June 30, 2011
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State's 2011-12 swimming class, comprised of six athletes who will be freshmen this fall along with one international transfer, has been ranked 17th in the nation by CollegeSwimming.com. All six of the freshman athletes earned NICSA Girls High School All-America honors in their respective events during their prep careers.
It marks the third straight year that the Aztecs have landed a top 25 class after its 2009-10 group was rated fourth and last year's class was ranked 22nd. SDSU is the lone Mountain West Conference team to have its incoming class ranked among the top 25 nationally.
Leading the freshman contingent is Chelsea Bailey, a free and back specialist from Kentlake High School in Kent, Wash. Ranked as the 14th overall recruit in the nation by CollegeSwimming.com, she won All-America honors in the 100 free and 100 back and is a U.S. Nationals and Olympic qualifier.
Bailey is one of three swimmers from the state of Washington signed by the Aztecs for the 2011-12 season. The other two include Dana Michaels and Emilie Pleger. Michaels won the 200 and 500 free along with the 400 free relay at the state championship meet. She garnered individual All-America honors in the 200 and 500 free and was ranked ninth among all swimmers in Washington. Pleger was the top-ranked 100 breast swimmers in the state as senior.
They are joined by butterfly and freestyle swimmer Taylor Lakey from Beaverton, Ore. (Southridge HS), where she was ranked third in the state. Lakey has won state titles in both the 200 free as well as the 100 fly and is a U.S. National qualifier.
Also among SDSU's recruits are Amanda Barrett (Sandy, Utah) and Loreen Whitfield (Clovis, Calif.), Barrett was ranked No. 1 in Utah after winning state championships in the 200 and 500 freestyle. She was also a member of the winning 200 medley relay team as she led her Brighton HS squad to a state title. Whitfield became just the fourth swimmer in Central Section history to win eight individual titles (the maximum possible) while competing for Clovis East HS in the section finals. She set section records in the 100 butterfly each of the last three years.
The seventh member of SDSU's recruiting class is Gemma Johnson, who will arrive from the University of Sydney (Australia). A butterfly specialist, she captured the 50m race in that event at the 2010 New South Wales State Open. She has been ranked among the top 25 in her home country in the 50m free as well as the 50m and 100m fly.
In addition to those seven swimmers, San Diego State has also signed diver Ashley Stott (Temecula, Calif.) to bring its 2011-12 recruiting class to a total of eight athletes. Stott is a Level 10 Gymnast who has competed at the U.S. Championships.
San Diego State is the swim program's finest season after finishing with a perfect 19-0 mark in dual meets en route to winning both the Mountain West Conference regular season title as well as the annul MWC Championship meet title. In addition, Aztec swimmers set new San Diego State records in all 11 individual swimming events as well as four relays and all three diving events during the season.
A total of 11 athletes earned all-Mountain West Conference honors in 21 swimming events, five diving events and two relays at the MWC Championship meet. At the conclusion of the meet, SDSU freshman Kelly Marquenie received women's conference co- Swimmer of the Year honors.
In addition, third-year SDSU Head Coach Mike Shrader was named the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year after leading his squad to its best-ever finish both during the regular season and at the MWC Swimming and Diving Championships. It marked the third consecutive year that Shrader won the honor as the league's top coach.
2011-12 TOP 25 RECRUITING CLASSES 1. California 2. Georgia 3. Stanford 4. Texas 5. Virginia 6. Florida 7. Louisville 8. Auburn 9. Harvard10. Minnesota11. North Carolina12. Princeton13. Virginia Tech14. Arkansas15. Maryland16. Purdue17. San Diego State18. Missouri19. Florida State20. Texas A&M21. Denver22. Indiana23. Florida International24. North Carolina State25. Florida Gulf Coast
SDSU 2011-12 RECRUITING CLASSSwimmersName Event Hometown (Previous School)Chelsea Bailey Free, Back Kent, Wash. (Kentlake HS)Amanda Barrett Free, IM Sandy, Utah (Brighton HS)Gemma Johnson Fly, Free Sydney, Australia (Univ. of Sydney)Taylor Lakey Fly, Free Beaverton, Ore. (Southridge HS)Dana Michaels Free Shoreline, Wash. (Shorewood HS)Emilie Pleger Breast Yakima, Wash. (Eisenhower HS)Loreen Whitfield Fly, IM Clovis, Calif. (East Clovis HS)
DiversAmanda Stott Diving Temecula, Calif. (Temecula Valley HS)