By Chris Bennett
Sports Correspondent
Eklhorn Area High School swimmer Kady Ruemmele had a bit of fun with her coaches midway through the now-concluded high school girls swimming season.
She suddenly decided to ask coaches to enter her in races under her given first name of “Kadence,” because, as she joked, she thought it sounded tougher and more intimidating.
Call her what you will, but be sure to now include “Panther” in the moniker. On Nov. 13, in a signing ceremony at Elkhorn Area High School, Ruemmele, a senior, committed to swim for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
The Panthers compete in the NCAA’s Division 1 Horizon League. UWM’s head coach is Kyle Clements.
Ruemmele’s scholarship is currently for 50 percent. She said the amount will likely rise, though, once her times from the WIAA Division 2 State Meet are compared against the Panthers’ times at the Horizon League Conference Meet.
“Originally, I thought it was way too close to home, but then I took a recruiting visit and I loved the coaches and the team,” Ruemmele said. “I could tell I really fit in there.
“I could tell (coaches) really care about their swimmers, and they get along with them and connect with them. They’re like a family, and I like that.”
Ruemmele said she plans to study kinesiology, and intends to someday become a chiropractor. She said UWM recruited her to swim the backstroke.
“Right now, I’m going there to specialize in the backstroke, but if they put me in other events, I’ll still swim those, too,” Ruemmele said. “I can still swim other events, but they’re specifically looking for (the) backstroke.”
Ruemmele finished third in the 100-yard backstroke this season at the Division 2 state meet Nov. 15 at the University of Wisconsin Natatorium in Madison. She finished fifth as a junior.
Ruemmele and Anne Blackbourn shared Most Valuable Player honors for the Elks after their performances this past season. She also served as a Team Captain, with Blackbourn and Bethany Buikema.
Ruemmele and Lilly Remington, Rachel Anderson and Emily Ames earned First Team All-Southern Lakes Conference honors. The four won the 200-yard medley relay at the SLC Meet Nov. 2 at Whitewater High School.
Ruemmele also earned Academic All-American and All-State honors, and qualified for the state meet in each of her four years as an Elkhorn swimmer.
This season, in addition to her finish in the backstroke, Ruemmele finished fifth in the 200 individual medley and helped lead the Elks to a 14th-place finish in Division 2.
Ruemmele swam on two relays at state as a senior. The 200 medley relay of Rachel Anderson, Lilly Remington, Ruemmele and Emily Ames finished 11th, and the 400 freestyle relay of Megan Leahy, Bethany Buikema, Anne Blackbourn and Ruemmele finished 12th.
Ruemmele’s success at Elkhorn can be traced her time in the pool. She started swimming in first grade with the Elkhorn Penguins. She then swimmed for the Geneva Y Swim Team, and is currently with the Lake Geneva Swim Club. Her club coach is Frank Scott.
“She swims during the offseason, and that’s big,” Elkhorn Area High School coach Jamie Richardson said. “It’s hard to come in for three months (the high school swimming season) and do well. She’s got a drive – she sets goals for herself.”
Ruemmele said she swims five days each week with Lake Geneva Swim Club. She is also a two-time national club qualifier.
“Club swimming is a lot more laid back than my high school,” Ruemmele said. “It’s not as intense.”
It is obvious that swimming is as much a social activity for Ruemmele as it is a competitive outlet, and Richardson echoed that sentiment.
“They’re like a family,” Richardson said. “They get along – they spend so much time together, they have to.”
In essence, in continuing her swimming in the fall at UWM, Ruemmele is getting another family. She can decide whether they call her “Kady” or “Kadence.”
Her name might be the only variable – her ability to succeed is not in question.
“She’s a good student,” Richardson said. “She has a good foundation for her to be successful.”
