersville, Mo.), Jenna Gamble</ a> (Tucson, Ariz.), Erin Holtmeyer (Omaha, Neb.), Brianna Hubbard (Stacy, Minn.), Danielle Ridder (Ballwin, Mo.) and Andrea Rosenberg (Grafton, Wis.).

&ldquo;We have a great class of freshmen coming in to swim for us,&rdquo; Kremer said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s just a number of our freshmen that can make such an immediate impact this year for us. A majority of them have big meet experience and can help us on relays at the conference level and individually can make it to the NCAA&rsquo;s.&rdquo;

SPRINT FREE
Although the Gophers lost Katy Coombe, who holds the school record in the 50-yard freestyle, to graduation, they return three of their top five swimmers this year. Leading the pack is senior captain Sarah Perrott. In her junior campaign, Perrott clocked a time of 23.34 and participated in the free relays at the Big Ten Championships. She finished second on the team with 112 dual meet points. Perrott was a member of the Gophers&rsquo; recordholding 200 free relay team in 2004. Also returning is Jennifer Hasling, who will compete in both the 50 free and the backstroke events. Krista Kezbers also returns for the Gophers after finishing with the fourth-fastest time in the 50 free. Kezbers competed at the Big Ten Championships and finished the season with a time of 23.72 in the event. The Gophers also add freshmen freestylers Erin Holtmeyer, Meredith McCarthy, and Stacy Busack to the mix. Holtmeyer was a four-time state champion and a U.S. National qualifier in the 50 free. McCarthy was a national qualifier in the 100 free. She finished second in the 100 free and was a member of the champion 800 free relay at the 2004 Junior Nationals. Busack is the state recordholder in the 50 free and won the state championship in 2003 and 2004.

&ldquo;I think our sprint freestyle may be stronger than it was last year,&rdquo; Kremer said. &ldquo;Sarah is one of our captains and is the leader in our sprints. Jenny Hasling is back and is a year better. We&rsquo;ll be very strong in the sprint free.&rdquo;

MIDDLE DISTANCE AND DISTANCE FREE
The Gophers strongest events are their freestyles, including the middle distance and distance frees. With the the likes of the returning swimmers and the incoming freshmen joining the mix, the Gophers will excel in the stroke. The Gophers return two versatile swimmers in Kate Hardt and Valerie Tukey. Hardt finished the 2004-05 season as the team&rsquo;s most valuable player. She led the team in dual meet points with 211 and is the Gophers&rsquo; returning point scorer at the Big Ten Championships a year ago with 35 points. She held the Gophers&rsquo; fastest times in the 200 free (1:48.38) and the 500 free (4:49.39) and the second fastest in the 1,000 (10:06.54) and the 1,650 free (17:08.10). Tukey led the Gophers in the 1,000 free and the 1,650 free with times of 10:04.67 and 16:55.03. Tukey finished the season with CSCAA Academic All-American honorable mention honors, her first accolade.

&ldquo;Kelly and I know that we need Kate and Val to be leaders in the free events,&rdquo; Nieszner said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ll be competitive in the middle distance group throughout the season and in the dual meets.&rdquo;

Along with Hardt and Tukey, the Gophers will also look to returners Jennifer Chang, Amy Killpatrick, Sharon Leary, Erin O&rsquo;Neil and Jennifer Warmington to help the Gophers score points for the Gophers this season.

Minnesota adds seven newcomers that will make an immediate impact to the free events. Yuen Kobayashi finished sixth at the 2004 Olympic Trials in the 200-meter free and competed with Mission Viejo this past summer. She participated in the 200-meter free and the 400 free at summer nationals. Christine Jennings was a U.S. national qualifier in the 200, 400, 800, 1500 free events. She placed 25th at the 2004 Olympic Trials in the 400 free. Also competing in the middle distance free events will be freshmen Meredith McCarthy. In her senior year, McCarthy won the Texas state championship in the 100 free. Also adding depth to the freestyle events will be Katie Brosseau, Jenna Gamble, Jenny Shaughnessy and sophomore transfer Morgan Sonstegard. Gamble will be used in the distance free events, while Brosseau and Sonstegard will compete in the individual medley. Shaughnessy will compete in the free, the butterfly and the IM.

