Yeah, she will never swim a second in college and she will never be a Cal Bear, but Penny is still my favorite swimmer, and she is such a class act in being the celebrity that she is.

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Oh definitely a massive loss for the NCAA ... also dashes your wildest dreams of Penny helping Bears dismantle a furdette juggernaut spearheaded by her compatriot Taylor in future seasons, tedbear lol

Still, on the bright side, Penny going pro does remove the terrifying option, even if remote, of Oleksiak teaming up with Ruck as they go hand in hand to bat for the Dark Side!

Of course there is still the nagging worry that Taylor's stint at the HPC this season, before she goes to the farm, may entail wooing bright prospects such as 2019's Kayla Sanchez to the furdie cause (not to mention possibly already having influenced 2018's Rebecca Smith).

All could be forgiven, however, if MSH was to soon announce her choice of colours to be the blue & gold...

... writing all of this somewhat tongue-in-cheek and in light-hearted fun of course...

Anyway, to conclude my dodgy reporting of 2017 Worlds Junior:

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USA Swimming: What U.S. National Junior Teamers Learned This Week



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20 Question Tuesday: Crystal Coleman



https://www.usaswimming.org/news-landing-page/2017/09/05/20-question-tuesday-crystal-coleman

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5 Takeaways from the FINA World Junior Championships presented by Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.

https://www.usaswimming.org/news-landing-page/2017/08/30/5-takeaways-from-the-fina-world-junior-championships-presented-by-sigma-gamma-rho-sorority-inc-

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At Conclusion of World Junior Championships, Team USA Leaves Inspired

https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/at-conclusion-of-world-junior-championships-team-usa-leaves-inspired/

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LumaLanes Performance of the Week: Regan Smith Shatters WJR, NAG Records

https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/lumalanes-performance-of-the-week-regan-smith-shatters-wjr-nag-records/

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ANDREW, IKEE EARN SWIMMER OF THE MEET HONORS AT WORLD JUNIORS

https://swimswam.com/andrew-ikee-earn-swimmer-meet-honors-world-juniors/

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66 RECORDS TOPPLED AT 2017 FINA WORLD JUNIOR SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

https://swimswam.com/66-records-toppled-2017-fina-world-junior-swimming-championships/

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UNITED STATES WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS TROPHY AT FINA WORLD JUNIORS

https://swimswam.com/united-states-wins-fina-team-trophy-fina-world-juniors/

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Quote:

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UrsusArctosCalifornicus wrote:

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https://instagr.am/p/BUFqUtehKRW

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Elise Garcia: Beyond excited to announce my verbal commitment to continue my academic and swimming career at the University of California Berkeley!! I would like to thank all of my family, friends, and coaches for supporting me throughout this ongoing journey. I cannot wait to be a part of such an incredible program!! Go bears!!! #classof2022



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Ema Rajic: Super excited to announce my verbal commitment to the University of California Berkeley!! I want to thank all my family, friends, and coaches for helping me commit to my dream school! Can't wait to be a baby bear!! Go bears!!! [url=https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/babybear/][/url]#babybear



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https://instagr.am/p/BWbDYybjh9_

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So, which of the 3 football weekends in Sept do you all reckon the bulk of our 2018 recruits will take their official visits?

Historically:

• Freshman Class of 2017 - 17 Sept 2016 v. Texas (1st home game, W 50-43)
• Freshman Class of 2016 - 12 Sept 2015 v. SDSU (2nd home game, W 35-7)
• Freshman Class of 2015 - 6 Sept 2014 v. Sac State (1st home game, W 55-14)

To keep up with the above FB win streak, along with this year's trend of early swim commitments, would make sense to host our Bears prospects as early as this coming Sat's game v. Weber State - certainly from a rah rah aspect, since we are celebrating National Championship Week. Not to mention that the Ole Miss match the following week would be tougher, and the high-profile one v. $C on 23 Sept could result in a rout against Cal in spite of all the optimism following the surprise win over UNC!

Def. looking forward to appearances from our 4 super talented Baby Bears commits:

• Cassidy Bayer (#5 SwimSwam, #14 CollegeSwimming)
• Elise Garcia (#18 SS, #21 CS)
• Alex Sumner (Hon. Mention SS, #32 CS)
• Ema Rajic (#42 CS)

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With so many of the top elites in the HS class of 2018 already having announced their verbals, who else would you realistically like to see show up @ Memorial over the weekend?


- Eva Merrell (#1 SS, #1= CS) is an easy choice lol - fly, back, sprint free ace. Holds the top times in her class for the 100 Back, 200 Back, 100 Fly. Good fit with the team & school. Has an interest in Cal.

- Mary-Sophie Harvey (#4 CS) who can do it all - IMs, mid-distance free /breast/fly

MSH would complement Eva very nicely...however am not quite as sold as tedbear re MSH's interest in Cal (but would love it if she does take a trip to Berkeley!). Bears having already welcomed MSH's Canadian National teammate Sarah Darcel (whose forte lies in pretty similar areas) to our Froski class this season, so MSH might not be the highest priority on Teri's plate...

