Courtesy: Green Bay Athletics
GREEN BAY, Wis.– The Green Bay swimming and diving team is officially welcoming eight newcomers for the 2019-20 season. These signees, brought in by head coach Reed Robelot and diving coach Tom Stover, should bring in major players to the women’s roster, as well as supplement a men’s team that has been steadily improving over the past few years.
Joining the Phoenix by signing their National Letters of Intent include Paula Nunez Blazquez (Madrid, Spain), Emilie Boll (Krefeld, Germany), Corinne Pelzer (Sioux Falls, S.D.), Sara Rodriguez Rubio (Leon, Spain), Paula Schulte (Duisburg, Germany), and Claudia Wikman (Plymouth, Minn.) for the women’s team and Lane Coleman (New Orleans, La.) and Nolan Francis (Rhinelander, Wis.) with the men’s team.
Read more about the incoming class below:
Paula Nunez Blazquez (Madrid, Spain)
A multi-stroke swimmer that leans toward middle distance races, Nunez Blazquez has posted several meters times that would have qualified for the A final of the 2018 Horizon League Championships. Her most impressive swim may be her 4:59.85 400 IM, in long course meters (LCM) which when converted to 4:22.66 in short course yards (SCY), could contend for the event title. When adjusted from meters to yards, her times of 2:02.73 in the 200 backstroke, 2:04.87 in the 200 butterfly, 2:04.96 in the 200 IM, and 5:02.19 in the 500 freestyle could also prove deadly, depending on which events Nunez Blazquez may need to step into to help the Phoenix as a whole.
Coach Robelot on Nunez Blazquez – “Paula is an extremely competitive young woman that knows exactly what she needs as a swimmer. With great depth and versatility, Paula will be fun to work with and help develop in the NCAA.”
Emilie Boll (Krefeld, Germany)
Boll is a quick sprint breaststroker, with a 100 breaststroke time that, when converted from 1:11.81 LCM to 1:03.19 SCY, would break the current Green Bay women’s 100 breast record by approximately a tenth. With more development, she could have a shot at winning the event at the Horizon League Championships. That being said, she will have ample room to improve in terms of endurance with the Phoenix, as her converted time of 2:23.15 in yards for the 200 breast would only just have made the B final. It will be interesting to see that growth next season at the collegiate level, as well as Boll’s quest for a third event.
Coach Robelot on Boll – “With great national-level experience, Emilie can make an immediate impact in the breaststroke events. Her motivation and desire to be great will fit in well with our team culture as well.”
Corinne Pelzer (Sioux Falls, S.D.)
The top-ranked female recruit in South Dakota by CollegeSwimming, Pelzer is not only a USA Swimming Scholastic All-American, but is a competitor that has the potential to fit into several spots in the Phoenix roster next year. While on the Sioux Falls Swim Team, she recorded a 23.41 in the 50 freestyle, a time that would have put her confidently into the top three of the A final of the 2018 Horizon League Championships. Her times of 2:06.97 in the 200 IM and 2:09.76 in the 200 butterfly would have also been within scoring range, while her 57.57 100 butterfly, 52.37 100 freestyle, and 4:35.77 400 IM times are not far off the top 16 as well. Rounding out Pelzer’s depth, her 200 freestyle time of 1:54.65 may also be a factor in helping out the women’s 800 freestyle relay.
Coach Robelot on Pelzer – “Corinne has a great knowledge base of our sport and comes from a team that is committed to developing swimmers in all the strokes. Although she excels in sprint freestyle on paper, Corinne has great potential to contribute in multiple stroke events as well.”
Sara Rodriguez Rubio (Leon, Spain)
Rodriguez Rubio is a butterfly/backstroke specialist that seems to have room to grow in both the sprint versions and middle distance versions of the strokes, especially after the past year of improvement at her club team in Spain. At the moment, the 100 butterfly is the strongest event in her arsenal, with a LCM time that converts to 57.31 SCY, good for a B final spot at the 2018 Horizon League Championships. All of her other times are outside of scoring position, but with underwater and turn work as well as amplified yards training at Green Bay, she could become a solid scorer for the women.
Coach Robelot on Rodriguez Rubio – “Sara is a very powerful swimmer with an incredible amount of natural speed. Academics acted as the deciding factor in her choosing Green Bay, which made us feel great in securing her commitment.”
Paula Schulte (Duisburg, Germany)
Schulte is another breaststroker to add increased depth to that stroke within the team, with a stronger 200 as compared to her 100. Her short course meters (SCM) time of 2:37.06 in the 200 breast converts to 2:21.24 SCY, which would have placed her right outside the A final of the 2018 Horizon League Championships, while her altered time of 1:05.57 SCY in the 100 would just squeak into the B final. She also shows promise in both the 50 freestyle and 200 IM, both of which could become her third event. With most of her best times coming from short course meters rather than long course meters, this may also indicate that Schulte will have no trouble adjusting to the NCAA-format of short course yards.
Coach Robelot on Schulte – “Paula brings a great deal of versatility to the team. She has an incredibly positive demeanor, and will also add breaststroke range to the women’s squad for next season.”
Claudia Wikman (Plymouth, Minn.)
Wikman will be a welcomed addition to the team as a future member of the Phoenix diving squad, coming in with plenty of experience on both boards. This season as a senior on her high school team, she qualified for the 2018 MSHSL Girls AA Swim & Dive Championships, advancing to finals for the second year in a row. She finished 10th with a score of 348.85 on the 1 meter board, and in the process, helped Wayzata High School take third place overall at the state meet.
Coach Stover on Wikman – “A product of high quality training with Jason Baumann of the North Star Diving Club, Claudia has received an excellent foundation in diving. She is an experienced competitor with a strong understanding of the fundamentals of diving that will help her continue to grow in the sport. With her grace, form and power, plus her continued training through club diving over her senior year, we really expect Claudia to excel at the Division I college level of competition. Academically, she has also excelled and, in fact, has taken several challenging college credit courses through her local community college while finishing high school. Claudia is certainly well prepared for success in our program athletically and academically.”
Lane Coleman (Metairie, La.)
A sprinter that has been showing signs of growth over the past year, Coleman posted all lifetime bests at the Louisiana Division 2 Championship this season, helping Holy Cross High School to a state title and setting two state records in the process. The ninth-ranked male recruit in his state according to CollegeSwimming, his best event may be the 100 butterfly, where his time of 50.67 would have narrowly been outside of making finals at the 2018 Horizon League Championships. Coleman’s current best times of 21.00 in the 50 freestyle and 47.26 in the 100 freestyle also have potential to crack the top 16 with some improvement.
Coach Robelot on Coleman – “Lane is one of those guys that has exploded onto the scene at the very end of his high school career. His natural feel for the water is almost impossible to teach, and will have a bright future in our conference.”
Nolan Francis (Rhinelander, Wis.)
A product of the Woodson Y Northern Swimmers as well as the 15th-ranked male recruit in Wisconsin as stated by CollegeSwimming, Francis owns a few solid races that could make a big impact for the Phoenix. A strong backstroker, his current time of 50.69 in the 100 would have placed him the B final of the 2018 Horizon League Championships at this point already with no collegiate training, while his 1:53.85 is just outside of scoring. Francis’s third event to watch for may be the 200 IM or the 100 freestyle, depending on his training plan once he steps onto the Green Bay campus.
Coach Robelot on Francis – “Nolan is an incredibly well-rounded swimmer that comes from a great family and background. His commitment to academics also drew us to him in the recruiting process.”
