University of Tennessee Athletics
Women's Swimming & Diving
- Title:
- Assistant Swimming Coach
For the seventh year, head swimming coach Matt Kredich will be joined by assistant Jennifer Woodruff.
Formerly Jen Arndt, Woodruff was married in the summer of 2010 to Chris Woodruff, the associate head coach for the Tennessee men[apos]s tennis team.
During her time at Tennessee, Woodruff has become known as one of the most creative minds in swimming. She has put her stamp on the training of the team by devising numerous kinesthetic learning devices for every stroke and by becoming one of the world[apos]s experts in the implementation of TRX (Total Resistance Exercise) training for swimmers.
She is the recruiting coordinator for the team and has helped to put together five straight national top-20 recruiting classes, including the 2010 class that was rated the fifth best in the country by CollegeSwimming.com. Woodruff is one of the few college coaches who has received formal training in listening skills and is an experienced counselor and advisor as well.
Much of Woodruff[apos]s hard work comes behind the scenes as the assistant coach. Nevertheless, she works tirelessly outside of the spotlight and is a driving force behind the Lady Vols[apos] success.
Woodruff and Kredich share coaching duties between training groups, relying on a collaborative team coaching approach to the implementation of their workout design. She has initiated the use of some advanced physiological monitoring tools and software to the program and remains on the cutting edge of advances in swimming technology.
Evidence of Woodruff[apos]s efforts over the past six seasons have been seen in the Lady Vol swimming and diving program[apos]s success on conference, national and international levels.
With Tennessee finishing 12th at the NCAA Championships in 2011, the Lady Vols have placed in the top 15 at the NCAA meet for a school-record sixth consecutive year, while seven athletes earned All-America honors.
At the Southeastern Conference Championships, Tennessee placed fourth for the fourth straight year, as Jenny Connolly captured the 100y back and fly conference title, along with teaming up with Kelsey Floyd, Lindsay Gendron and Martina Moravacikova to claim gold in the 400y medley relay in record-breaking fashion.
This past summer, UT swimmers had great success, Connolly won a gold and a silver medal at the 2011 World University Games. She also took third in the 100y back at the 2011 ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships and was a member of the second-place 4x100 medley relay quartet along with Kelsey Floyd, Lindsay Gendron and Molly Hannis. Floyd also earned sixth in the 100m fly finals at the National meet.
In the summer of 2010, former Lady Vol star and 2008 NCAA champion Christine Magnuson captured her third straight 100m fly title at the ConocoPhillips USA Swimming Championshps and competed at the FINA World Championships.
Also at the ConocoPhillips USA Swimming Championships, Jenny Connolly won the 100m back B final for the second consecutive year, Kelsey Floyd finished 13th in the 200m butterfly and Breanna Folk was victorious in the 100m breast C final.
In 2009, King won a gold and bronze medals as a member of Team USA at the World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia, while Martina Moravcikova joined her teammate at the event as a competitor for her native Czech Republic.
King, Barsanti, Moravcikova and Tricia Weaner, along with current Lady Vols Connolly and Samara Gelb also performed well at elite summer competitions.
Connolly, Barsanti, Weaner and Gelb joined Magnuson at the national championships, where Connolly and Barsanti each made it to the finals in their events. Connolly finished the summer with the fourth-fastest 100m back time in the country and was named to the U.S. national team.
Prior to joining the staff at UT, the Wisconsin native served as the head coach for both the men[apos]s and women[apos]s swimming programs at Lewis University.
At the Romeoville, Ill., school she continued the success of the squads by implementing an extensive conditioning and tapering schedule that raised the level of performance by the student-athletes. In her three years at the helm of the Flyers, she guided five of her swimmers to 10 All-America performances, including both the first and second male All-Americans in school history.
Woodruff also served on the NCAA Swimming and Diving Rules Committee and the College Swimming Coaches Association of America Executive Board as the NCAA Division II representative for women[apos]s swimming, doing so from September 2004 to May 2005.
Her other responsibilities at Lewis included acting as a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee moderator, serving as the athletics department[apos]s liaison to student services, and filling a role as director of Student-Athlete Health and Wellness. Additionally, Woodruff introduced a CHAMPS/Life Skills program sponsored by the NCAA.
Prior to coaching, Woodruff had an outstanding collegiate swimming career at Michigan, helping the Wolverines bring home Big Ten Championships in 1997, 1998 and 2001. She served as a co-captain in 1999-2000 and earned All-Big Ten honors in 1997, 1999 and 2001.
Woodruff also experienced success in the classroom while in Ann Arbor, garnering Michigan[apos]s Academic Achievement Award and was honored by the Big Ten in 1997, 1999 and 2001.
A key member of Michigan Peer Advisors Creating Trust (M-PACT), Woodruff served as a chairperson and worked to support more than 700 student-athletes in their quest to overcome personal challenges.
She is a 2001 graduate from the University of Michigan, with a bachelor of science degree in kinesiology.
Since Woodruff arrived at Rocky Top, 23 different Lady Vols have garnered 148 All-America awards, 43 SEC medals, 11 conference championships and one national championship. During Woodruff[apos]s tenure, all 19 of Tennessee swimming records also have been broken.