- Lucie Nordmann (#16 SS, #9 CS) - back, free. Have a feeling Lucie's more of a furdette lean tho (LSJU needs sprint back/fly/free talent to make up for Howe & Hu's versatile top end punch in those areas, so Lucie can help to partially fill the back & free aspects). The 2 Texas teams also in the running, maybe 'SC as they are in serious need of a backstroker... We would certainly welcome Lucie though if she wants to be a Bear

- Morgan Tankersley (#4 SS, #8 CS) would be a really brill asset with her rangy freestyle, where she holds the top times in the class for both the 500 Free & 200 Free. Sprints & mid distance -> relay utility, mid to distance -> Bears' area of weakness.

Morgan's PB would project to be A final score-worthy in the 500 Free (behind only Katie McL on the team, faster than #1 2017 furdette Brooke Forde & #2 2018 furdette Taylor Ruck), with prospective B final points in the 200 Free (where the Dream Team + Robin are already potential A scorers, but Kathleen & Amy may have to sacrifice the individual race due to their 100 Back creating a double conflict on that day).

With development & focus on distance work, Teri could consider parlaying Morgan's strengths up to the mile for her 3rd NCAA individual event, which would really help us massively. Alternatively, have Tankersley shift her focus down to the 100 Free, where she currently holds comparable times to #15 2018 furdette Amalie Fackenthal.

TBH not sure if we have any connections to Morgan ... earlier on, I had felt that the Dawgs, Horns, Trojanettes or Gators might have a stronger claim on Tankersley. Please at least reassure me that Greg has no endowments left to woo Morgan to the Dark Side, thus somehow monopolising most of the elite freestylers in the class!!

Do however have faith in Sarah Dunleavy filling Kristen's considerable shoes and provide our recruiting with a fresh shot of momentum, so we'll see!

- If Morgan isn't meant to be, then possibly Easop Lee (#13 SS, #16 CS)? May not be quite as swift as Morgan in the mid-distance frees, but do add a 200 Fly & IMs to her resume. Alright, so Stanford is her dream school, but maybe Cal can become a better dream school for her haha.

----------

Hmmm, any other major & minor players whom I may have overlooked here?


- Well for starters, how about locals like Izzi Henig (#50 CS)...
https://www.collegeswimming.com/swimmer/343989/

- Or Cathy Teng (#46 CS)?
https://www.collegeswimming.com/swimmer/376422/

- Or our Junior Day visitors - Mikki Thompon (#51 CS), Jessica Epps (#84 CS), Vivian Wang (#85 CS)?

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Not really expecting any of the following to visit - but heck, you never know...


- Sarah Grinalds (#20 SS, #20 CS) - freestyler, better in the sprints & shorter distances.

- Ruby Martin (#26 CS) who packs a mean 200 Fly (best in the class). But prob. of relatively limited utility to the Bears lineup, as Cassidy & Elise both hold faster times in the 100 Fly... I can sort of see Ruby being snapped up by Bauerle to join Dakota Luther & Olivia Carter, to form a formidable fly dynasty for UGA that can challenge Bears in this dept (tho we would still be better in the sprint flys).

- Canadians Rebecca Smith (#27 CS) -> Georgia?? & 2018/2019 breaststroker Faith Knelson ...think that Faith's being recruited by Salo for the Trojanettes, as is 2019 Jade Hannah...but there's a chance that they may be interested in Cal as well.
https://www.collegeswimming.com/swimmer/344279/

- Swedish Olympian breaststroker Sophie Hansson (#24 CS) likely an 'SC lean, in part cos her big sis Louise is already on their squad.
https://www.collegeswimming.com/swimmer/555071/

- Irish Worlds Championship breaststroker Mona McSharry who had made her mark @ 2017 Worlds Junior is listed on CollegeSwimming's recruiting page for the Class of 2018, ranked #40.
https://www.collegeswimming.com/swimmer/431077/

- This international distance starlet would be a really long shot ... but heck, thought I'd just mention Delfina Pignatiello since she's now listed on CollegeSwimming's database, at #28: https://www.collegeswimming.com/swimmer/450772/

Quote:

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UrsusArctosCalifornicus wrote:

Then there are the prodigies abroad who may or may not experience language barrier challenges if they should desire to compete in the States:

800m Free podium: Ajna Kesely (HUN), Delfina Pignatiello (ARG) - 8:25.22 Championship record, 5+ sec ahead of Ajna, Gestido Cons (ESP)


Delfina had also broken the 1500m Free Championship record with her 15:59.51 to take the crown, with a Ledecky-esque margin of victory (16 sec)!

Ajna placed 2nd in this gruelling mile, but snagged a gold of her very own in the 400m Free (where Delfina was the runner-up).

