Coaches and Staff

On April 12, 2011, Kelly Kremer became the first head coach of Minnesota Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving programs. A 13-year veteran of the Minnesota staff, Kremer has taken the Gopher women's program to unprecedented success as the co-head coach for the past seven years following an incredible run of six years as an associate head coach and assistant with the men's program.

In the last five years with the women's program, Minnesota finished at least 13th at the NCAA Championships including a program-best ninth-place mark in 2011. The 2011 meet was also the high-water mark in another fashion with three Gophers winning national championships. Sophomore Haley Spencer took the 200 breaststroke title while senior Jillian Tyler took the 100 breaststroke crown. Diver Kelci Bryant won her second national title in as many seasons, winning the 1-meter title as a junior after taking the 3-meter crown as a sophomore. Prior to 2010, Minnesota had won just one NCAA individual title. Overall 25 different athletes earned All-America honors in Kremer's seven seasons with the women's program.

The Gophers also experienced great success in Big Ten Conference action, finishing at least second in the last four conference championships including winning the 2008 team title, its first since 2000. Kremer and Terry Nieszner guided 33 event champions during their seven seasons as co-head coaches.

The success hasn't been limited to the pool under Kremer's watch. The Gophers have posted at least 14 Academic All-Big Ten selections in each of his seven seasons with the women's program including 22 in 2011 and 2005. Kaylee?Jamison became the first Gopher to earn GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team honors in 2011. Jenny Shaughnessy was a a Second Team Academic All-American in 2009.

After graduating a highly-successful class of seniors, Kremer and Nieszner reloaded with yet another talented group in 2009-10. At the Big Ten Championships, Minnesota captured seven conference event titles over the course of four days. The coaches guided seven individuals to first-team All-Big Ten honors and placed second at Big Tens for the second-consecutive year. In what some considered a "rebuliding" year, Kremer and Nieszner's team scored 572.5 points at Big Tens and went on to qualify 13 individuals to the 2010 NCAA Championships. Bryant, who was named the Big Ten Diver of the Year, went on to earn the national title in the 3-meter at NCAAs, the program's second NCAA event winner and the first under Kremer and Nieszner's regime. Minnesota placed 12th in the national standings when it recorded 102 points at NCAAs. Along with their efforts in the pool, Minnesota placed 14 on the Academic All-Big Ten list, while Kaylee Jamison held one of the athletic department's top grade point average for female athletes.

The 2008-09 season marked the Maroon and Gold's second-best national finish. The Gophers finished 11th overall in the nation and had the school's best representation with 15 student-athletes competing. For the second-straight year, Jillian Tyler finished as the national runner-up in the 100 breaststroke and third overall in the 200 breaststroke. At the conference level, Minnesota finished second in the Big Ten standings. Jenny Shaughnessy was the Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships as the Gophers had 11 swimmers on the first-team All-Big Ten list. Minnesota captured a school-best 10 event wins at the league championships, including three relay wins. Minnesota had 17 members on the Academic All-Big Ten team.

In 2008, Kremer and Nieszner returned to the top of the Big Ten when their team won the championship title. During the course of the championship, the Gophers won five event titles and broke 14 school records. Under Kremer's and Nieszner's tutelage, the Gophers had eight student athletes earn first-team All-Big Ten honors. The duo also coached Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Jillian Tyler, who won the 100 and 200 breaststrokes and helped the 400 medley relay to a conference title. Following the conference meet, Minnesota set a school record as 12 student-athletes were selected to compete at the NCAA Championships. During that time, nine earned All-America honors as the Gophers finished 13th in the nation. Following the national championship, Tyler became the second Gopher in school history to be named to an Olympic team. Tyler, a native of Calgary, Alberta, swam the 100 breaststroke with for Canada at the Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

Since Kremer and Nieszner took over the Gopher women's swimming and diving program, Minnesota has improved as a team every year in either the conference or the national championship level. In 2006-07, Minnesota moved up eight spots at the NCAA championships after a 21st finish from the previous year. The Gophers earned All-America honors in the 200, 400 and 800 free relays and coached Jenny Shaughnessy and Yuen Kobayashi to individual All-America honors. Along with their accomplishments on the national scene, the team finished fourth at the Big Ten Championships and led the Gophers to three Big Ten champions in Kobayashi (1,650 free), Christine Jennings (500 free) and the 800 free relay.

