longseeker;842500757 said:

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Let's talk a little 2016 Men prospects.....

Unless there are any more 2015 prospects, how do you rate the best prospects for Cal's 2016 Mens program? What do you think of Gwo (Paly area), the swimmer Xie (first name), the younger Liang (Paly), and any SoCal and National swimmers?

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[COLOR="#FFD700"][SIZE=5]Number 1 Sprinter in Class of 2016, Albert Gwo, Chooses Cal Bears[/SIZE][/COLOR]



Albert Gwo, the top sprinter and number 17 recruit overall in our pre-season rankings of the high school class of 2016, has elected to head an hour north from his hometown of Mountain View, California, to University of California, Berkeley.

Gwo is a senior at Los Altos High School, where he won both sprint freestyle events at the inaugural California State Championships in May 2015. He registered lifetime bests in the 50 yard free (19.90) as well as the 100 (44.60), setting the bar high for subsequent meet record-breaker hopefuls. Gwo went on to great success in the 50 meter free at Junior Nationals; he clocked a 23.12 to finish fourth in that final, and he anchored Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics' 4x100m free relay with a strong 51.45.

The number one 50-freestyler in the class of 2016, Gwo's best times include:

50y free 19.90
100y free 44.60
10m free 23.12
100m free 51.94
100y fly 49.72
100m fly 56.91
50m fly 26.17

Gwo is the first big commit for the Cal men's team. The Bears have traditionally produced strong sprinters, but with half their NCAA runner-up 200 free relay having graduated (Seth Stubblefield and Fabio Gimondi), they welcome up-front speed to the bench. Gwo will join a deep squad that includes Tyler Messerschmidt, third-place finisher in the 50 free at 2015 NCAAs, Justin Lynch, Kyle Coan, and Long Gutierrez.


http://swimswam.com/number-1-sprinter-class-2016-albert-gwo-chooses-cal-bears/


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[COLOR="#000099"][SIZE=5]Top 20 swimming recruits in the boys high school class of 2016[/SIZE][/COLOR]



http://swimswam.com/top-20-swimming-recruits-in-the-boys-high-school-class-of-2016/


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Great get, but headline is a little misleading. Top 50 Free sprinter in the class, but not overall top sprinter (Rooney). Still need at least another sprinter (Jensen?) in this class.

Bears have done well at PASA on the women's side (Campbell, Acker, Grima, Jensen, Fotsch), but not as strong on the men's side (Hinshaw bros). Gwo, Babinet, and Ho could change that in a hurry.

Nice local get! I believe he comes out of PASA-DKS (Dana Kirk's group), the same as Jenna Campbell. PASA-DKS until now has had an especially strong rep with women swimmers but now balancing out with Gwo's success?

Happy with Gwo coming in Fall, 2016 and if Coan or Gornay do not show improvement in sprints in the upcoming season, we will really need someone like Jensen or other top sprint break through.

longseeker;842500757 said:

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What do you think of Gwo (Paly area), the swimmer Xie (first name), the younger Liang (Paly), and any SoCal and National swimmers?

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[SIZE=5]Cal Men Land Second Top-20 Recruit With Verbal From #5 Jack Xie[/SIZE]


The Cal men have picked up steam in the class of 2016 recruiting race, adding a second top-20 commit in the last two weeks.

Jack Xie, another in-state product from PEAK Swimming, has verbally committed to Dave Durden’s team. Xie has the potential to be an NCAA scorer as a freshman as the #5 recruit in the men’s class. He’s only been in the United States for a year after moving to the Bay Area from Beijing in the middle of the last school year, but has already made a huge impact in yards.

That somewhat truncated opportunity in short course has left his event lineup in short course not fully vetted (he has no 50 yard free, for example), but the swimmer whose given name is Xiangfie

In yards, his best times:
• 100 free – 44.99
• 200 free – 1:38.68
• 100 breast – 55.62
• 200 breast – 2:01.88
• 100 fly – 46.75
• 200 IM – 1:45.81

Cal graduated their best 100 butterflier, Seth Stubblefield, at the end of last season, but still bring back three swimmers faster than 47 seconds (Justin Lynch, Long Gutierrez, Ryan Murphy), all of whom will still have eligibility remaining when Xie arrives in Berkeley. Still, Xie, as a freshman, should compete for A-finals at the 2017 Pac-12 Championships in both the 100 fly and the 200 IM.

