The Iowa Hawkeyes and the Louisville Cardinals, two of the country’s hottest programs, have both announced changes to their NCAA staffs as they begin practice for the 2012-2013 season.
The Louisville Cardinal and their head coach Arthur Albiero, who are collectively all-the-rage in college swimming after the men shocked for a No. 9 finish last season, have elevated a pair of assistants to Associate Coaching positions and recruiting coordinators for their respective clubs.
Ryan Wochomurka and Rachel Komisarz-Baugh, both in their 6th season with the Cardinals, have been upgraded with the Cardinal. These meaning of these types of promotions vary from program-to-program; they often come with increased responsibility for administrative duties, for example. They are also often a reward for success and increased knowledge, and incentive both to retain coaches by pressuring Athletic Departments to pay them more, and to also help career growth.
The Iowa Hawkeyes have added Krsty Brager to their coaching staff as an assistant. Brager comes after two seasons with George Mason, where she worked with among others All-American breaststroker Ashley Danner (she worked with both the men and the women’s squads).
The breaststrokes are arguably the Hawkeyes’ weakest discipline, with only junior Karolina Wartalowicz having been better than 1:03 last season. If Brager can bring some of what she worked on with Danner to Iowa City, then that could change in coming seasons. Brager finished her own collegiate career at Wisconsin in 2008, receiving several honors including the 2007 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.