After finishing sixth in the league championships in 2005, the Gophers sky-rocketed to a second-place finish at the 2006 Big Ten Conference Championships. Not only did the Gophers earn over 530 points at the conference championship, Kremer and Nieszner were named Co-Big Ten Coaches of the Year. The Gophers had four named to the first-team All-Big Ten Team and Yuen Kobayashi was named Freshman of the Year. Along with an outstanding conference performance, Kremer and Nieszner's and squad had 10 swimmers qualify for the 2006 NCAA Championships, the most for the program since 1997-98. Along with 10 competing at the national championships, nine earned All-America honorable mention status, with the team placing 21st overall.

In their first year at the helm Minnesota swimming in 2004-05, Kremer and Nieszner's team ranked in the top 25 of the College Swimming Coaches Association of America. After an impressive performance at the Georgia Invite, the Gophers entered the poll at No. 24. Minnesota was ranked as high as No. 23 following the Quad Duals against Big Ten opponents Wisconsin, Illinois and Purdue. The Gophers finished sixth at the Big Ten Championships, a higher finish then predicted. Minnesota finished the season with a 7-1 dual meet record and a 5-1 mark in Big Ten action. Not only did the Gophers improve in the pool, but also landed one of the best recruiting classes in the nation. Shortly after being named as co-head coach, Kremer was also named as an assistant coach with USA Swimming at the 2004 USA World Cup Team in Melbourne, Australia.

Prior to becoming the women's swimming and diving co-head coach in the spring of 2004, Kremer was a member of the Minnesota men's swimming staff with head coach Dennis Dale. Kremer was an assistant coach for the Golden Gophers for four years before being promoted to the associate head coach position in 2002. Since Kremer's arrival in 1998, the Golden Gopher men's team won three Big Ten Championships, including back-to-back titles in 2001 and 2002 and again in 2004. The other three years the Maroon and Gold finished second at the league championships. The Gophers have also placed in the Top 10 at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships the past five years.

Primarily responsible for middle distance and distance swimmers at Minnesota, Kremer was the personal coach for more then 30 NCAA All-America performances. Kremer coached some of the best men's swimmers in the country. Under his tutelage, Jeff Hackler was a 15-time All-American, a school record holder and a multiple Big Ten Champion in the breaststroke events. Kremer also coached All-American and Canadian Olympian Mike Brown and All-Americans Travis Beckerle, Ryan Plummer and Matt Taylor. Kremer has placed three of his athletes on teams that represented the United States in International competition. Justin Mortimer competed at the 2003 World University Games after winning the Big Ten Championship in the 1650 free. Mortimer went on to compete at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials, placing third in the 1500-meter freestyle. Hackler competed in the 2002 World University Games, while former women's swimmer Keri Hehn swam in the 2003 World University Games. Kremer also coached Keam Ang, who competed for Malaysia, and Yoav Meiri, who competed for Israel in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. In addition, Kremer had the honor of being Team Mexico's coach at the 2002 Short Course World Championships in Moscow, Russia.

A native of Mandan, N.D., Kremer began his coaching career in 1988 with the Springfield Aquatics Swim Team in Springfield, Mo. From 1992-1994 Kremer was the Graduate Assistant Coach for Drury University, also in Springfield. He served as Head Coach for John Brown University for one year before moving to Mission Viejo, California in 1995 to serve as Assistant National Team Coach to Bill Rose and the Mission Viejo Nadadores from 1995-1998.

As an athlete, Kelly finished fifth in the 100 backstroke at the 1991 US Open and participated in the 1992 Olympic Trials in the same event. During his collegiate career, he was a 24-time NAIA National Champion and 29-time NAIA All American for Drury University, and was elected to the school's Sports Hall of Fame in the summer of 1997. Coach Kremer owns both a B.A. and M.Ed. in education, both from Drury.

He resides in Apple Valley, Minn. with his wife, Eva Marie.

The list of accomplishments is lengthy. Five Big Ten titles in the last 10 years and seven in the last 14. Ninteen straight top-15 finishes at the NCAA Championships. Twenty-two consecutive top-three finishes at the Big Ten Championships. Over 100 different All-Americans. As Dennis Dale enters his 26th year as the head coach at the University of Minnesota, his leadership has taken Minnesota from a bottom level Big Ten program to one of the nation's elite and most respected.