Along with his classmate Gwo, Xie also has a shot at making an immediate impact on Cal’s sprint relays as part of a class that’s being built around speed. In the early going, this class is a reaction to last year’s 2nd-rank group where the top recruits were a backstroker, breaststroke, distance freestyle were the big pieces, revolved around a once-in-a-generation recruit Andrew Seliskar, who can do a little bit of everything but will probably tend toward the 200 fly, 400 IM, and breaststroke races.

Xie, like Gwo, was a double champion at California’s first-ever true state championship meet last season, winning the 100 fly and the 200 IM (which he also won at the CCS Sectional Championships). The dual commitment is likely not a coincidence – according to a story in the Mercury News, the two became good friends after crossing paths at the College Station Sectionals meet in February in Texas.


http://swimswam.com/cal-men-land-second-top-20-recruit-with-verbal-from-5-jack-xie/


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[COLOR="#808080"]Albert Gwo & Jack Xie[/COLOR]



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Another nice local get! Welcome to Cal, Jack!

does he count as in-state in terms of scholly if hes only been here for a week? I wonder if he was able to already establish residence at california? just curious.

May or may not have established residence, but unless he's a U.S. citizen he won't be eligible for financial aid. Good get, but don't think he will contribute immediately on the 400 and 800 free relays. Still need at least one more sprinter who ideally can contribute immediately on the 200/400/800 free relays.

BearDevil;842538706 said:

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May or may not have established residence, but unless he's a U.S. citizen he won't be eligible for financial aid. Good get, but don't think he will contribute immediately on the 400 and 800 free relays. Still need at least one more sprinter who ideally can contribute immediately on the 200/400/800 free relays.

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BearDevil,


Nice to see the recent verbals from a couple of talented swimmers from the south bay.

Xie may have some upside depending upon how good his past training and coaching has been. Hopefully a Chinese national with a family that now may reside in Saratoga is perhaps less dependent upon $$$ to determine his college choice. His 200 IM time suggests stroke diversity beyond his prowess in fly.

Even with Gwo's verbal the slow/disappointing development of Gornay, Coan, Dillinger and Sven Campbell, means we need another sprinter to augment our free relays.BTW, Gornay and Campbell are absent from the current roster on Calbears.com.

Are we in the mix with any other top level free sprint recruit?

Gwo will help. Jensen is from the same club as Mike Thomas. Dillinger and Campbell never developed. Gornay's also not on the roster!?!

BearDevil;842539001 said:

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Gwo will help. Jensen is from the same club as Mike Thomas. Dillinger and Campbell never developed. Gornay's also not on the roster!?!

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I was also surprised about Gornay not being listed on the 2015-2016 roster, less so regarding Campbell. I do not have any information on either swimmer, so it could be an error or a personal decision to step away to focus on academic requirements.

Just checked Gornay's Twitter page where he retweets a couple of Cal Bear items and nothing is said regarding a change in status, so maybe nothing to worry about.

I think that some swimmers just hit a plateau and have a hard time meeting their promise coming out of high school. Dillinger and Campbell's times were not bad to date, but there are so many other top free sprinters in the country. Chung did not really break out either in his 2 years, but he was decent. I remember when Cox transferred in from Auburn and he did not swim as well as he did in is senior year at Cal which I thought was fabulous. Vredeveld never matched her HS times her first 2 seasons, but showed some coming back this past year. Hopefully, she can continue to improve next Spring.

I hope we did not lose Gornay as he was most highly rated as a prep, and his times were decent this past season, but I guess we all expected more. Silverthorn made some incremental improvements late in the season, but I don't know if he should stay in breast (where we are loaded in depth), or sprints.