---

UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

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USA Swimming 2017-2018 National Team

Women:

• Cassidy Bayer (200 Fly)

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https://www.usaswimming.org/docs/default-source/national-teamdocuments/rosters/2017-2018-national-team.pdf

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USA Swimming 2017-2018 National Junior Team

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- Women:

• Alex Sumner (100 Back + 200 Back) - 2018 Baby Bear

• Eva Merrell (200 Back + 100 Fly) - 2018 recruit
• Isabel Ivey (200 Free) - 2019 recruit
• Lucie Nordmann (100 Free + 200 Free + 100 Back + 200 Back) - 2018 recruit
• Zoie Hartman (100 Breast + 200 Breast) - 2019 recruit
• Ella Nelson (200 Breast) - 2019 recruit
• Phoebe Bacon (100 Back) - 2020 recruit
• Maddie Donohoe (1500 Free) - 2019 recruit
• Chase Travis (1500 Free + Open Water) - 2020 recruit?
• Ruby Martin (200 Fly) - 2018 recruit

https://www.usaswimming.org/docs/default-source/national-junior-teamdocuments/rosters/2017-2018-womens-national-junior-team.pdf


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- Men:

• Daniel Carr (100 Back + 200 Back) - 2017 Froski
• Bryce Mefford (200 Back) - 2017 Frosh
• Reece Whitley (100 Breast + 200 Breast) - 2018 Baby Bear

• Daniel Roy (100 Breast + 200 Breast) - 2018 recruit

https://www.usaswimming.org/docs/default-source/national-junior-teamdocuments/rosters/2017-2018-mens-national-junior-team.pdf


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- Coaches:

• Ethan Hall

https://www.usaswimming.org/docs/default-source/national-junior-teamdocuments/coach-lists-and-information/2017-2018-national-junior-team-coach-list.pdf


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HBD to 2018 Baby Bear Cassidy!

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Quote:

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UrsusArctosCalifornicus wrote:

- Lucie Nordmann (#16 SS, #9 CS) - back, free. Have a feeling Lucie's more of a furdette lean tho (LSJU needs sprint back/fly/free talent to make up for Howe & Hu's versatile top end punch in those areas, so Lucie can help to partially fill the back & free aspects). The 2 Texas teams also in the running, maybe 'SC as they are in serious need of a backstroker... We would certainly welcome Lucie though if she wants to be a Bear

---

Guess Lucie's checking out one of her 2 home state options this weekend (UT):


Kendall Shields (#73, commit), Julia Cook (#2, commit), Lucie Nordmann (#9), Holly Jansen (#33, commit), Grace Ariola (#6, commit)



Those Horns are sure making a move with their impressive list of 2018 verbals thus far ... I'd actually applaud Lucie if she decides to swim for Carol who's building a great group down there in Austin ... reckon that'd be preferable to Nordmann being annexed by the furdette juggernaut lol


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Quote:

---

UrsusArctosCalifornicus wrote:

- Sarah Grinalds (#20 SS, #20 CS) - freestyler, better in the sprints & shorter distances.

- Or Cathy Teng (#46 CS)?

- Or our Junior Day visitors - Mikki Thompon (#51 CS), Jessica Epps (#84 CS), Vivian Wang (#85 CS)?

---

Meanwhile, National Junior Teamer Diana Dunn (#98) made the trip to Kyle Field over the weekend (Texas A&M) ...

...whilst Sam Shelton was hosting Sarah Grinalds, Cathy Teng, Mikki Thompson & Jessica Epps over @ Harvard:


...alongside Hannah Feng (#100), Raime Jones (#172), Marcella Ruppert-Gomez (#189), Maddie Heilbrun (#218), Shae Nicolaisen (#225), Ashley Loomis (#297), Liv Mitchell (#712 CA), Labonita Ghose (#772 CA):

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Quote:

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UrsusArctosCalifornicus wrote:

To keep up with the above FB win streak, along with this year's trend of early swim commitments, would make sense to host our Bears prospects as early as this coming Sat's game v. Weber State

Def. looking forward to appearances from our 4 super talented Baby Bears commits:

• Cassidy Bayer (#5 SwimSwam, #14 CollegeSwimming)
• Elise Garcia (#18 SS, #21 CS)
• Alex Sumner (Hon. Mention SS, #32 CS)
• Ema Rajic (#42 CS)

With so many of the top elites in the HS class of 2018 already having announced their verbals, who else would you realistically like to see show up @ Memorial over the weekend?

- Eva Merrell (#1 SS, #1= CS) is an easy choice lol - fly, back, sprint free ace
- Mary-Sophie Harvey (#4 CS) who can do it all - IMs, mid-distance free /breast/fly
- Morgan Tankersley (#4 SS, #8 CS) would be a really brill asset with her rangy freestyle

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Wow, our luvly, talented 2018 Baby Bears & prospective recruits are here, yay!!!


2018 recruit Eva ... 2018 commit Elise

Let's give them all a Beary warm welcome!!! Go Bears!!!!


2018 commit Elise ... 2017 Freshie Ali

Anyone help out with id'ing our superstars-in-the-making in the group photo below? I for one am massively psyched to see Eva + Morgan together on the pitch here - would be quite a major scoop for the Bears if the pair decided Cal was the best fit for them!!

