Swimming and Diving Signs Seven for 2009-10 Season

Nov. 19, 2008

NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State head swimming and diving coach Steve Paska announced the signing of seven swimmers who will join the `Birds for the upcoming 2009-10 season. Maryssa Beckman, Kelli Goessling, Jeanette Nolte, Sarah Rendek, Danielle Schumacher, Brianna Vigna and Brianna Winkler, have all signed National Letters of Intent to continue both their swimming and academic careers with the Illinois State Redbirds.

"Excited might be an understatement to describe the fall signing period," Paska said. "We have seven swimmers that will be entering the Illinois State swimming program. Having these young ladies join our program is definitely going to provide us one of the deepest teams that I have ever coached here at Illinois State."

With the loss of seven seniors, Allison Fishbein, Tiffany Rentner, Jessica Santi, Courtney Vanderford, Lauren Williams, Alison Wippermann, and Erin Woodruff, come May, Paska hopes to fill the void they will leave behind.

"These young ladies have been remarkable in the years they have been here," Paska said. "You can't replace the seniors, but we are trying to replace their events. I am very excited to see what these seven new student-athletes bring to the table. This will be one of the deepest teams I've ever had and one of the most competitive teams that I've been able to coach in my past 23 years at Illinois State. In terms of mental toughness of this group, and I believe this group I have right now, is forming that attribute, this freshman class will bring an additional sense of competitiveness to the team."

Notable: Placed in high school sectionals in the 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard individual medley the last three years ... team captain for past three years ... competed at YMCA Nationals in the 100-yard backstroke ... member of National Honor Society ... plans to major in biological sciences.

Paska on Beckman: "Maryssa is a solid student and she is a swimmer that displays an abundance of excitement and passion for the sport. She wants to achieve excellence in the pool and in the classroom and she is willing to work extremely hard to reach her goals. She will come in here and provide us quality depth in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke events."

Notable: Qualified for sectionals all four years ... state all-metro team her sophomore and junior years ... all-conference first team her freshman, sophomore and junior years ... member of the 400-yard freestyle relay team that placed eighth at state ... took 15th at the 2007 state meet in 500-yard freestyle ... placed ninth at state in the 200-yard individual medley event in 2008 ... team captain her senior year ... member of the Parkway Swim Club ... academic honor roll all four-years ... majoring in business administration ... plans to major in business administration.

Paska on Goessling: "Kelli is an energetic young lady that really enjoys the competitive aspect of racing. She hails from the same high school as our student assistant, a former Redbird swimmer, Christine Steinbach and freshman Sarah Piechocinski. Kelli offers a lot of versatility as a swimmer. If she has the work ethic of Christine and Sarah, I believe she will be able to become a very successful swimmer and student-athlete at Illinois State. I will rely on Kelli to compete in the 200- and 400-yard individual medley for us in the next four years."

Notable: 2007 All-Upstate Eight Conference selection ... 2007 all-state team member ... named 2007 most improved varsity swimmer ... member of the third-place medley relay team and fifth place 200-yard freestyle relay team at state meet ... placed 19th in the 100-yard butterfly ... four-year member of the water polo team ... 2008 all-state water polo second-team honoree ... member of the FOX swim club for four years ... plans to major in business administration.

Paska on Nolte: "Jeanette is a swimmer that is very strong willed. She was a team captain in high school and is just a unique young lady when it comes to team building. She has been a reliable sprinter and relay swimmer and has had tremendous success at Neuqua Valley. I think she has an enormous amount of potential and she is going to come to Illinois State and provide us that versatile sprinter that can compete in many events."

Notable: Four-year varsity letterwinner ... team captain her senior year ... all-state selection all four years ... member of 200-yard medley relay All-American team her junior year ... team went undefeated in dual-meets and won the DVC championships her senior year ... named team MVP her sophomore year ... three-year honor roll member ... all-academic member her junior year ... plans to major in biological sciences.

Paska on Rendek: "Sarah is just a terrific young lady. Her work ethic is very consistent. She goes to practice every day and works very hard. She is a very responsible young lady and is very goal oriented; she sets times, and wants to reach those times. The last year of swimming for Sarah has been absolutely phenomenal. She loves to race and she loves to win. I want all my swimmers to have the type of competitiveness that she demonstrates. She does everything for the betterment of the team, she is a consummate team player, and has enormous amount of team spirit."

Notable: Four-year letterwinner ... named team MVP in 2005 and 2008 ... sectional-team member for past four-years ... National Society of High School Scholars for past four years ... 2007-08 and 2008-09 member of the National Honors Society ... plans to major in accounting.

Paska on Schumacher: "Danielle is an outstanding student-athlete. She has a tremendous amount of leadership skills. She teaches swim lessons, and is an assistant coach for a club team. Danielle is a terrific young lady and a gifted student. She has the sincere character values that I believe are going to lead to success at the collegiate level. She has the character traits that I look for in a swimmer, she's all about the team, has tremendous team spirit, and I just see so much potential in Danielle. With her work ethic and love and passion for the sport, this young lady is going to contribute to the team's success."

Notable: 2007 state qualifier in 200-yard freestyle ... 2006 state qualifier in the 50-yard freestyle ... team captain her junior and senior year ... pool-record holder in the 200-yard individual medley, 500-yard freestyle, and 200-yard freestyle ... named team MVP the past three years ... member of Streator YMCA swim club ... 50-yard freestyle YMCA state champion ... qualified for nationals for the Streator YMCA swim team ... also played basketball and ran track ... three-year state qualifier in track ... member of the state champion 4x200 and 2x400 meter relay teams in 2006 ... high honor roll member all four years ... plans to major in education.

Paska on Vigna: "Brianna attended my swim camp when she was younger. She's matured into a talented swimmer that has a solid work ethic in the pool. The one thing that I remember about Brianna back in swim camp is that she is a very competitive person, she likes to race and she strives to win as many races as she can. I believe she has untapped potential. She's been a multi-talented athlete at Dwight Township, and now setting her sights solely on swimming, I think you are going to see the potential that she has really show itself in the very near future."

Notable: State qualifier all four years in 100-yard backstroke and 50-yard freestyle ... holds the school record in the 100-yard backstroke ... state finalist in 100-yard backstroke... placed first at state meet and holds school record in 200-yard freestyle relay ... Kansas City All-Metro First Team ... Olathe City of Champions Award Recipient ... Sunflower League First Team ... Zonka Women in Sports Athlete ... plans to major in special education.

Paska on Winkler: ""Brianna is a very energetic young lady that will sprint backstroke and freestyle for Illinois State. I believe she will significantly improve the depth we have in the sprint backstroke and freestyle events. She is a young lady that has untapped physical talent and her potential is going to hopefully come to the forefront in the very near future."