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57 B ond Shymansky didn't have much time to unpack during his first few days back in Iowa City. Shymansky was introduced as the University of Iowa's head volleyball coach Feb. 3 and by the eve- ning of Feb 4 he has already on the recruiting trail. "My phone has been blowing up in a great way and I'm on it," he said. Shymansky is the ninth head volleyball coach in UI history. He takes over a program that last com- pleted a winning season in 2000 (15-13 overall, 11-9 Big Ten Conference); the Hawkeyes are com- ing off an 11-win season, 2-18 in the league. "e trappings are here in terms of the facility, but you see it in all the facilities for (UI) athlet- ics," Shymansky said. "I kept walking around here when I was on my interview, and every time we turned a corner I wanted to be able to say, 'Oh wait, this is the problem, this is maybe why it's not succeeding.' "But I would turn each corner and go, 'Oh wow.' I shouldn't be dazzled by that stuff, but I was daz- zled." In seven seasons as head coach at Georgia Tech, Shymansky compiled a record of 172-64 with three trips to the NCAA Tournament. From 2009-13, he led Marquette to a record of 118-45 and three trips to the NCAA Tournament. "Timing is everything," Shymansky said. "ere was a point where (UI director of athletics) Gary (Barta) and I talked a little bit the last go-around, and it just didn't seem like the right timing. I still had some things to grow and learn and do as a coach. Now I feel I'm ready for that." Shymansky has a deep understanding of what it means to be a Hawkeye, as he earned a bachelor's degree in communications in 1995 and a master's in English education in 1997 from the UI. At vari- ous times early in his coaching career, Shymansky made stops at West, City and Regina high schools. "I have all the bases covered here locally, and I love them all," he said. He also understands the talent level of volleyball in the state of Iowa and intends to lure the top stu- dent-athletes to become Hawkeyes. Five players on the UI roster are native Iowans: juniors Kari Muel- ler and Katie Kelley, sophomore Alli O'Deen and freshmen Alyssa Klostermann and Lauren Brobst. "e volleyball talent in our state is awesome, it always has been," Shymansky said. "is is still the Hawkeye state, and we're going to beat every bush and turn over every stone. We're going to find the talent that's here. "It's not a warning, it's a promise. We're going to show them the best that Iowa volleyball can be and we're going to ask them to buy into that vision. e right kid with the right guts that has that right chip on their shoulder, they'll come be a part of it, and they'll start doing it now." Shymansky Dazzles in Return to Iowa City By Darren Miller