Here's my first pass at guessing who's who - keep in mind that I'm being massively & wildly optimistic here i.e. trying to shoe-horn all our faves mentioned in that earlier post into this photo...so do take my speculative stab at matching faces with names with more than a liberal pinch of salt haha:


Back Row: Morgan Tankersley (Recruit) ... Alex Sumner (Commit) ... Mary-Sophie Harvey or Callie Dickinson or ?? (Recruit) ... Elise Garcia (Commit) ... Eva Merrell (Recruit)

Front Row: Ema Rajic (Commit) ... Cassidy Bayer (Commit)

Boomerang video: https://scontent-lga3-1.cdninstagram.com/t50.2886-16/21551270_375318882881269_8283459787480367104_n.mp4

* UPDATE #1 * - according to our resident authority on MSH lol, the recruit standing in the middle of the back row isn't Mary-Sophie... ~sob~

* UPDATE #2 * - revised guess is that our mystery recruit may possibly be Callie Dickinson (#69 CS)??





Callie isn't currently projected to be an immediate NCAA scorer without further development, but is versatile and holds a rather impressive long course resume, having earned the distinction of qualifying for semis in the 200m Back at 2016 Olympic Trials!




https://www.collegeswimming.com/swimmer/352194/


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USA Swimming Recognizes 1,100 Scholastic All-America Picks



USA Swimming is proud to recognize more than 1,100 prep swimmers, who excel in the classroom and in the pool, as 2016-17 Scholastic All-America selections.

After earning a 4.0 grade point average and winning the men's 400-yard individual medley title at the 2016 Winter National Championships, USA Swimming National Team member Sean Grieshop (Cedar Park, Texas/Nitro Swimming) received the only perfect score among the 1,158 swimmers honored this year. With his selection, Grieshop becomes a three-time SAA team member.

In order to be considered for the Scholastic All-America Team, swimmers must maintain a 3.5 GPA for the current academic year and swim a time equal to a 2016 Winter Junior Championships qualifying time in any event during the qualification period. High school sophomores, juniors and seniors are eligible for inclusion.


https://www.usaswimming.org/news-landing-page/2017/09/11/usa-swimming-recognizes-1-100-scholastic-all-america-picks


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Did a quick scan thru the Scholastic All-America list here: https://www.usaswimming.org/docs/default-source/timesdocuments/scholastic-all-america/2017_saa_girls_final.pdf

• 2018 Baby Bears achieving mentions: Alex, Elise, Ema
• 2018 recruits who visited over the weekend: Eva, Morgan, Callie
• 2017 Froskis: Dannie, Alexa (Skorus-Neely), Ali

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Official Visits - Weekend #2

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Eva (#1) doing her due diligence, making her rounds at the University of Michigan Stadium where last season's team were being honoured with their B1G rings, complete with a parachutist and all:



Probably a dodgy guess due to my massively suspect facial recognition abilities lol, but could that be Lucie (#9) on our far right, 2nd row - or nay??

Upon a further look, I'd say that it isn't Lucie there :p

Nordmann had visited Austin last Sat, took a trip to College Station back in Oct 2016, and had also checked out the farm with Zoe before the latter recruit's verbal to the furdettes.

Hmmm, wondering if Morgan (#4)'s also in that group photo...the recruit behind real/fake Lucie??

Anyway, right school colours (well almost), wrong school...

Seriously though, Eva's choices thus far says something about our Scholastic All-American's admirable academic prowess on top of her athletic skills! Same goes for Morgan if that's indeed her in the photo.

Though presently absent* of a 2018 commit in this year of early verbals, the Wolverines have been steadily building a pretty impressive squad, and will challenge for a Top 10 (if not Top 5) spot this season, IMO:

• Unusual Suspects | Michigan Women Are Top 5 NCAA Contenders: http://www.floswimming.com/article/61687-unusual-suspects-michigan-women-are-top-5-ncaa-contenders
• #11 MICHIGAN SET FOR LANDMARK YEAR: https://swimswam.com/college-swimming-previews-11-michigan-set-landmark-year/

* Ha no sooner had I made that remark than this trio of verbals popped up for the Wolverines...

Alexis Wenger (#79)

Katie Minnich (#95)

Mariella Venter (#151 in 2017, from South Africa)

https://swimswam.com/michigan-pulls-another-backstroke-verbal-mariella-venter-south-africa/

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Over at Kyle Field today, no surprises thus far - these 3 recruits have already committed to the Aggies, who had hosted Diana Dunn (#98) + other recruits last weekend...Diana was at the Auburn Tigers game today, I believe :

Emma Carlton (#67), Gabby Kopenski (#11), Caroline Theil (#124):


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Whilst out east @ Princeton:

Ali Truwit (#333), Sarah Grinalds (#20), Vivian Wang (#85), Cathy Teng (#46), Monika Burzynska, Isabelle Odgers (#91)


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Over @ Yale: Mikki Thompson (#50), Marlise Moesch (#157), Raime Jones (#172)

https://instagr.am/p/BZJXyQWBxuy


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Meanwhile, Jessica Epps (#84) stayed a bit closer to home after her Harvard trip last Sat:

https://instagr.am/p/BZHzWXmFtpT
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2018 Gator commits Leah Braswell (#58) & Vanessa Pearl (#7) @ Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Missing - Canadian twinsies Mabel Zavaros (#22) & Rosie Zavaros (#197):

https://instagr.am/p/BZJ7J11ltjH
Here are the rest of the men:

https://instagr.am/p/BZHyw45hJWf
In addition to commits Trey Freeman (#1), Kieran Smith (#9), Miguel Cancel (#60), Dillon Hillis (#75) & Will Davis (#134) above, looks like Florida's also trying to woo the #1 2019 & 2020 recruits, siblings Jake & Carson Foster.

