Coaches: Head Coach Theresa L’Esperance (19 years with team, the team is 19 years old); Volunteer Coaches Rachel Tassler (19 years) and Paul Heykes (new dive coach).
2016 Record: Conference Champs (3x defending), overall record 31-4
2016 Post Season: Sectional Champions, 11th place finish at state
Key Losses: Jackie Elliott, great team leader
Key Returners: Kirstin Marcks, Snr.; Rachel Dallman, Snr.; Katy Volz, Jr.; Shelby Benaszeski, Jr.; Megan Marcks, Jr.; Kaylie Svacina, Jr.; and Kylie Theiler, So.
Key Newcomers: Diving- Karli Woodall and Tianna Gerstenberger; Molly Mott, great sprinter.
Coach L’Esperance Quotable:
“We have probably the strongest team ever. We are returning seven state competitors, the most to ever attend state last year. We have just two seniors, but their impact is tremendous to the team. Rachel has the potential to become only the third swimmer to attend state for all four years, and Kirstin is among the best breaststrokers we have had. We have sent five breaststrokers to state in 19 years, that is a testament to Coach Tassler. Adding a new Dive Coach in Paul Heykes is the key to having a full well rounded team. To compete at the top levels of State, you have to have a strong dive program. Paul is a well-known coach throughout the state, having coached many state champions, medalists and D1 recruits in both boys and girls swimming and diving. He retired to the Northwoods this past summer and our team has used his coaching skills in the past by providing summer dive camps. We are so happy to have him.
It seems like this team is more focused on state than on the dual season, but swimming is a unique sport in that dual meets and records mean nothing until the sectional meet. We will use each meet as a stepping stone to get better all season long. This year we will compete at Small School State, a prestigious meet at Shorewood. The best DII teams in the state attend this meet. We have tried to get into this meet for years and this year we got invited. It will be a great warm-up prior to conference and sectional.
We have a great group of swimmers and a strong set of parents who support their swimmers. This balanced approach is one of the reasons we are so successful. I am grateful to all the parents and community members who support swimming in Tomahawk. I hope that many fans will attend our meets, to watch a great group of athletes perform for the love of swimming.