When the St. Thomas men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams begin their season Friday, much will be familiar. Like previous years, the Tommies will compete with MIAC powers Gustavus and St. Olaf for conference titles, and the teams will feature talented athletes. But a new coach will be at the helm for the Tommies.

Scott Blanchard replaced longtime coach Tom Hogdson, who retired last year after more than 30 seasons leading the men’s and women’s teams, in the spring. This will be Blanchard’s first season as the aquatic sports leader, but senior Emily Punyko said he is more familiar than people may realize.

“He’s actually not really a new face because he started (coaching) when I was a freshman,” Punyko said. “He’s not really new to us, and a lot of the things we’ve worked on the last couple of years have pretty much maintained the same.”

Blanchard joined the St. Thomas coaching staff in 2011 after coaching at Macalester College and served as an assistant until Hodgson’s retirement at the end of last season.

“Some of the same policies that have been in place, (such as) continuing to build the pride that has been part of this team for so many years, is going to be something that is important for me to continue,” Blanchard said.

Coaching changes aside, the Tommies return a strong group of swimmers to lead the team this season. Punyko, a 2013 All-American, broke the MIAC record in the 100 breaststroke last year at the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis.

Seniors Mariann Kukielka and Elise Guenther also return to lead the women’s team. Kukielka will look to finish her career with her fourth straight MIAC title in the 100 fly, and Guenther will attempt to defend her conference title in the mile race.

Junior Mike Lanz, the 2013 MIAC Men’s Swimmer of the Year, said he notices a much different coaching style from Blanchard compared to Hogdson.

“(Blanchard) holds many of the same values such as family, but he is more intense on the deck. He is a lot more verbal about his feelings on your performance,” Lanz said. “He is more likely to yell at you if you are not giving 100 percent effort when the set calls for it.”

Lanz returns after setting MIAC record times in both the 50 and 100 fly races and will be joined by sophomore Walker Matthews, an all-MIAC distance swimmer.

Punyko said that a new coach adds excitement to the Tommies but mentioned that the program’s philosophy will remain much the same.

“With (Blanchard) as our new coach, there’s a lot of excitement just because there’s a new start, but he’s also preaching a lot of the family ideas that we’ve had in the past,” Punyko said. “It’s a lot of change, but at the same time, (we’re) maintaining those values that we’ve concentrated on from before.”

However, Blanchard said he wants to change the men’s and women’s teams from MIAC contenders into the teams to beat in the conference and have St. Thomas become a nationally recognized program.

“The biggest change is probably making a push in getting this team to the national level on a more consistent basis and continuing to build publicity to a wider market,” Blanchard said.

Lanz said he believes both teams have the potential to become the nationally recognized programs Blanchard wants, but he also said recruiting classes need to build on the foundation both coaches have set in place.

“At this point, we have many talented individuals that just need more time to bring out their potential,” Lanz said. “But as for the future years, we will need strong recruiting classes and continued hard work.”

Jordan Kruger can be reached at krug6172@stthomas.edu.