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Five Points with Head Coach Kelly Kremer
4/20/2020 11:37:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving
Although the 2019-20 swimming and diving season is officially in the rearview mirror, there has been plenty of excitement surrounding the Minnesota program in recent weeks. April began with the Gophers announcing their annual team award recipients, which was subsequently followed with nine Gophers being honored with CSCAA All-American status and the welcoming of the Maroon and Gold's highly-anticipated 2020-21 recruiting classes for both the women and the men.
In light of these recent events, GopherSports sat down with head coach Kelly Kremer to break down some of this news as well as gauge the current climate of the team during ongoing COVID-19 public health concerns.
GS: How is the team staying in contact during this unprecedented time?
Kremer: "I think times like this really let you know how well you work together and it gives you a chance to really see different strengths of your staff. Our coaching staff has just been incredible with their creativity and connectivity with the team. We have a team meeting every week, but then we're also breaking our team into various small groups every week and each of our staff members run those meetings. We rotate who runs those meetings so everyone is involved. It's not just me. It's been fun to listen to our coaches talk more. I've coached with Wenbo Chen for 11 years and I haven't had an opportunity to hear him talk to the team like I have during this time. It's been a lot of fun to hear our staff engage with the team and connect with them. We even had our awards banquet already. We've done a really nice job of staying connected. We have a lot of content for the weeks that we're going to still be in this position. There are positives that come out of this, and that's certainly one of them."
GopherSports: What were some of the more impressive swims you saw from the team throughout 2019-20?
Kremer: "We're coming off a year unlike any we have ever experienced. It even ended with the pandemic, something we've never seen in our lifetimes. The performances that stand out to me are kind of peripheral. Nick Saulnier, given the adversity he had to go through this season, for him to A final in the 200 free at Big Tens, that swim really stands out to me. Just an extraordinary swim and one I'll never forget. Obviously, Max McHugh on the men's side, winning his first individual Big Ten Championship in the 100 breast. He was unshaved and posted the fastest time in the country at 50.67. I'm really confident we would've had a young man at the top of the podium at NCAAs. Other swims on the men's side that were really, really exciting to watch were Cameron Kelley in the 500 free at Big Tens. He made the A final and put up a best time there. I was so proud of both Aidan Dulaney and Aidan Dillon, distance guys on the men's side. To go to the 500 free finals really stood out to me. Just how impressive those swims were and how quickly those two have developed. Tuomas Pokkinen, another one, to see him go lifetime best in the 200 fly in his best event to finish his collegiate career, that swim meant a lot, too. Matthew Thomas on the men's side, another senior and team captain, just had an outstanding Big Ten meet for us.
"On the women's side, both Tevyn Waddell and Lindsey Kozelsky had really nice Big Ten meets. Emily Cook, she qualified individually for NCAAs for the first time ever. It was really fun to watch her qualify individually [in the 100 back]. Emma Lezer, a young freshman, faced a lot of adversity this year and to see her excel and achieve some lifetime bests this year, I enjoyed that very much. Another young lady on the distance side, Maggie Erwin, what she did at the conference meet in the 1650 free was just extraordinary. I just can't wait to watch the remainder of her career. Olivia Bloomer, a sprinter for us, she took her swimming to another level this year. Off the top of my head, those are the swims that really stand out."
GS: What excites you most about this incoming recruiting class and how does it stack up against your past classes?
Kremer: "I have to tip my hat to [assistant coaches] Jesse Moore and Maddy Olson. Those two are our recruiting gurus. Really, our whole staff. [Associate head coach] Jeff Kostoff, Wenbo, myself and [senior associate head coach] Terry Ganley. It's been a true team effort to recruit the way we have. I'm prefacing it that way to say that the classes that are coming in are extraordinary. On the men's side, we've been fortunate to string some good classes together along the way. I go back to my very first recruiting class on the men's side in 1999. That was a great class. But I look at this one and on paper, it's probably the best group that we've ever brought in. I think there's at least three men in there that can impact NCAAs year one, and maybe more. Then you add that we finally get Lucas Farrar eligible this year. He was with us this past year, but this starts his four-year clock this coming fall. He's an elite sprinter and a member of this class as well. The men's class is loaded.
