La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Intercollegiate Athletics Department has announced the hiring of six assistant coaches.  The additions include Gabby Bobinsky (volleyball), Nate Castillo (soccer), Kenny Finco (men's basketball), Scott Gillitzer (baseball), Nathan Petesch (cross country/track & field) and Caitlin Wnek (softball). 

Bobinsky is also serving as the director of camps & clinics for intercollegiate athletics.  She begins her second season as assistant volleyball coach for the Eagles in 2018.  Bobinsky helped guide the Eagles to a 22-7 overall and 7-0 mark in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) in 2017.  UWL earned its 12th regular-season title in school history and captured the WIAC Tournament Championship with a 3-0 victory over UW-Whitewater to earn an automatic bid to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Championships. Making its 15th appearance in school history in the NCAA Division III Championships, UWL advanced to the 2017 NCAA Division III Regional Semifinals.  The Eagles received votes in the final 2017 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top-25 Poll. 

Bobinsky served as an assistant coach at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (Ariz.) in 2016.  She earned her bachelor's degree in creative writing from Cardinal Stritch University (Wis.) in 2015.  Bobinsky was a four-year member of the Wolves' volleyball team, playing right side, middle blocker and setter.  She served as head coach for the North Shore Milwaukee Volleyball Club from 2011-13 and Milwaukee Skyline Volleyball Club from 2014-15.  Bobinsky was freshman volleyball coach at Bradshaw Mountain High School and Peak Volleyball Academy, both located in Prescott Valley, Arizona, in 2015.

Castillo, Gillitzer and Wnek will serve as facilities and events coordinators for UWL Intercollegiate Athletics.  Castillo is also the Assistant Director of Coaching for Rush Wisconsin West.  He spent time with Iowa Rush as the Director of Goalkeeping and Director of Operation before arriving in La Crosse. Prior to Iowa Rush, Castillo spent a season with the Iowa Hawkeyes.  As interim assistant coach for the University of Iowa soccer team, Castillo worked with the Hawkeye goalkeepers that allowed 15 goals in Big Ten play, after serving as the head junior varsity and assistant varsity soccer coach at Iowa City High School.  He has also worked as an Iowa Soccer Club coach since 2007.

Castillo coached collegiate soccer at Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Iowa from 2011-13.  He also assisted at Solon (Iowa) High School from 2010-12, where he was a member of the staff that was tabbed as the WaMaC Conference Coaching Staff of the Year.  A native of Iowa City, Iowa, Castillo graduated with a bachelor's degree in business administration with an entrepreneurial track from the University of Iowa in May 2012.  He currently holds his USSF National D License.

Gillitzer starts his 12th season with the UWL baseball program in 2018-19, including his first as a full-time assistant.  He served as the Eagles' assistant head coach, hitting instructor and recruiting coordinator.  He has helped lead UWL to the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional Championship game three of the last four seasons.   The Eagles made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship in 2015 and 2016. A native of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, Gillitzer played baseball at Madison (Wis.) Area Technical College (MATC) for two years (1997-99) before transferring to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for two seasons (1999-2001).  He earned his undergraduate degree at UW-Milwaukee in sociology in 2001.

Gillitzer earned National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) First Team All-America honors at MATC in 1999.  He also earned all-region, all-state and all-conference awards in 1999. Gillitzer earned Midwestern Collegiate Conference (MCC) First Team honors at second base for UW-Milwaukee in 2001 and was named the MCC Tournament Most Valuable Player.  He was an American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings All-Mideast Region First Team selection in 2001.  Gillitzer was drafted in the 22nd Round of the Major League Baseball Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2001.  He played in the Dodgers' minor league system from 2001-04. Gillitzer coached at UWL from 2005-07.  He served as a graduate assistant coach at Winona (Minn.) State University from 2007-10.  Gillitzer also worked as the La Crosse Loggers hitting coach from 2006-08 in the Northwoods League.  He was the La Crosse NorthStars American Coach in the summer 2011.