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[COLOR="#006699"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]
Just reckon I'd reproduce the convo on Maxime over at this thread as might be a better topic fit here than the women's recruiting doscussion... :p

Do personally hope along with everyone here that Rooney might change his mind...but realistically, not really expecting that to happen based on his verbal being so early (thinking of Katie Ledecky & Simone Manuel's cases down on the farm). As said by you lads here, Maxime probably found Troy's programme and team to be a natural fit, these things happen!



Seem to recall there were also some head scratching going on upon Caeleb Dressel's initial announcement in favour of the Gators 2 classes back...read the comments lol:
[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]
http://swimswam.com/1-recruit-class-2014-caeleb-dressel-commits-florida/

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PalyBear;842539706 said:

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I'm curious to know why Maxime Rooney would go to Florida. With those grades he should be able to get into Cal and LSJU, get excellent coaching and a world class education. Does he want to leave the Bay Area? Were we not interested? Scholarship?

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dgong;842539796 said:

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I agree this is a bit of a head scratcher. Asian heritage usually results in academic reputation being a large factor in college choice. Florida is a decent school, especially if one is going to live in the South, but it's no Cal or Stanford. I would assume he had a great visit and he felt comfortable with the team and his fit as a student.

I do not have any recruiting inside dope, but hard to believe both Cal and the Farm were not recruiting Rooney.

Maybe both local swim powers are still in the mix, so I really do not want to be seen crapping on this kid's choice, as it his life.

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BearDevil;842539799 said:

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No real mystery why Rooney would pass on the farm-still gets top recruits, but they rarely improve. Princeton (Corey Okubo, Cole Buese) have passed them up as a purely academic pick for swimming. Harvard (Sonia Wang, Brittany Usinger) occupies that position for women.

Both Cal teams and LSJU women are the best swimming/academic combos. Rooney looks like America's next great middle distance swimmer and thinks UF can develop him. Caleb Dressel is a great sprinter who can help his speed. Florida's Gregg Troy is brutal and has a ton of transfers, but he does get results with some high end talent (Lochte, Beisel). Still kinda think Maxime will eventually end up at Cal, but I also thought Okubo would leave Princeton after last season.

Rooney's really close to his Pleasanton Seahawks teammates who've taken some lumps at Cal. Breed was a Captain, but her career was hampered by injuries. Li's done pretty well, but still had a rough NCAAs last season. Silverthorn had a bumpy frosh year.

Rooney's also close with freshman Ken Takahaski. Bears would take Jensen in a heartbeat if he wanted to commit now, but still think the Bears will wait out every other sprinter to see if they can flip Rooney before signing day.

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PalyBear;842540187 said:

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Thanks BD for the info. Nice to hear there is a chance we can flip him. Go Bears!

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barabbas;842540343 said:

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I wouldn't think that the women's training would have much influence on a male recruit. From all I've heard Breed's experience at Cal has been very good.

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http://swimswam.com/top-rated-high-school-junior-maxime-rooney-verbally-commits-florida-gators/

[SIZE=4]Top-Rated High School Junior Maxime Rooney Verbally Commits to Florida Gators[/SIZE]



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http://swimswam.com/top-20-swimming-recruits-in-the-boys-high-school-class-of-2016/

[SIZE=4]Top 10 Swimmers from the Class of 2016[/SIZE]

(All best times are in short course yards.)

1. Maxime Rooney Pleasanton Seahawks Livermore, CA [COLOR="#FF8C00"]**Verbally committed to Florida**[/COLOR]
Best Times: 200 free 1:34.57, 500 free 4:20.60, 100 free 43.58, 50 free 20.19, 100 back 49.85, 200 back 1:44.79, 200 fly 1:46.21

Rooney fits the above criteria to a "T." He's nearly at NCAA-scoring level already in the 100 and 200 frees, and looks like a legitimate relay factor in the 400- and 800-yard relay distances. On top of that, his sprints have really started to come around so far in 2015, as he's improved from a 21.0 in the 50 free in 2014 to a 20.19, and a 44.1 in 2014 to a 43.58 in 2015 in the 100 free.

Rooney made a very early commitment to the University of Florida, where he'll join a strong tradition of 200 freestylers.