"Then, I go to the women's side and it's the same story. It's setting up very well with a balanced team. We don't have a weak event. Every class is developing quickly. The culture is where we want it. And then you bring in this group of young ladies as first-year students that are high-impact athletically. They can certainly impact NCAAs and Big Tens and there's a number of them that can do that. You combine that with getting our divers back in Sarah Bacon and Kristen Hayden – both teams are set up very well for the 2020-21 seasons."
GS: Comment on having nine student-athletes named CSCAA All-Americans and five of those being first-time honorees.
Kremer: "Any time you're an All-American, it certainly warrants applause and a pat on the back. It's a challenging and very difficult thing to qualify for the NCAA Championships. It's the best of the best in the world. For them to even make that meet is something. I'm happy the CSCAA chose to recognize those student-athletes in that way. I should probably stop being amazed at what Wenbo does, but when you have a diving group on the women's side that was literally first-year students across the board – to see what they did and watch what Joy Zhu did – what an incredible season for them. I wish we could have gotten to experience it at NCAAs, because I think the experience of competing at that level is invaluable. The men's side, again, it would have been a lot of fun to see Max perform on the swimming side and see what he could've done on a second effort, because he gained a lot of great experience last year. On the men's side, too, Wenbo always does a phenomenal job and he did once again. All of that should benefit us because all of them will come back hungry next year."
GS: What has been your overarching message to your team over the past several weeks?
Kremer: "Consistently, spreading the message that we're going to get through this and we're going to be okay. We will get on the other side of this. I think we're honest with them as we're approaching things. But, we do know that if we look 24 months down the road that we're going to get on the other side of this. While things might look differently, we're going to get there, and so we're encouraging them to do all the things that we would be doing if they were on campus – other than swim and dive normally. We're asking them to stay healthy. We're asking them to do a nice job of connecting with their teammates, their families and their friends. We're asking them to really keep a close check on their mental health. Staying active, doing things that can help them physically and with their mental health as well. And we're helping with that process by connecting with them as much as we are. In this past week's talk, we talked about creative things they can do to try and do some swimming, or diving, or certain simulating of that sport. It's a very specific and honest sport, where the only way you can be a great swimmer or diver is to actually do it. With swimming and diving, you really need a tank of water. To not have one, you have to be really creative to work on your craft. But like I said, we've been honest with them with where we're at and what things could look like when we're back. We'll get on the other side of this and be okay. That's the message we've sent to them."
In light of these recent events, GopherSports sat down with head coach Kelly Kremer to break down some of this news as well as gauge the current climate of the team during ongoing COVID-19 public health concerns.
GS: How is the team staying in contact during this unprecedented time?
Kremer: "I think times like this really let you know how well you work together and it gives you a chance to really see different strengths of your staff. Our coaching staff has just been incredible with their creativity and connectivity with the team. We have a team meeting every week, but then we're also breaking our team into various small groups every week and each of our staff members run those meetings. We rotate who runs those meetings so everyone is involved. It's not just me. It's been fun to listen to our coaches talk more. I've coached with Wenbo Chen for 11 years and I haven't had an opportunity to hear him talk to the team like I have during this time. It's been a lot of fun to hear our staff engage with the team and connect with them. We even had our awards banquet already. We've done a really nice job of staying connected. We have a lot of content for the weeks that we're going to still be in this position. There are positives that come out of this, and that's certainly one of them."
GopherSports: What were some of the more impressive swims you saw from the team throughout 2019-20?
Kremer: "We're coming off a year unlike any we have ever experienced. It even ended with the pandemic, something we've never seen in our lifetimes. The performances that stand out to me are kind of peripheral. Nick Saulnier, given the adversity he had to go through this season, for him to A final in the 200 free at Big Tens, that swim really stands out to me. Just an extraordinary swim and one I'll never forget. Obviously, Max McHugh on the men's side, winning his first individual Big Ten Championship in the 100 breast. He was unshaved and posted the fastest time in the country at 50.67. I'm really confident we would've had a young man at the top of the podium at NCAAs. Other swims on the men's side that were really, really exciting to watch were Cameron Kelley in the 500 free at Big Tens. He made the A final and put up a best time there. I was so proud of both Aidan Dulaney and Aidan Dillon, distance guys on the men's side. To go to the 500 free finals really stood out to me. Just how impressive those swims were and how quickly those two have developed. Tuomas Pokkinen, another one, to see him go lifetime best in the 200 fly in his best event to finish his collegiate career, that swim meant a lot, too. Matthew Thomas on the men's side, another senior and team captain, just had an outstanding Big Ten meet for us.
