University of Minnesota Athletics
Four Questions with Coach Kremer
12/23/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
As the first semester wound to a close, GopherSports.com caught up with head coach Kelly Kremer to recap the fall portion of the season and look ahead to Minnesota's upcoming training trip.
At this point in the season, where is the team's progression compared to where you were hoping it would be?
I think we're in a really good place. I really like where we're at. I like how we've competed all semester. We've been consistent on the boards and in the swimming pool. We closed it out with two great meets, with the Jean Freeman and the AT&T Nationals. Academically, we're in a great place. We've had a nice semester. Now we just have to build off of it.
A few people who stood out at Winter Nationals were Brooke Zeiger and Bowe Becker, each winning individually with some fast times. What has been the key to their success so far this year?
I think the collegiate is always a reflection of the summer that preceded it. With those two and many of our other student-athletes, they had great summers. They took the Olympic year seriously and they prepared great this summer. That tends to show up in the college season. It tends to show up in the championship season, so I'm excited to see what March brings. Those two did an awesome job for us this past summer and have continued to work and build off the swimming careers they've already had.
Is there anyone who maybe wasn't on the championship meet roster last year that has stood out this year?
Chantal Nack is a great example. And Tevyn Waddell, who was at Winter Nationals, is a first-year student for us who I think is very capable of impacting the NCAA Championships. I think you're starting to see some breaststrokers do some things. On the men's side, John Bushman wasn't at NCs last year and I think he's going to have an impact both in the breaststroke and in the 400 IM this year. I think at the conference level, a guy like Brenner Hohenstein could do something special for us. I like what our young sprinters are doing-James Tidd, Hunter Doerr. Those guys are in their sophomore season and it's time to take a step forward, and I like where they're at right now. I want to see them continue to build on that. That could really help us. We've got a nice group. We've got a lot of capable people. Erin Emery, who last year I thought got her feet on the ground as a first-year student, this year she's moving and I think she'll impact the NCAA meet for us, too. There are lots of opportunities for our team.
What are you most looking forward to about the upcoming Hawai'i training trip?
What I'm looking forward to the most is spending time with the team. School, the hustle and bustle and their routines are so complicated. They have a complicated life. So when they're at the pool they're all business and they come and go quick. They have life calling them pretty quickly after their practices. When you're on a training trip and you're away from school and you're away from other distractions that the campus might hold, as a coach you really get to spend time with them and you get to talk with them more. It's an opportunity for the entire team to spend more time with each other and really get to know each other better and come together. It's a necessary time and a time I really look forward to.
Players Mentioned