All prob. coming just to watch this go down lol:

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The Gamecocks welcomed South Carolina commit Hallie Kinsey (#35):

https://instagr.am/p/BZKBjH4Hxt9
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And an empty Neyland Stadium hosted Tennessee commits Danika Katzer (#88), Hannah Foster (#64), Trude Rothrock (#48), Sinclair Larson (#65) & ?, whilst their FB team were having a hard time down @ Gainesville:



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UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

---

revised guess is that our mystery recruit may possibly be Callie Dickinson (#69 CS)??

---

Callie made the trip to Georgia this weekend, alongside Jessie Nava (#37) + Kaki Christensen (#53) who both went on to verbal to UVa, and Kaylee Wheeler (#124) who then committed to Louisville.



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UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

---

A 2018 international whose name hasn't yet come up in the discussion (primarily cos I hadn't previously realised that she may be considering studying & swimming collegiately in the States) is Swedish Olympian Sophie Hansson (#16 in the class according to CollegeSwimming)

Going the SCM-to-SCY conversion route yields even more promising results...for example, a 1:05.26 in the 100m Breast, done @ 2016 Swedish Short Course Nationals last month, that would roughly correspond to a 58.79 in yards, i.e. inside A finals scoring range!

By the same token, I'd urge a bit of caution with regards to getting our hopes too high here, since the likely path for the younger Hansson could well be to the Trojanettes (sister on team, Salo's reputation & record of recruiting/developing breaststrokers, nice pool & SoCal weather which may appeal to someone from the colder Nordic clime)

Sophie & Louise Hansson @ Rio

---

Once again, it seems that another major recruit has thwarted my haphazard guess at their college of choice haha

Sophie Hansson (currently ranked #24) will swim for the Wolfpack, alongside future teammates Emma Muzzy (#5), Kylee Alons (#41), Maddie Smith, Shannon Kearney (#133) & diver Taylor Bennett:

https://instagr.am/p/BZJxoirlhGp
Sophie may have also visited Texas A&M before announcing her verbal to NC State. 'SC also was likely on her former shopping list, I'd imagine.

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UPDATE (19 Sept) -> now reported by SwimSwam here: https://swimswam.com/swedish-olympian-sophie-hansson-gives-verbal-nod-nc-state/

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UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

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- If Morgan isn't meant to be, then possibly Easop Lee (#13 SS, #16 CS)? May not be quite as swift as Morgan in the mid-distance frees, but do add a 200 Fly & IMs to her resume. Alright, so Stanford is her dream school, but maybe Cal can become a better dream school for her haha.

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Congrats to Easop for choosing Duke!

Great school, rising swim programme...

Heartily approve of Lee's decision here, over her going to the Farm...reckon BearDevil will be chuffed too

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Easop Lee: I am very honored to announce my verbal commitment to Duke University! Can't wait to be a part of the Blue Devil family #goduke


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UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

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Heartily approve of Lee's decision here, over her going to the Farm...reckon BearDevil will be chuffed too

-

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Glad she is not going to the farm but disappointed she is not going to Cal!

OBear073akaSMFan said:

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UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

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Heartily approve of Lee's decision here, over her going to the Farm...reckon BearDevil will be chuffed too

-

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Glad she is not going to the farm but disappointed she is not going to Cal!

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OBear, no room. We are going after bigger fish.

I think the recruiting picture should become clearer soon after the 30th, which is when the furdettes likely will be hosting their visitors during the ASU game weekend (there's also a home game on the farm this Sat v. the Bruins, but that's prob a mite early).

Hopefully the key verbals from Eva (#1) & Morgan (#4) will flow in before the 30th - would really prefer not to endure a rehash of the heartbreaks we were hit with after the Furd's recruiting weekends of 2016 & 2017!!! :p

Do realise that Teri's likely at a massive disadvantage when it comes to matching the generous endowments at Greg's disposal @ LSJU, but would really like to vote on improving our 0-for-5 track record when it comes to top recruits visiting both schools and then going on to commit to one of them in recent cycles - Ella Eastin (2015), Katie Drabot (2016), Ashley Volpenhein, Grace Zhao & Katie Glavinovich (2017) had all strayed to the Dark Side (but to be fair, Bears prob. ran out of schollies with Teri's brill Dream Team coup in 2015, and it seems that Drabot may not have been as close a fit with the women as had been previously assumed)

Looks like Reece & the 2018 men's recruits will be at the 'SC game this Sat. Wonder if anyone may show up on the women's side?

We may not hear from MSH and other international recruits (Faith Nelson if she 's 2018 rather than 2019, Rebecca Smith, Delfina Pignatiello, Mona McSharry, etc) until April 2018, or later...

Have no idea what chuffed means, but Easop to Duke is good news. Duke needs more talent and better (royal) blue than red.