"On the women's side, both Tevyn Waddell and Lindsey Kozelsky had really nice Big Ten meets. Emily Cook, she qualified individually for NCAAs for the first time ever. It was really fun to watch her qualify individually [in the 100 back]. Emma Lezer, a young freshman, faced a lot of adversity this year and to see her excel and achieve some lifetime bests this year, I enjoyed that very much. Another young lady on the distance side, Maggie Erwin, what she did at the conference meet in the 1650 free was just extraordinary. I just can't wait to watch the remainder of her career. Olivia Bloomer, a sprinter for us, she took her swimming to another level this year. Off the top of my head, those are the swims that really stand out."
GS: What excites you most about this incoming recruiting class and how does it stack up against your past classes?
Kremer: "I have to tip my hat to [assistant coaches] Jesse Moore and Maddy Olson. Those two are our recruiting gurus. Really, our whole staff. [Associate head coach] Jeff Kostoff, Wenbo, myself and [senior associate head coach] Terry Ganley. It's been a true team effort to recruit the way we have. I'm prefacing it that way to say that the classes that are coming in are extraordinary. On the men's side, we've been fortunate to string some good classes together along the way. I go back to my very first recruiting class on the men's side in 1999. That was a great class. But I look at this one and on paper, it's probably the best group that we've ever brought in. I think there's at least three men in there that can impact NCAAs year one, and maybe more. Then you add that we finally get Lucas Farrar eligible this year. He was with us this past year, but this starts his four-year clock this coming fall. He's an elite sprinter and a member of this class as well. The men's class is loaded.
"Then, I go to the women's side and it's the same story. It's setting up very well with a balanced team. We don't have a weak event. Every class is developing quickly. The culture is where we want it. And then you bring in this group of young ladies as first-year students that are high-impact athletically. They can certainly impact NCAAs and Big Tens and there's a number of them that can do that. You combine that with getting our divers back in Sarah Bacon and Kristen Hayden – both teams are set up very well for the 2020-21 seasons."
GS: Comment on having nine student-athletes named CSCAA All-Americans and five of those being first-time honorees.
Kremer: "Any time you're an All-American, it certainly warrants applause and a pat on the back. It's a challenging and very difficult thing to qualify for the NCAA Championships. It's the best of the best in the world. For them to even make that meet is something. I'm happy the CSCAA chose to recognize those student-athletes in that way. I should probably stop being amazed at what Wenbo does, but when you have a diving group on the women's side that was literally first-year students across the board – to see what they did and watch what Joy Zhu did – what an incredible season for them. I wish we could have gotten to experience it at NCAAs, because I think the experience of competing at that level is invaluable. The men's side, again, it would have been a lot of fun to see Max perform on the swimming side and see what he could've done on a second effort, because he gained a lot of great experience last year. On the men's side, too, Wenbo always does a phenomenal job and he did once again. All of that should benefit us because all of them will come back hungry next year."
GS: What has been your overarching message to your team over the past several weeks?
Kremer: "Consistently, spreading the message that we're going to get through this and we're going to be okay. We will get on the other side of this. I think we're honest with them as we're approaching things. But, we do know that if we look 24 months down the road that we're going to get on the other side of this. While things might look differently, we're going to get there, and so we're encouraging them to do all the things that we would be doing if they were on campus – other than swim and dive normally. We're asking them to stay healthy. We're asking them to do a nice job of connecting with their teammates, their families and their friends. We're asking them to really keep a close check on their mental health. Staying active, doing things that can help them physically and with their mental health as well. And we're helping with that process by connecting with them as much as we are. In this past week's talk, we talked about creative things they can do to try and do some swimming, or diving, or certain simulating of that sport. It's a very specific and honest sport, where the only way you can be a great swimmer or diver is to actually do it. With swimming and diving, you really need a tank of water. To not have one, you have to be really creative to work on your craft. But like I said, we've been honest with them with where we're at and what things could look like when we're back. We'll get on the other side of this and be okay. That's the message we've sent to them."
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