Perhaps the most impressive mark of Dale's tenure has been its consistency. Minnesota has finished in the top three in the Big Ten each of the last 22 years and 18 of which were either championship or runner-up teams. Dale has coached at least nine All-Americans for 16 straight seasons dating to 1993-94

Making Dale's progression to a national power even more impressive is the state of the program that he inherited in 1985-86. The program which has over 100 different All-Americans in the last 20 years, hadn't made a top-five Big Ten finish since 1967 and hadn't posted a top-15 NCAA?finish since 1972. When he guided Minnesota to the Big Ten crown in 1996, it broke a 70-year conference title drought.
Dale is the dean of Big Ten coaches in his 26th season. He is the only active coach with more than one conference title under his belt and has entered elite waters for his tenure. With seven career titles, he ranks fifth all-time in Big Ten history behind only James `Doc' Counsilman of Indiana (23), Michigan's Matt Mann (16) and Jon Urbanchek (13) and Ohio State's Mike Peppe (12).

A six-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, Dale guided the Gophers to back-to-back Big?Ten titles in 2004 and 2005, bringing Minnesota's run to four in five years. Terry Silkaitis grabbed conference crowns in the 100 and 200 free, running his career total to five individual wins, the most of any Gopher under Dale's tutelage. Silkaitis also walked away from the Twin Cities armed with 23 All-America certificates over his career. Minnesota finished 11th at the NCAA Championships, held at University Aquatic Center. Justin Mortimer, who finished his illustrious career with 13 All-America awards, finished in the top eight three times, including a third place finish in the 500 free. Mortimer went on to win three medals at the World University Games over the summer.

After taking second at the Big Ten Championships in 2006, Minnesota returned to the top in 2007, edging Michigan in the meet's final event to take the conference crown. Dale's team demonstrated amazing depth, winning only the meet's final event en route to the championship. The Gophers also returned to the top 10 at the NCAA Championships. Igor Cerensek ended his career as one of the Gophers' greatest sprinters of all-time, finishing with 13 All-America honors and finaling in all 12 of his Big Ten individual events.

The 2007 title marked the fifth in seven years. The run is tied for the fourth-best over a seven-year period in Big Ten history behind just Indiana's amazing 20-title run from 1961-80, Michigan's 10-title streak from 1986-95 and an early run of nine in a row by Ohio State from 1949-56. Dale's Gophers have been the most dominant Big Ten program since the mid-1990s. The Gophers have secured seven titles since 1996 while only Michigan has won multiple conference crowns in that period with four.

Although Minnesota took third at the 2008 Big Ten meet, the Gophers still managed to post 12 All-Americans and an NCAA 11th-place finish. David Plummer ended an illustrious career with four All-America certificates, running his career total to 14. The Gophers matched the 11th place finish at the 2009 NCAA Championships and his team won two conference titles en route to a third place finish at the Big Ten Championships.

The Gophers extended their NCAA top-15 finish streak to 19 with a 14th-place showing at the 2010 NCAA Championships. Minnesota finished with nine All-Americans.

Dale also received a variety of accolades following the 2008-09 season. He was inducted into the "M" Club Hall of Fame for his coaching and athletic prowess at Minnesota and was also inducted into the Burnsville High School Athletic Hall of Fame for his coaching career prior to arriving at the U of M.

Minnesota finished 11th at the NCAA meet and second at Big Tens in 2006 and posted plenty of accomplishments. Adam Mitchell became the Gophers' first Big Ten 200 individual medley champ since Paul Nelsen in 1994 and earned five All-America certificates, bringing his career haul to 11 under Dale's guidance. All five of Minnesota's relays reached All-America honors for the second straight year. The Gophers also had an outstanding year in the classroom with 19 athletes earning Academic All-Big Ten honors while eight more earned CSCAA First Team Academic All-America honors.

Dale has stressed academics throughout his career. In the last seven years, 87 Gophers have been named Academic All-Big Ten, an average of 13 per year. In addition, 31 of his student-athletes have earned Academic All-America honors. John Cahoy, was named the GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year in 1999 while Bernie Zeruhn earned the accolade in 1996. Travis Beckerle was impressively awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship in 2006.