&ldquo;Last year when we went into a Big Ten meet and one of our four freestylers weren&rsquo;t performing well, we were in trouble because we didn&rsquo;t have the depth,&rdquo; Kremer said. &ldquo;This year we&rsquo;ll probably have five six people contending for the four spots. That being said, it raises the level for everyone and gives you a chance to be more competitive. We are much deeper and stronger in these events than a year ago. This will raise the level of performance for everyone and gives us the opportunity to be more competitive both individually, and with our relay teams.&rdquo;

BACKSTROKE
The Golden Gophers return a strong backstroker in senior Katie Wind. In her junior campaign, Wind led the backstrokers with a time of 55.98 in the 100 back and 1:59.72 in the 200 back. Wind set a lifetime best time of 2:17.51 at the 2005 ConocoPhillips Summer National Championships in Irvine, Calif. Wind's preliminary time was good enough to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Trials.

&ldquo;She&rsquo;s a different swimmer now then she was four months ago,&rdquo; Kremer said. &ldquo;In swimming, you can go to best times or go to another level all together and she did that for us in August. She&rsquo;s not just going to be a leader in the backstroke events, but she&rsquo;s a leader by example for the others because of her work ethic.&rdquo;

Also returning for the Maroon and Gold is Jennifer Hasling. In her sophomore season, Hasling competed in the 100 back and posted the team&rsquo;s second-best time of 57.36. Hasling was a CSCAA Academic All-American honorable mention. Jaclyn Gazvoda will also compete in the back events, clocking the team&rsquo;s third-best time in the 200 in 2:05.92. Erin O&rsquo;Neil and Emma Sinkler return for their second seasons with the Gophers. The Gophers add one freshmen to the backstroke event in Stephanie Gross. Gross was the Minnesota state 100 backstroke champion in 2004 and held six school records and four section records with Catherdral High School.

&ldquo;Jackie made our Big Ten team for the first time as a sophomore,&rdquo; Nieszner said. &ldquo;Emma put in a great summer of training and I think that will show in the short course season.&rdquo;

BUTTERFLY
The Gophers lost a few key seniors from last, year, but Minnesota hopes to fill the void this year with the returners as well as adding a few freshmen to the equation. One of the most versatile swimmers on the team returns for her sophomore season in Erin O&rsquo;Neil. As a freshmen, O&rsquo;Neil clocked the second-fastest times in both the 100 and 200 fly. Lindsey St. Martin returns for her third year as a Golden Gopher. Last year, St. Martin held the team&rsquo;s third-fastest time in the fly events as well as swimming the freestyle strokes. Like St. Martin, Krista Kezbers will swim both the fly and free events. Jamie Howard will also look to contribute in the fly this year.

&ldquo;Lindsey St. Martin will be back and can certainly be the leader of the group,&rdquo; Nieszner said. &ldquo;Krista Kezbers</ a> is swimming well 100 flys and we hope that she can step up this season.&rdquo;

The Gophers will add freshmen Linzey Bachmeier, Danielle Ridder, Jenny Shaughnessy and Kait Strickland. Kremer and Nieszner feel that some of the freshmen will really step up in the fly events and be able to contribute points. &ldquo;Although I think Jenny can have an impact in whatever she swims, I think she&rsquo;ll have a major impact in the fly events,&rdquo; Kremer said. &ldquo;Her sprint fly is great and is certainly capable of swimming a 200.&rdquo;

BREASTSTROKE
Like last year, one of Minnesota&rsquo;s deepest strokes is the breaststroke. The Gophers return six swimmers in the 100 and 200 events. The Minnesota coaches feel that the best is yet to come from this group. Leading the pack is senior captain Bridget McCoy. Last year, McCoy held the team&rsquo;s best time in the 100 (1:03.58) and the second-best time in the 200 (2:17.49). She led the breaststrokers in dual meet points (100) and the Big Ten Championships (30.5). McCoy was also an CSCAA Academic All-American honorable mention. Also returning are seniors Katherine Marshall, Mary Patrek, Katie Proell and Abby Ruess. The group of seniors combined for 90 points in dual meet action and two earned points at the Big Ten Championships. Also returning for the Gophers is junior Erika Bjorklund. In her sophomore season, Bjorklund competed in her second Big Ten Championship and earned 27 points in the regular season.