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https://instagr.am/p/7AwM3uizLx

2016 sprinter Michael Jensen and froski Mike Thomas.

beardevil;842540985 said:

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https://instagr.am/p/7awm3uizlx

2016 sprinter michael jensen and froski mike thomas.

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oo

I'm assuming there were some visiting but unlike the women, there doesn't seem as much tweeting for the guys.

Chandler Bray - [COLOR="#696969"]20 Sept 2015[/COLOR]

Excited to announce that I have verbally committed to the University of Florida! #GoGators



[COLOR="#808080"]Chandler & Maxime[/COLOR]

UrsusArctosCalifornicus;842550190 said:

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Chandler Bray - [COLOR="#696969"]20 Sept 2015[/COLOR]

Excited to announce that I have verbally committed to the University of Florida! #GoGators



[COLOR="#808080"]Chandler & Maxime[/COLOR]

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There was some hope that Maxime might change his mind...but this makes it seem that ship has sailed...............

This year and I think last year too, women seem to commit much earlier than the guys. I would say for each men commits there has been probably 4 to 5 (WAG) women committing. Is it because there are more women Scholarships available (more women swimming teams)?

BearDevil;842533036 said:

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Great get, but headline is a little misleading. Top 50 Free sprinter in the class, but not overall top sprinter (Rooney). Still need at least another sprinter (Jensen?) in this class.

Bears have done well at PASA on the women's side (Campbell, Acker, Grima, Jensen, Fotsch), but not as strong on the men's side (Hinshaw bros). Gwo, Babinet, and Ho could change that in a hurry.

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longseeker;842533882 said:

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Happy with Gwo coming in Fall, 2016 and if Coan or Gornay do not show improvement in sprints in the upcoming season, we will really need someone like Jensen or other top sprint break through.

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BearDevil;842539001 said:

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Gwo will help. Jensen is from the same club as Mike Thomas. Dillinger and Campbell never developed. Gornay's also not on the roster!?!

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:bluecarrot: :gobears:


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Michael Jensen - [COLOR="#696969"]4 Oct 2015[/COLOR]

Excited to announce that I have verbally committed to Cal Berkeley. Can't wait to be a part of such an incredible team. #GoBears



https://instagr.am/p/8bl2zgizNG


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[COLOR="#000066"]
[SIZE=5]World Jr Champs Silver Medalist Michael Jensen Verbals to Cal Bears[/SIZE]

The [U]Cal Golden Bears[/U] have pulled off arguably their best commitment thus far in their class of 2020 with Upper Dublin Aquatic Club's Michael Jensen. An Olympic Trials qualifier in the 50m free, 100m free, and 100m fly, Jensen swam the third leg on the United States' 400 free relay at the 2015 World Jr Championships. He split a 50.51 in finals as the U.S. placed 2nd overall, though he was a 49.90 in prelims.

Jensen's a big pickup for the Golden Bears, as they graduated top sprinters Seth Stubblefield and Fabio Gimondi after last season. Overall #1 freestyler Tyler Messerschmidt is in his final season with Cal, as is sprinter Nick Dillinger. In addition, Cal will lose (among others) all-stars Jacob Pebley and Josh Prenot to graduation before Jensen gets to campus.

With the range to go from the 50 to 200 free, Jensen should serve as a relay piece for Cal, and he has a very strong 100 fly and 200 IM to add to that.

Jensen's Top Times (LCM in parentheses)

50 free 20.20 (23.03)
100 free 43.29 (50.28)
200 free 1:35.31 (1:52.57)
50 back 22.50
100 back 49.07 (58.95)
200 back 1:48.00
100 fly 47.41 (54.70)
200 fly 1:47.69 (2:04.95)
200 IM 1:48.25

At the 2015 Pennsylvania AAA HS State Championships, representing Upper Dublin High School, Jensen won both the 100 and 200 free. He led off their 4th place 200 medley relay in an impressive 22.50, and anchored their 4th place 400 free relay with a 43.07.

Jensen's pretty versatile, but his sprint free is his calling card. At the 2015 Pac 12 Championships, Jensen would've been on the A/B final bubble in the 100 and 200 free, and would have made B finals in the 100 and 200 fly and C finals in the 50 free and 200 IM.