In 2003-04, Dale not only earned his fifth Big Ten championship at Minnesota's helm, but nine swimmers earned 22 All-America certificates. The Gophers were remarkably consistent at the Big Ten Championships, scoring in every event en route to a third Big Ten title in a five-year span.

His squads finished seventh at the 2000 and 2003 NCAA Championships, eighth at the 2002 NCAA Championships, ninth at the 2001 NCAA?Championships, 15th at the 1999 NCAA?Championships, 14th at the 1998 NCAA Championships and 12th at both the 1997 and 1996 NCAA?Championships. The team also took ninth (1995), seventh (1994), 11th (1993) and sixth (1992) the previous four seasons.

Minnesota ended the 2002-03 season second in the Big Ten, ending the Gophers' two-year reign as conference champions. Dale earned his sixth Big Ten Coach of the Year, while Terry Silkaitis was named the Big Ten Swimmer of the Year after winning the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle events. Minnesota had 14 swimmers participate at nationals, while 12 earned All-America certificates.

The 2001-02 season was tremendous for Minnesota. They scored 711.50 points en route to the Big?Ten title. The Gophers claimed seven conference titles in the process, including three of the five relay crowns. En route to an eighth place finish at the NCAA Championships, 13 Golden Gophers earned 31 All-America certificates, including 14 of the first team variety. In addition, Dale led Minnesota to back-to-back Big Ten titles for the first time in school history. It was his fourth Big Ten title at the helm.
Minnesota won the Big Ten title as well in 2000-01 and took ninth at the NCAAs. Dale earned his fourth Big?Ten Swimming Coach of the Year award.

The 1999-2000 season was full of successes for Minnesota. The Golden Gophers finished with a perfect 7-0 dual meet record. They finished second in the Big Ten and had their highest NCAA?finish (7th) since the 1993-94 season. The 1998-99 season saw the Golden Gophers finish 8-1 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten season. During the '97-98 season, the Golden Gophers went 7-1 in dual meets and 3-1 in the Big Ten. In 1997, Minnesota went 8-0, giving Dale his first undefeated season in 12 years.

At the '99 Big Ten Championships, Minnesota placed just behind Penn State with 588 points. The Golden Gophers clinched four relay titles and had a fifth relay team disqualified in the first day of competition, which prevented Minnesota a possible sweep of the relay titles and another conference crown.

The Gophers' big breakthrough came in 1996 when they broke a 70-year Big Ten title dry spell. The Gophers posted 620.5 points to beat Michigan by 75 points and end the Wolverines' 10-year stranglehold on the Big Ten crown. Bernie Zeruhn won three individual titles at the meet, including the 500 freestyle. He remains the only Gopher to ever win that event at the conference meet.

Dale also directed the?Gophers to conference titles in 1996 and 1998. Prior to winning the title in 1996, Minnesota had not won the conference title since 1926.

Dale established Minnesota on the national scene in 1989 when his team finished 11th at the NCAA Championships, marking its first top 20 placing at the national meet since 1970. Four relays earned All-America honors in 1989 and six individuals earned All-America accolades, including Bengt Zikarsky, who finished fourth in the 100 free. In 1991, Sean Quackenbush finished third in the 200 butterfly. He went on to earn seven individual All-America honors.

The 1992 season was Dale's best season to date. His team was the runner-up at the Big?Ten Championships and made a huge splash at the NCAA Championships, finishing sixth, Minnesota's best prior NCAA mark since 1964. All five relays earned All-America honors and Paul?Nelsen was the runner-up in the 200 individual medley.

Dale added to his distinguished list of international coaching experience in 2006 when USA Swimming named him the head men's coach for the 2007 World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand. His team earned 16 medals overall, including six golds. He also had the opportunity to coach his own student-athlete, David Plummer, who swam the 50 and 100-meter back at the Games. It was the third time Dale represented the United States at the World University Games and the first as a head coach.

Dale, who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1967 with bachelor's degrees in business administration and physical education, was a senior on the `67 Golden Gopher squad that finished 10th at the national meet. He placed seventh in the 100 backstroke and led off the ninth-place 400 medley relay unit en route to garnering All-America honors.