So weird that the public schools in the West are so much better than their private school rivals, but the reverse is true in North Carolina. Definitely a dark blue thing. Pale blue seems to dilute the inate goodness of public universities...

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Another verbal today - from Dasha Pastushenko (#114), who had visited Beaver Stadium just over a fortnight ago:



Dasha swims for the Sierra Marlins up in Folsom, same club as 2017 frosh Bryce Mefford.

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UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

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Not really expecting any of the following to visit - but heck, you never know...

- Ruby Martin (#26 CS) who packs a mean 200 Fly (best in the class). But prob. of relatively limited utility to the Bears lineup, as Cassidy & Elise both hold faster times in the 100 Fly... I can sort of see Ruby being snapped up by Bauerle to join Dakota Luther & Olivia Carter, to form a formidable fly dynasty for UGA that can challenge Bears in this dept (tho we would still be better in the sprint flys).

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Ha, seems my unenviable track record of incorrectly guessing the school of choice for recruits is on a bit of a roll here...

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Ruby Martin: I'm proud to announce my verbal commitment to swim at Arizona State University! I'm excited to join Coach Bowman and my future teammates! Go Sun Devils! #forksup



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tedbear said:

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OBear, no room. We are going after bigger fish.

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Gladly to sacrifice Easop for your guarantee of bigger fishes!!!

OBear073akaSMFan said:

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tedbear said:

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OBear, no room. We are going after bigger fish.

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Gladly to sacrifice Easop for your guarantee of bigger fishes!!!

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Hey OBear - can't speak for tedbear meself lol, but I'd think all bets/guarantees are basically off, if #1 Eva and #4 Morgan were both to show up on the farm during LSJU's recruiting weekend...

OTOH, personally reckon that Eva's 75% or higher leaning towards favouring our Bears, based upon my (admittedly biased) perception of Merrell being such a great fit with the team & school

Guess we shall find out one way or the other pretty soon... Go Bears!

UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

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Meanwhile, National Junior Teamer Diana Dunn (#98) made the trip to Kyle Field over the weekend (Texas A&M) ...

...Diana was at the Auburn Tigers game today, I believe

---

https://instagr.am/p/BZW_L1TAJjM

UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

---

Looks like Reece & the 2018 men's recruits will be at the 'SC game this Sat. Wonder if anyone may show up on the women's side?

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Reece (#1) was spotted checking out Haas Pavilion earlier today (Friday).

Does look like Cathy Teng (#46) was also on campus, after her recent Harvard & Princeton trips...don't know if Cathy's taking an official trip here or just paying an informal visit, since she's local, from Santa Clara Swim Club (same club as froskis Sophie & Jarod).

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UPDATE (23 Sept) => Guess it's an official recruiting trip for Cathy! (photobomb courtesy of Amy lol)



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Eva & Lucie apparently having quite a blast and bonding with 2018 Dawg commits Dakota, Madison& Olivia on their Georgia recruiting trip this weekend.

https://instagr.am/p/BZaAW-kn-c4

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UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

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Eva + Taylor or MSH => Cal would seal the deal for us in my judgement - OTOH don't have much of a clue as to where those 2 Canadians may end up at - perhaps they'll choose to take the Emily Overholt route and attend uni north of the border, whilst at the same time competing as pro swimmers instead?

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- Mary-Sophie Harvey (#4 CS) who can do it all - IMs, mid-distance free/breast/fly

MSH would complement Eva very nicely...however am not quite as sold as tedbear re MSH's interest in Cal (but would love it if she does take a trip to Berkeley!). Bears having already welcomed MSH's Canadian National teammate Sarah Darcel (whose forte lies in pretty similar areas) to our Froski class this season, so MSH might not be the highest priority on Teri's plate...

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MSH checking out her Canadian options this weekend:

https://instagr.am/p/BZb1Gzvnn_r

UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

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Eva & Lucie apparently having quite a blast and bonding with 2018 Dawg commits Dakota, Madison& Olivia on their Georgia recruiting trip this weekend.

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Aaargh, guess Eva had really hit it off with the Dawgs over the weekend...so much so that Georgia is her school of choice, over Cal & Michigan where she had also taken her recruiting trips!

https://instagr.am/p/BZhccWQHx7V
This season looks to be more than a bit of a rebuilding one for UGA, but the significant addition of Eva to Dakota & Olivia's commitments will bring massive fly firepower to the Bulldogs, on top of Merrell's back & free flair!

SwimSwam now out with their report here:

#1 IN THE CLASS OF 2018, EVA MERRELL HANDS VERBAL COMMITMENT TO UGA

https://swimswam.com/1-class-2018-eva-merrell-hands-verbal-commitment-uga/

Wow, just Wow. Didn't see this coming at all!

UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

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Meanwhile, Jessica Epps (#84) stayed a bit closer to home after her Harvard trip last Sat:

https://instagr.am/p/BZHzWXmFtpT

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Well turns out that Jessica decided in favour of the other SoCal school, after having checked out their volleyball game last Friday:

https://instagr.am/p/BZhgup8FMmZ

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Meanwhile Trojans did receive a commitment - Makenna Turner (#63), from Danville:


CIF-NCS CHAMPION MAKENNA TURNER GIVES VERBAL TO USC TROJANS




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UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

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- Lucie Nordmann (#16 SS, #9 CS) - back, free. Have a feeling Lucie's more of a furdette lean tho (LSJU needs sprint back/fly/free talent to make up for Howe & Hu's versatile top end punch in those areas, so Lucie can help to partially fill the back & free aspects).