Comparing Jensen to the other Cal commits in his class, Albert Gwo and Jack Xie, the Bears have some exceptional sprint talent coming in. Gwo is a 19.9 and 44.6 in the free, while Xie is a 44.9 free and 46.7 butterfly. Cal's graduating a ton of top talent this and next year, but this incoming class of sprinters will form a core group around the likes of Andrew Seliskar, Michael Thomas, and Justin Lynch.


http://swimswam.com/world-jr-champs-silver-medalist-michael-jensen-verbals-to-cal-bears/

[/COLOR]
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[COLOR="#ffcc00"]
[SIZE=5]Sprinter Michael Jensen Set To Be A California Golden Bear[/SIZE]
[/COLOR]
The [U]California Golden Bears[/U] got a big verbal commitment in the form of sprinter Michael Jensen, one this season's top recruits who could become the next big freestyle star for Dave Durden's team.

Jensen will have a familiar face to help in the transition to the California Bay Area. Former Upper Dublin Aquatic Club teammate Michael Thomas is currently a freshman there, and might have been a major influence in Jensen's college choice.

Jensen had a summer to remember at the junior world championships, where he was part of the runner-up 400 free relay team in Singapore. He was only part of the one event at the meet, and his 49.90 prelim split marked his first time under 50 seconds in the 100 free albeit from a relay takeoff.

In short course yards, Jensen is on the cusp of breaking 20 seconds in the 50 free with a lifetime best of 20.20. He swam that at last December's junior nationals, where he finished in a tie for fifth. He did a bit better in the 100 free, placing fourth with a best time of 43.95. His 200 free is stellar as well, and whether he swims it individually or not, look for Jensen to contribute to Cal's 800 free relay. With a 1:35.31 as a lifetime best, he should be able to contribute immediately.

Jensen also has potential in the 100 fly with a best time of 47.41, giving him a strong option for a third event at the college championship meets.

Jensen goes into the Pennsylvania high school championships as the reigning 100 and 200 freestyle champion.


http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/michael-jensen-california-golden-bear/


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Whew! Jensen's the sprint relay piece Durden really needed. Huge get.

Is Shane Forker from Dana Hills HS being recruited by the Bears?

BearDevil;842562575 said:

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Whew! Jensen's the sprint relay piece Durden really needed. Huge get.

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:beer:

As always, thanks for the information and knowledge on swimming!!!!

Quick question on semantics. Isn't a fucla bruin commonly referred to as a "baby" bear? At least that's what my circle of friends say. Just don't want folks wrongly thinking we are the bruins because we are not. We are light years better! :beer:

[COLOR="#006699"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]
Hey stanfurdbites (brilliant username btw haha), believe that is technically correct AFAIK, thanks for bringing it up!

In swimming circles, it seems to be common practice for Cal recruits & even newly-minted freshies to refer to themselves as "baby Bears", hence my going along with that default nomenclature...hope that doesn't confuse things too much!

Not just in swimming it seems: http://www.dailycal.org/2015/09/25/berkeley-through-the-eyes-of-baby-bears/

If anything, we can always claim that those Bruins are copycats... :p
[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

awesome get

OdontoBear66;842562740 said:

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Is Shane Forker from Dana Hills HS being recruited by the Bears?

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Yes, visited already. Same club as Nick Norman and Katie McL. Sprinters are first priority in this class, but Durden and Yuri may now look to add distance with Jensen on board.