Before taking over the reins of the Golden Gopher program in '85, he had an outstanding 13-year career as head boys' and girls' coach at Burnsville (Minn.) High School, where he built the Blaze into a perennial state powerhouse. His teams won four Minnesota state championships, and he was honored as the state Coach of the Year in each of his final four seasons. While there, he coached more than 20 prep All-Americans and a number of Junior Olympic finalists.

Under Dale's direction, Minnesota also clinched the USA National Championship in April of '98 at the Aquatic Center, as well as leading the Gopher Swim Club to a second-place finish at the 1991 Long Course Senior Nationals, where former U of M swimmer and All-American Del Cerney won Minnesota's first national title in more than 20 years in the 50 freestyle.

Under the guidance of co-head coaches Terry Nieszner and Kellly Kremer, the University of Minnesota women's swimming and diving team has risen to the top of the Big Ten Conference and is a constant force within the national rankings. In their six seasons as the helm of the Golden Gopher program, Nieszner and Kremer have led the Gophers to a Big Ten title (2008), three second-place Big Ten finishes and a top 15 performance at the NCAA Championships every year.

After graduating a highly-successful class of seniors, Nieszner and Kremer reloaded with yet another talented group in 2009-10. At the Big Ten Championships, Minnesota captured seven conference event titles over the course of four days. The coaches guided seven individuals to first-team All-Big Ten honors and placed second at Big Tens for the second-consecutive year. In what some considered a "rebuliding" year, Nieszner and Kremer's team scored 572.5 points at Big Tens and went on to qualify 13 individuals to the 2010 NCAA Championships. Kelci Bryant, who was named the Big Ten Diver of the Year, went on to earn the national title in the 3-meter at NCAAs, the program's second NCAA event winner and the first under Nieszner and Kremer's regime. Minnesota placed 12th in the national standings when it recorded 102 points at NCAAs. Along with their efforts in the pool, Minnesota placed 14 on the Academic All-Big Ten list, while Kaylee Jamison held one of the athletic department's top grade point average for female athletes.

The 2008-09 season marked the Maroon and Gold's second-best national finish. The Gophers finished 11th overall in the nation and had the school's best representation with 15 student-athletes competing. For the second-straight year, Jillian Tyler finished as the national runner-up in the 100 breaststroke and third overall in the 200 breaststroke. At the conference level, Minnesota finished second in the Big Ten standings. Jenny Shaughnessy was the Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships as the Gophers had 11 swimmers on the first-team All-Big Ten list. Minnesota captured a school-best 10 event wins at the league championships, including three relay wins. Minnesota also had 17 members on the Academic All-Big Ten team.

In 2008, Nieszner and Kremer returned to the top of the Big Ten when their team won the championship title. During the course of the championship, the Gophers won five event titles and broke 14 school records. Under Nieszner's and Kremer's tutelage, the Gophers had eight student athletes earn first-team All-Big Ten honors. The duo also coached Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Jillian Tyler, who won the 100 and 200 breaststrokes and helped the 400 medley relay to a conference title. Following the conference meet, Minnesota set a school record as 12 student-athletes were selected to compete at the NCAA Championships. During that time, nine earned All-America honors as the Gophers finished 13th in the nation. Following the national championship, Tyler became the second Gopher in school history to be named to an Olympic team. Tyler, a native of Calgary, Alberta, will swim the 100 breaststroke with Team Canada at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

Since Nieszner and Kremer took over the Gopher women's swimming and diving program, Minnesota has improved as a team every year in either the conference or at national championship level. In 2006-07, Minnesota moved up eight spots at the NCAA championships after a 21st finish from the previous year. The Gophers earned All-America honors in the 200, 400 and 800 free relays. Nieszner and Kremer coached Jenny Shaughnessy and Yuen Kobayashi to individual All-America honors. Along with their accomplishments on the national scene, the team finished fourth at the Big Ten Championships and led the Gophers to three Big Ten champions in Kobayashi (1,650 free), Christine Jennings (500 free) and the 800 free relay.