The 2 Texas teams also in the running.

Eva & Lucie apparently having quite a blast and bonding with 2018 Dawg commits Dakota, Madison & Olivia on their Georgia recruiting trip this weekend.

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Early indications are that Lucie is indeed paying Stanford a visit this Sat - was seen with 2018 commits Taylor, Anya, Zoe & Allie (along with one of the top 2018 breast recruits Daniel Roy on the men's side, who had taken a trip to Cal last weekend).

UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

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I think the recruiting picture should become clearer soon after the 30th, which is when the furdettes likely will be hosting their visitors during the ASU game weekend

Hopefully the key verbals from Eva (#1) & Morgan (#4) will flow in before the 30th - would really prefer not to endure a rehash of the heartbreaks we were hit with after the Furd's recruiting weekends of 2016 & 2017!!! :p

Hey OBear - can't speak for tedbear meself lol, but I'd think all bets/guarantees are basically off, if #1 Eva and #4 Morgan were both to show up on the farm during LSJU's recruiting weekend...

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All I can say is, wow, how on earth can Greg afford to offer a full ride (or close to one) to such a large group of amazing talent, after having built up the furdette juggernaut the past few seasons thru recruiting more than double the number of Top 20 recruits than any other programme in the nation??!! Kudos though if he's able to pull this feat off, even if it would come at Bears' expense (Morgan).


Allie Raab, Amalie Fackenthal, Lucie Nordmann (presently uncommitted), Taylor Ruck, Anya Goeders, Morgan Tankersley (presently uncommitted), Zoe Bartel


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UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

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- Or our Junior Day visitors - Mikki Thompon (#51 CS), Jessica Epps (#84 CS), Vivian Wang (#85 CS)?

...whilst Sam Shelton was hosting Sarah Grinalds, Cathy Teng, Mikki Thompson & Jessica Epps over @ Harvard:

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Mikki Thompson (#51) -> Harvard

"So incredibly blessed to announce my acceptance via likely letter and commitment to swim for Harvard University! Words cannot describe my gratitude for the unwavering support from family, friends, and coaches. GO CRIMSON!! "



https://www.collegeswimming.com/swimmer/377115/

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Jessie Nava (#37) -> UVa



https://www.collegeswimming.com/swimmer/210638/

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Kylie Powers (#39) -> Texas A&M



https://www.collegeswimming.com/swimmer/356534/

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TOP 20 RECRUITING ROUNDUP: WOMEN'S CLASS OF 2018, FIRST EDITION

https://swimswam.com/top-20-recruiting-roundup-womens-class-2018-first-edition/


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Alicia Wilson of Great Britain just posted her commitment to Cal:
CS #193, represented GBR at the European JR Champs
200 IM LCM: 2:14.60, translated in to SCY: 01:58.37 (used SwimSwam's converter)


https://instagr.am/p/BZtpglLHCbt

Well done, bearz012 - cheers for the brill news, which honestly took me completely by surprise hehe!

• "The team at Berkeley made me feel incredibly welcomed. The prospect of working with Teri, Sarah and the amazing swim team makes me feel extremely excited and I feel that this university is the place that I can grow the most as a person both in and out of the pool."
• https://www.collegeswimming.com/swimmer/610466/

Here is Alicia with her bronze medal from the 200m IM final @ Euro Junior Champs this summer - that 2:14.60 incidentally dropped one and a half seconds off her lifetime best!



btw thank you very much Alicia for coming to Cal, instead of Oxford...

(whispers subliminally to Alicia - "don't forget to chat to Freya 'bout coming 'ere next... ")

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Personal bests in the 200 IM for current & future Bears, as a reference:


200y IM (2018 NCAA A Cut: 1:55.00)

* 2017 NCAA A Final Qualifying Time (8th) = 1:55.59 *
Kathleen Baker ........ 1:51.69...... 2017 NCAAs
Sarah Darcel ............ 1:55.11...... 2016 Dec (from 2:07.78 SCM)

2017 NCAA B Final Qualifying Time (16th) = 1:56.34
Sarah Darcel ............ 1:56.32...... 2017 Aug (from 2:12.32 LCM)

~ 2017 NCAA Slowest Invited Time (40th) = 1:57.66 ~
Keaton Blovad .......... 1:57.21...... 2016 Georgia Fall Invite

