NC State Hires Paulina Ziolek As Assistant Coach

Photo Courtesy: NC State Athletics

NC State has hired Paulina Ziolek as an assistant coach for the swimming and diving program, as announced by head coach Braden Holloway on Tuesday.

“We’re excited that Paulina will be joining our staff,” said Holloway. “I’ve been able to follow her as a coach the last few years and have been impressed by her eagerness to make an impact on the programs that she works with. The first time I met Paulina, she impressed me with her character, her willingness to work and her willingness to make an impact on our sport and on student-athletes. When I was able to spend more time getting to know her, it was evident that she is not only a good person and a good coach, but more importantly, she is someone that I feel fits directly into our staff and our program so that we can keep doing what we’re doing.”

As assistant coach, Ziolek will help with NC State’s day-to-day activities and will have a hand in coaching everyone on the team. She will also take the lead in recruiting for the Wolfpack women.

“I want to thank Braden Holloway and the entire NC State staff for this opportunity to join the Wolfpack family,” Ziolek said. “Their enthusiasm and passion are contagious, and I am incredibly excited to carry on this tradition of excellence. Go Pack!”

Ziolek joins the Wolfpack after spending the 2017-18 season as an assistant coach at Penn State, where she primarily worked with the Nittany Lions’ distance and individual medley swimmers.

While at Penn State, Ziolek helped the Nittany Lions to six school records during the collegiate season and played a role in coaching Ally McHugh to an NCAA silver medal in the mile and to Penn State’s first women’s swimming national title at the Phillips 66 National Championships.

Prior to Penn State, Ziolek served as a volunteer assistant coach at Texas for two seasons. She worked closely with the Longhorns’ distance swimmers, highlighted by Joanna Evans, who competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics as a representative of The Bahamas and gained All-America status in the mile in 2017. Texas swept the Big 12 team titles during both seasons that Ziolek was on staff, and the women finished fifth at the NCAA Championships to conclude their 2016-17 campaign.

Also while in Austin, Ziolek was an assistant coach on the club level as part of the Texas Longhorn Aquatics staff. She trained the Elite Age Group swimmers and worked as a counselor at Longhorns Swim Camp.

A native of Londonderry, N.H., Ziolek swam at Tufts University from 2008 to 2012. She garnered all-conference honors during her senior year and was named CSCAA Scholar All-America Team Honorable Mention that same year. She owns the school record in the 200-yard freestyle relay, and her 50-yard breaststroke time ranks No. 10 overall in her alma mater’s history. Ziolek graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in international relations and was a five-time Dean’s List honoree.

— The above press release was posted by Swimming World in conjunction with NC State. For press releases and advertising inquiries please contact Advertising@SwimmingWorld.com.

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