After finishing sixth in the league championships in 2005, the Gophers skyrocketed to a second-place finish at the 2006 Big Ten Conference Championships. Not only did the Gophers earn over 530 points at the conference championship, Nieszner and Kremer were named Co-Big Ten Coaches of the Year. The Gophers had four named to the first-team All-Big Ten Team and Kobayashi was named Freshman of the Year. Along with an outstanding conference performance, Nieszner and Kremer's squad had 10 swimmers qualify for the 2006 NCAA Championships, the most for the program since 1997-98. Along with 10 competing at the national championships, nine earned All-America honorable mention status, with the team placing 21st overall.

In their first year at the helm Minnesota swimming, Nieszner and Kremer's team ranked in the top 25 of the College Swimming Coaches Association of America. After an impressive performance at the Georgia Invite, the Gophers entered the poll at No. 24. Minnesota was ranked as high as No. 23 following the Quad Duals against Big Ten opponents Wisconsin, Illinois and Purdue. The Gophers finished sixth at the Big Ten Championships, a higher finish then predicted. Minnesota finished the season with a 7-1 dual meet record and a 5-1 mark in Big Ten action. Not only did the Gophers improve in the pool, but also landed one of the best recruiting classes in the nation. Nieszner and Kremer recruited four summer national qualifiers.

After serving as the women's swimming assistant coach for 27 years, Nieszner was named the interim head coach immediately following former head coach Jean Freeman's retirement. Nieszner worked closely with Freeman for nearly three decades, and their coaching philosophies, styles and skills complemented one another very well. Nieszner is a well-known and highly respected member of the swimming community.

During Nieszner's tenure as an assistant, Minnesota won back-to-back Big Ten Championships in 1999 and 2000, and she coached 48 student-athletes to Big Ten titles in 53 individual events and 23 relay events. Since the start of Nieszner's coaching career, the Minnesota women's swimming and diving program has had 58 swimmers earn over 200 All-America certificates and have placed in the NCAA Championships 17 of the last 18 years.

Nieszner guided some of the greatest swimmers, not only in the Big Ten, but also in the nation. In her 27 years, Nieszner coached six-time All-American Diane Wallner, 12-time All-American and American record holder Gretchen Hegener and 10-time All-American Terri Jashinsky. Since the start of Nieszner's career, five student-athletes have earned the Big Ten Medal of Honor award, while seven were named the Women's Athletics Senior Athlete of the Year.

Minnesota also excelled in the classroom, earning two GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-Americans in Uta Herrmann and Dana Baum. The Gophers have had over 100 Academic All-Big Ten honorees, since the award was initiated in 1990.

A former Gopher swimmer, Nieszner was the first woman to earn All-America honors at the University of Minnesota. As a student-athlete, Nieszner was a four-time All-American (1974, twice in 1975, 1976) and a two-time Big Ten champion (1974, 1977). She was inducted into the Minnesota Aquatics Hall of Fame in 1984, the M Club Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Minnesota Swimming Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1994. She graduated in 1977 with a degree in physical education.

Nieszner, her husband, Tom, reside in St. Paul, Minn., and have two sons, Joe and Pat.

Bill is in his first season as associate head coach and seventh year overall as a member of the University of Minnesota men's swimming and diving coaching staff.

In his six seasons with the Golden Gophers, Tramel has made his mark in Minneapolis. Since his arrival, Minnesota has won conference titles in 2005 and 2007 while posting 11th place finishes at the NCAA Championships in 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009 and a 10th place performance in 2007.

Tramel coordinates all of Minnesota's recruiting efforts. He has inked the top talent in the State of Minnesota including current Gophers Michael Richards and Curt Carlson and has reached out of the country for some strong international talent including Karl Burdis (Ireland), Ray Betuzzi (Canada), Ivan Gutesa (Serbia), Hrvoje Capan (Croatia) and Nadav Kochavi (Israel).

In addition to his recruiting efforts, Tramel has made his mark in the pool. He is the primary coach of senior Alex Wold, who was named to the U.S. National Team in 2009 after an outstanding summer that saw him break three school long course records and reach four championship finals at the U.S. Open including third place showings in the 200 free and 400 individual medley. During the regular season, Tramel helped Wold earn All-America honors in the 400 individual medley and 800 free relay.

One of the top collegiate distance coaches in the country, Tramel has coached at least one swimmer invited to the NCAA Championships in the 1650 freestyle every season since 1998. Overall, Tramel has coached 54 All-American selections in his career.