Wnek comes to UWL after earning her master's degree in sports administration and leadership at Augustana University (S.D.) in 2018.  She served as the Vikings' graduate assistant softball coach from 2016-18, serving as the primary infield coach and assisting with the day-to-day operations of the program, including travel information and field management.  Augustana (S.D.) finished 40-16 in 2017, including 21-5 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play while advancing to the NCAA Division II Central Regional title game.  She organized and ran the 2017 Augustana/Sioux Empire Fastpitch Softball Association Fall League.

Wnek joined Augustana (S.D.) after starting four years at shortstop at the University of Northern Iowa from 2012-16.  She graduated as the Panthers' all-time leader in career doubles (56) and earned All-Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) First Team honors her senior season.  Wnek was named the 2013 MVC Newcomer of the Year in her freshman season and was a 2014 and 2015 All-MVC Second Team selection as a sophomore and junior.  She was a UNI Scholar-Athlete while earning her degree in movement and exercise science with an emphasis in sport psychology. A native of Amana, Iowa, Wnek was an assistant softball coach at Cedar Falls (Iowa) High School from 2014-15. 

Finco will work in the UWL Sports Performance Center along with assisting the men's basketball program.  He completed his first year as an assistant coach for the Eagles in 2017-18 as the team finished 13-13 overall, losing six games by three points or less.  UWL led the WIAC in steals (9.08 per game), turnover margin (+3.08) and turnovers forced per game (16.3) while ranking second in offensive rebounds (10.5). The team's 236 steals this year ranks second in single-season school history.  A native of Hartland, Wisconsin, Finco was a three-year letter at UWL while earning his bachelor's degree in exercise sport science with a fitness emphasis.  He was a three-time member of the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll and was named to the 2016-17 All-WIAC Sportsmanship Team.

He earned one letter in basketball at Wayne State College (Neb.) prior to coming to UWL. Finco served as the La Crosse (Wis.) Aquinas Junior Varsity Head Baseball Coach from 2015-17 and was the Intern Strength Coach from May-August 2017 for NX Level Sport Performance in Waukesha, Wisconsin.  He was also the basketball trainer for Performance Max Basketball Training LLC in Pewaukee, Wisconsin from June-August 2015, leading workouts designed to improve basketball skills for players aged 10-18. 

Petesch starts his first year as UWL's assistant women's and men's cross country and track & field coach in 2018 after serving one season as a volunteer assistant cross country and track & field coach at the University of Wisconsin.  He was the Associate Head Cross County Coach at UW-River Falls from 2016-17.  While at UW-River Falls, Petesch coached Daniel Borash to the highest finish in school history at the conference regional, and national championships, in addition to breaking the school record by 20 seconds and becoming only the second ever male to qualify for the NCAA Championships.  On the track, Petesch coached Abby Fouts and Linsey Tolkkinen to a conference title and runner-up finish in the 10,000-meter run at the WIAC Championships. The Falcon women recorded 15 top-10 performances in the distances and Fouts was honored as the UW-River Falls Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Prior to UW-River Falls, Petesch had served as a volunteer assistant coach at Division II Fort Lewis College (Colo.), while also working as a fulltime Academic Advisor.  Before working at Fort Lewis (Colo.), he was an assistant coach at Wartburg College (Iowa), where he helped the women's track & field team claim their third straight NCAA Division III and the men earn their first ever top-four national trophy, as the program produced 54 All-Americas and 29 school records. He also worked as a volunteer assistant at Division I Brown University (R.I.) and got his start as a graduate assistant coach at Ithaca College (N.Y.),  where he earned his master's degree in human performance.

A native of Bellevue, Iowa, Petesch competed at UW-Platteville, helping the Pioneers to ninth and fourth-place finishes at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships. He is the former school record holder in the 5,000-meter run and was the conference champion at 10,000-meter run, while also qualifying for the national championships in both distances. Petesch was a two-time recipient of UW-Platteville's Scholar-Athlete of the Year award and earned his bachelor's degree with a double major in biology & geography.