The Gophers add transfer Jamie Howard and one freshmen in Andrea Rosenberg. Rosenberg held the high school record in the 100 breaststroke and was the Speedo sectional qualifer.

&ldquo;We have a great group of breaststrokers,&rdquo; Kremer said. We have a nice balance of sprint and 200 breaststrokers. They push each other in practice, support one another, and have goals of being one of the Top Breaststroke groups in the Big Ten this year.&rdquo;

INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
Minnesota will have a variety of swimmers that will compete in the individual medley this season with eight listed on the roster. The Gophers&rsquo; leader from the 2004-05 season was Kate Hardt. Last year, Hardt held the team&rsquo;s fastest time in both the 200 and 400 individual medley. Abby Ruess held the team&rsquo;s second-fastest time in each event, clocking 2:05.37 and 4:28.92, respectively. Erika Bjorklund returns for her second year in the event. Minnesota will have a few new faces in the IM this season. Jamie Howard, who did not compete last year, will race in the event this season. Freshmen Danielle Ridder, Kait Strickland, Katie Brosseau and Jenny Shaughnessy will be looked upon to make an immediate impact in the IM events. Ridder was a junior National qualifier in the 400 IM as well as a sectional qualifier. Strickland competed in the 400 IM at the 2005 and 2004 national championships, finishing as high as 24th overall.

DIVING
If Minnesota diving looks a little different this year, it&rsquo;s because it is. Jason Baumann takes over the role as the diving coach after holding an assistant coach role at Indiana. With only three divers on the women&rsquo;s team, Baumann will take this year to take small steps, but hopes to make great strides in the end.

&ldquo;I&rsquo;m really looking forward to this year,&rdquo; Baumann said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited to be here. If we work together, we can accomplish great things. We look towards this year as a transition year. It&rsquo;s going to take time but I think by the time we get around to our conference season we can be prepared to do very well.&rdquo;

Minnesota&rsquo;s lone returner is junior Holly Jakits. In her sophomore season, Jakits was a Big Ten finalist in the platform, finishing sixth overall. Baumann thinks &ldquo;she&rsquo;ll have a good year and do well by the end of the year.&rdquo; The Gophers have two freshmen that will gain experience in just their first season. Brianna Hubbard was a Minnesota State finalist and a member of the Twin Cities Divers. She was also a three-time Junior west national qualifier. Erica Schiffler was named an All-American in 2002 and 2003. Schiffler was a member of the Twin City Divers and went to Junior Nationals three years.

&ldquo;Erica is going to be a fantastic diver for us,&rdquo; Baumann said. &ldquo;She&rsquo;s very capable, talented and qualified to compete at this level. I&rsquo;m looking forward to work with Brianna. I think that she has a lot of athletic potential and good athletes will do very well in this sport because it takes a lot of ability.&rdquo;

Players Mentioned

Spr Free/Fly
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Breast/IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Dist Free/IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Spr Free/Fly
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
MD Free
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Dist Free
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Back
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Back
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Free IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Free/Back/Fly
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Sprint
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
MD Free
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Free
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Dist Free
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Dist Free
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Free/Fly
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Free
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Spr Free Breast
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Free
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Breaststroke
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Breaststroke
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Free/Back
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Breaststroke
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
IM Fly
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Breast/Free
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Breast IM Fly
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Diving
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Free Fly IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Back
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
MD Free
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Free/Fly
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
IM Fly
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Free
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Dist Free
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Back
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
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