In 2004-05, Tramel helped the Gophers to a second consecutive Big Ten title. The primary coach of the distance and middle distance swimmers, he coached six All-Americans and four school record performances. He guided the outstanding season by Justin Mortimer, who finaled three times at NCAAs and finished third in the 500 freestyle. Under Tramel's tutelage, David Plummer made a statement as as freshman, finishing second in the 100 backstroke at the Big?Ten Championships and earning All-America laurels in both back events at the NCAA Championships. Plummer went on to finish third in the 100-meter back and fourth in the 200 at the 2005 USA?Summer Nationals in Irvine, Calif.

In 2005-06, Tramel coached several swimmers to lifetime-best accomplishments. Plummer finaled twice at the NCAA?Championships including a fifth-place finish in the 200 backstroke. Plummer shattered the school record in the event and posted the top individual finish by a Gopher in the event since 2000. Plummer also went on to finish fifth in the 100-meter back at the 2006 USA Summer Nationals and fifth in the 100, enough to earn a spot on Team USA's roster for the Pan Pacific Championships. Tramel also worked extensively with Zach Wood, who built on three appearances in the finals at the 2006 Big Ten Championships by finaling in the 200-meter butterfly at U.S. Summer Nationals. Tramel coached Travis Beckerle to an outstanding finish to his career as a Golden Gopher in 2006. Beckerle recorded a lifetime-best time in the 1650 free to earn All-America honors at the NCAA Championships. Following the season, the Academic All-American was awarded the NCAA?Postgraduate Scholarship.

Minnesota returned to the top of the Big Ten in 2007. Tramel helped Ray Betuzzi become one of the Big?Ten's best middle distance freestylers, highlighted by a third place finish in the 500 free. Wood wrapped up his Gopher career by earning an invitation to the NCAA Championships where he competed in four events and earned All-America honors in the 800 free relay. Perhaps Tramel's top coaching performance has been with Mike Holmes, who burst on the national scene in 2007, finishing second in the 1650 free at the Big?Ten Championships and ninth at the NCAA Championships. Holmes became just the second swimmer in school history to swim under the 15-minute mark in the event, joining another of Tramel's disciples, Justin Mortimer.

Holmes matched the runner-up finish at Big Tens in 2008 and 2009 and earned All-America honors in the 1650 free as a junior. He went on to finish an impressive third in the 1500-mter free at the 2008 Canadian Olympic Trials.

Betuzzi posted lifetime-bests in the 200 and 500 free during the 2008 postseason and earned All-America honors for a 15th place finish in the 500 at the NCAA Championships. He picked up All-America honors again in 2009 on the 800 free relay that broke the school record at the NCAA?meet.

Tramel's distance swimmer development was proven again with Michael Daup. A modest high school performer, Daup finished eighth in the 1650 free at the 2008 Big Ten Championships and went on to a spectacular summer. He won the USA?Swimming 25K Open Water National Championship and placed fifth in the 5K race while qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 1500-meter free.

Prior to his hiring at Minnesota, the 19-year collegiate coaching veteran spent nine years at North Carolina as the head assistant coach for the Tar Heel men's and women's swimming teams.

At UNC, Tramel coached over 40 All-America honorees and over 35 NCAA individual qualifiers. He directly coached 15 Atlantic Coast Conference individual champions, four ACC Championship meet record holders and 12 athletes to UNC school record performances. Tramel assisted in the coaching of Jessica Perruquet, who won the 200-yard freestyle at the 2003 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. He also coached Sean Quinn, who placed fifth in the 200 breaststroke at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials.

While at UNC, the Tar Heels had nine top-20 finishes at the NCAA Championships and five top-15 team finishes. In 2001, the UNC women's team finished ninth overall for the first time since 1987. Since Tramel's arrival, the Tar Heels have won seven ACC Championships.

Before his stint at UNC, Tramel spent a year as an assistant coach at the University of Georgia. While an assistant at Georgia, the St. Louis, Mo., native worked alongside three-time U.S. Olympic coach Jack Bauerle. He helped lead the Bulldogs' women's team to a nine-spot improvement at the NCAA level -- from 15th place in 1994 to sixth place in 1995 as well as to the NCAA women's championship in the 200-yard freestyle relay that year. Tramel also acted as recruiting coordinator and helped lay the foundation of three straight national champion Bulldog teams. Tramel's recruiting class won Georgia's first national title when they were seniors.