- 2018 NCAA B Cut: 2:01.59 -
Abbey Weitzeil ........... 1:58.13...... 2014 Dec
Cassidy Bayer ........... 1:58.21 ...... 2015 Feb
Alicia Wilson ............ 1:58.37...... 2017 Jul (from 2:14.60 LCM)
Amy Bilquist ............... 1:58.75...... 2015 Mar
Maija Roses ............... 1:59.71...... 2017 Pac-12s
Sophie K-Zhou ........... 1:59.85...... 2014 May
Ema Rajic ................... 2:00.23 ...... 2016 Nov
Dannie Dilsaver .......... 2:00.37...... 2015 Dec
Alexa Skorus-Neely .... 2:00.38...... 2016 May
Courtney Mykkanen .... 2:00.70...... 2017 Pac-12s
Alex Sumner ............... 2:00.82 ...... 2017 Mar
Chenoa Devine ........... 2:00.93...... 2016 Feb
Elise Garcia ................. 2:01.11 ...... 2017 Mar
=====
Ali Harrison .................. 2:01.67...... 2016 Dec


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UPDATE => SwimSwam now out with their report, with Alicia's PBs listed as follows:

Top LCM times (converted to SCY):

• 200m IM 2:14.60 (1:58.37)
• 400m IM 4:52.65 (4:17.88)
• 100m free 56.70 (48.63)
• 50m free 26.23 (22.90)
• 50m fly 27.28 (23.94)
• 100m fly 1:01.00 (53.69)

Of particular interest to me is Alicia's converted time of 48.63 in the 100 Free.

This would put Alicia ahead of the following Bears' current bests: Val (48.66), Jaz (48.67) & Keaton (49.01).

In fact swifter than any of the 2017 furdette freshies including their free sprinter specialists - Lauren Pitzer (48.72), Ashley Volpenhein (48.96), Lauren Green (49.49), and even their #1 ranked super-versatile stud Brooke Forde (49.74)!!

The last invitee for this event @ 2017 NCAAs boasted a 48.62 (40th fastest time), with the last qualifier (16th fastest) from morning heats achieving a 48.10 - so Alicia doesn't presently represent a scoring threat straightaway, though she is certainly capable of earning an NCAA invite.

What's promising & exciting are her relay implications for our Bears, particularly if Alicia can develop a mite more in her freestyle the next year or two...


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COMMONWEALTH YOUTH CHAMP / EURO JUNIORS MEDALIST ALICIA WILSON VERBALS TO CAL

https://swimswam.com/commonwealth-youth-champ-euro-juniors-medalist-alicia-wilson-verbals-to-cal/

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OMG, I knew the Freya reference was coming up. Hahaha!

And thanks bearz012! Please help UAC out as much as you can.

no problem! i saw her instagram post, and was wondering when you guys were going to update.

No surprise, Lucie's a Furd.

UrsusArctosCalifornicus said:

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- Lucie Nordmann (#16 SS, #9 CS) - back, free. Have a feeling Lucie's more of a furdette lean tho (LSJU needs sprint back/fly/free talent to make up for Howe & Hu's versatile top end punch in those areas, so Lucie can help to partially fill the back & free aspects).

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https://instagr.am/p/BZ2RQzKHPEX


UPDATE:

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#16 National Recruit Lucie Nordmann Chooses Stanford

https://swimswam.com/16-national-recruit-lucie-nordmann-chooses-stanford/

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Stanford Super Team Developing With Latest Commit From Lucie Nordmann

https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/stanford-super-team-developing-with-latest-commit-from-lucie-nordmann/

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I seriously believe split scholarships and financial aid have to be eliminated from swimming to make it a level playing field. There is no way that the Furd can afford six top 30 swimmers without any accounting shenanigans. Even without scholarships, the rich will always flock to the rich schools, so there has to be a way to limit the number of swimmers on a team.

I think part of the reason that Stanford's able to distribute so many scholarships is because they no longer are paying for Meehan's coaching.

https://swimswam.com/stanford-womens-head-coaching-position-endowed-paul-violich-family/

Not surprised about Nordmann's commitment, she's very close with Bartel, who committed way earlier.

(also, I'm new here, the furd refers to Stanford, correct? is there any reason why they're called that?)

bearz012 said:

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(also, I'm new here, the furd refers to Stanford, correct? is there any reason why they're called that?)

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Er, don't mean to open a can of worms here lol, or have our "friendly" rivalry with LSJU overshadow the respectful & admiring nods to all these brilliant recruits who are realising their dreams in college, irrespective of where they ultimately choose to go...but if you can keep a sense of humour, here's a start:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Stanfurd

Or pick one of the many points of views from the comments here: https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2015/1/19/7642741/stanford-or-stanfurd

Now we resume our regular programming and return you to the smashing world of collegiate swim recruiting...

bearz012 said:

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I think part of the reason that Stanford's able to distribute so many scholarships is because they no longer are paying for Meehan's coaching.

https://swimswam.com/stanford-womens-head-coaching-position-endowed-paul-violich-family/

Not surprised about Nordmann's commitment, she's very close with Bartel, who committed way earlier.

(also, I'm new here, the furd refers to Stanford, correct? is there any reason why they're called that?)

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Bearz012, there should be no connection between Meehan's salary and the number of full scholarships (14) available to the team. What happens is that scholarships can be split up, i.e., two swimmers can each get 1/2 scholarship, and in the case of the Furd, the difference can be made up in financial aid, or just the flat out ability of rich parents being able to pay the difference. I think the NCAA should just hard cap the number of swimmers you can have on a team, period.