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Ethan Young - [COLOR="#696969"]6 Oct 2015[/COLOR]

I am excited to announce my official commitment to swim for the University of California - Berkeley! I look forward to working under Dave and Yuri and I am excited for the personal growth that this opportunity brings. Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the years. I can't wait to be a part of such an incredible team. #GoBears



https://instagr.am/p/8f2Ls2xzekteCnzuuzWfo1Xn4M-0l7rsXyxtQ0


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11. Ethan Young Carpet Capital Aquatics Club Dalton, GA
Best times: [U]200 back[/U] 1:43.06, [U]100 back[/U] 47.47, [U]50 back[/U] 21.90, [U]100 fly[/U] 48.92

Georgia rank: #1
National rank: #16

http://www.collegeswimming.com/swimmer/243864/


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[COLOR="#ff9900"][SIZE=5]Former National Age Group Record Holder #11 Ethan Young Chooses Cal[/SIZE][/COLOR]




http://swimswam.com/former-national-age-group-record-holder-11-ethan-young-chooses-cal/


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Bears have 4 of the top 17. Slightly odd mix since locals Rooney and Babinet (Michigan) not in the mix. Looks like another local Ben Ho will end up on the farm.

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[SIZE=5][COLOR="#000066"]Third-Best 50 Yard Freestyler in C/O 2016 Vergani Commits to Cal[/COLOR][/SIZE]

Italian National, but Bolles School (Florida) based, Andrea Vergani has verbally committed to the Cal Golden Bears. He's the beginning of a badly-needed rebuilding of sprint depth for the 2015 NCAA runners-up.

While the freestyler races are Vegani's best, he's got times that would make him worthy of being called a butterfly or breaststroke recruit as well.

Best in yards:
50 free 20.04
100 free 43.91
200 free 1:38.28
100 breast 55.89
100 fly 49.38
200 IM 1:50.38

Vergani arrived in the United States last fall, and in just that short time has already seen big improvements in his short course results. He's also improved some in long course when he went back for the Italian National Championships this summer, but not as significantly as in short course. So far, he's managed to dip under 23 seconds (22.96) in the 50 free, which will start to put him on the Italian radar for senior National Teams.

He's the third-fastest 50 yard freestyler in the class (behind 19.90 Albert Gwo and 19.95 James Jones, both of whom have already committed). That means that along with Gwo, Cal has earned verbal commitments from two of the three best American-based 50 freestylers in the class.

Cal graduated two of its four fastest flat-start 50 freestylers after last season (Seth Stubblefield and Fabio Gimondi); and the other two (Tyler Messerschmidt and Nick Dillinger) are both still on the team's roster but missed the first meet of the season on Friday against Pacific. That exposed Cal's relatively limited sprint depth this year as compared to the last decade-or-so, making Vergani (and Gwo before him) important pieces in this class.

http://swimswam.com/third-best-50-yard-freestyler-in-co-2016-vergani-commits-to-cal/

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Stats: http://www.collegeswimming.com/swimmer/286934/

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BearDevil;842564146 said:

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Looks like another local Ben Ho will end up on the farm.

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Yep. Ho to Stanford.. http://swimswam.com/stanford-picks-up-local-nag-record-breaker-18-benjamin-ho/

LSJU lost a top target (Ted Schubert) to UVa. UVa men's team is in chaos, so it's a bit of a head scratcher. Competent leadership in Cville and the men's team would be even better than their women's team.

LSJU men's recruiting is still very solid, but they've had some recent gimme recruiting misses (Okubo and Buese-Princeton, Schubert-UVa). Their men's team will turn around quickly once Knapp gets replaced.

He is the 3rd top 20 recruit who is from Virginia. I'm sure he is going because of the school despite of the coaching.

http://swimswam.com/19-james-murphy-gives-stanford-3rd-top-20-commit-in-class-of-2016/

I don't want to look too far ahead, but BD, do you know how we are doing with Ryan Hoffer?

From his twitter favorites:
Swimming World ‏@SwimmingWorld Oct 5
Sprinter Michael Jensen Set To Be A California Golden Bear http://wp.me/p56Jja-Enq

Amy Bilquist ‏@amybilquist Sep 25
Dove into my very first college meet today ������

UC Berkeley ‏@UCBerkeley Aug 17
Berkeley is world’s top public university http://bit.ly/1Novp8w #ARWU @AcademicRanking #gobears

It seems like he should be interested in us.

Good signs from Hoffer. Bears have ins via Tyler Messerschmidt and Amy having swum for Scottddale. Not sure, but think Keaton Blovad may have swum there too. Wouldn't exactly suck if Hoffer brought along Taylor Ruck too.