He also served for two years as the top assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the University of South Carolina's men's swimming program from 1992-94. During Tramel's stay, the Gamecocks moved from a 37th-place finish at the NCAA meet to 19th place.

Prior to his work at South Carolina, Tramel spent two years as an assistant coach for both the men's and women's swimming programs at the University of Missouri, his alma mater. He had been a member of the Tiger swimming team and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in consumer economics in 1992.

His early coaching duties were also as an assistant age group coach at the Sugar Creek Swim Club in St. Louis, Mo, in 1988. A year later, he was the assistant age group coach for the St. Louis Aquajets.

 

Ryan Purdy joined the Gopher Swimming staff in May 2011 after spending three seasons as an assistant coach at Fresno State University. Purdy is serving his second stint at the U of M, after beginning his collegiate coaching career as a volunteer assistant with the Minnesota women's program in 2005-06 and 2007-08.

In his three seasons with the Bulldogs, Purdy served as the sprint coach and recruiting coordinator for a NCAA Division I Fresno State program that was reestablished in 2008. One of his top athletes was Dani Yoho, a freestyle sprinter, who contributed to breaking six Fresno State records at the WAC Championships.

Previous to his coaching tenure at Fresno State, Purdy spent two seasons (2005-06 and 2007-08) as the volunteer assistant coach for the Minnesota women's swimming and diving team, assisting co-head coaches, Kremer and Terry Nieszner. While coaching the middle distance and distance group with Kremer, Purdy was significantly involved in the day-to-day program operations of the swim team. During his tenure with the Gophers, the team made huge strides, breaking numerous school records and winning the Big Ten championship in 2008, and placing 13th at the NCAA Championship meet. At the time, the 13th place finish tied the second highest finish in the history of Minnesota women's swimming and diving. During his coaching stint at Minnesota, Purdy had the opportunity to assist in coaching Christine Jennings, who swam for the United States at the 2008 World Open Water Championships. In addition, he helped coach Jillian Tyler who represented Canada in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

Purdy was the associate senior director and coach with the Mission Viejo Nadadores in Mission Viejo, Calif., from 2006-07. While coaching the Nadadores, he was the primary coach for numerous senior sectional qualifiers and was selected as the coach for the Southern California Swimming All-Star Team that won the 2006 Western Zone Championship title. From 2002-05, Purdy served as the senior coach of the North Shore Swim Club in Duluth, Minn. In addition, he was head coach of the girls' swim team at Two Harbors High School in Two Harbors, Minn., and the assistant coach for the boys' and girls' swimming and diving team at Superior Senior High School in Superior, Wis.

A native of Fort Atkinson, Wis., Purdy graduated from the Minnesota-Duluth in 2005 with a B.F.A. in Art Education. He is currently pursuing his Master's of Education in Applied Kinesiology with an emphasis in Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Minnesota.

Eva has been the Head Age Group Coach with Blackline Aquatics (Dolphin site) since the fall of 1998. She has developed numerous State Championship qualifiers, State Champions and Zone qualifiers. Eva believe in a solid IM/distance based training program. She enjoys coaching 12-Under swimmers and teaching them work ethic and commitment. One of her goals is to develop well-rounded swimmers for a long-term career in swimming.

Eva has been one of the directors of Minnesota Swim Camps since the summer of 1999. Before moving to Minnesota, she was an Age Group coach with Mission Viejo Nadadores, CA, one of the most successful teams in the country. Her coaching philosophy and ideas were developed as a part of the Nadadores' staff. Eva has been coaching since 1991 and she is an ASCA (American Swimming Coaches Association) Level 3.

In her swimming career, Eva was a Swedish Junior National Champion and a member of the Swedish Junior National Team. In college, she was a 13 time NAIA National Champion and a 32 time All-American. She was also an Academic All-American, a Team Captain and a Outstanding Senior Finalist at Drury University. Eva was inducted into Drury University's Hall of Fame in 2004.

Eva has been married to Kelly since 1994. Kelly is the Men's and Women's Head Coach at the University of Minnesota.