Nov. 18, 2009
AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn swimming and diving team signed 16 athletes to National Letters of Intent during the NCAA Early Signing Period, head coach Brett Hawke announced Wednesday.
Swimmers Dagny Knutson, Emily Bos, Haley Krakoski, Erin Reisinger, Olivia Scott, Siena DeVenuto and Yennifer Marquez will add depth to the 2010-11 Auburn women. Joining the men's squad are swimmers Zane Grothe, Nimrod Hayet, Dakota Hodgson, TJ Leon, Chris Manning, Evan Noble, James Disney-May, Dimitri Higgins and diver John Santieu.
"We are very excited about this recruiting class," Hawke said. "The coaching staff worked really hard to bring in the best athletes for the future and I feel that we reached our goals.
"This class will bring a great balance with what they bring to the team and will fill the holes we will have next season. Not only are they great athletes, but also great students and will help continue Auburn's legacy of being outstanding student-athletes. "
Knutson is a six-star recruit by Swimming World Magazine and was named the national High School Swimmer of the Year. The Minot, N.D., native earned a silver medal at the 2009 World Championships as a member of the 800m free relay prelim team. Knutson earned seven medals (six gold) at the 2009 Junior National Championships and broke a 30-year-old record in the 200m free. She set the American record in the 400y IM at the 2008 Short Course National Championships and, most recently, set new American high school records in the 200 IM and 100 free at the 2009 North Dakota State Championships.
"Dagny is a superstar in the making," Hawke said. "It is exciting to know that we have that level of swimmer joining us next year."
Four five-star recruits join Knutson in Bos, Krakoski, Reisinger and Scott. Bos hails from Holland, Mich., and owns U.S. Senior National Long Course Championships cut times in the 100m free, 100m back and 100m fly. She has also reached NCAA B times in the 100y back. Krakoski, a Paradise Valley, Ariz., has set senior national cuts in the 50m free and 100m fly and has recorded NCAA B standard times in the 100y free and 200y free.
Reisinger, a Marietta, Ga., product, will provide depth in the backstroke events for Auburn. She has picked up senior national cut times in both the 100m and 200m back and would have qualified for the 2009 NCAA Championships in the 100y and 200y back. Scott, of Aurora, Ill., will be an asset in many strokes as she has recorded senior national times in the 50m free, 100m free, 100m back, 200m back, 100m fly and 200m IM.
Joining the already strong group is four-star recruit Siena DeVenuto and junior college transfer Yennifer Marquez. DeVenuto will come to Auburn from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and give the Tigers depth in the distance freestyle events. Marquez is a National Junior College Athletic Association record-holder in the 100y and 200y free and was named 2009 NJCAA Female Swimmer of the Year as a part of the Indian River State College national title team.
Diver John Santeiu, a Dearborn Heights, Mich., native, will come to Auburn as an All-American and as a Michigan state champion. Santeiu, who attends University of Detroit Jesuit High School, is a two-time Junior Nationals qualifier and reached the platform finals last season, finishing eighth.
Six five-star athletes in Grothe, Hayet, Hodgson, Leon, Manning and Noble join the eight-time national champion Auburn men. Grothe, of Boulder City, Nev., will provide depth in the distance events for Auburn, having recorded senior national times in the 400m and 1500m freestyle events.
Leon and Manning will give the Tigers even more strength in the sprint events. Leon, the Mobile, Ala., product has senior national cuts in the 50m free, 100m free and 100m fly. Manning, the Brantford, Ontario, native, has times in the same three events that would have qualified him for the U.S. Long Course Senior Nationals.
Adding depth in the fly events will be Hayet and Hodgson. Hayet, who attends the college prep Peddie School in Highstown, N.J., swam senior national times in the 100m and 200m fly, while Hodgson, of Nashville, Tenn., has recorded times in those same events. Noble, a Troy, Ill., product, will provide depth in a variety of events, including both the 200 and 400 IM.
Also joining the group are Dimitri Higgins and James Disney-May. Higgins, of Spotsylvania, Va., and Disney-May, a Surrey, England, native, will both come to Auburn as competitive and successful sprinters. Higgins was a part of the 400 free relay that won the junior national title. Disney-May is Britain's age group record holder in the 100m free and is the national youth champion in the 50m and 100m free.
AUBURN SIGNEES
Dagny Knutson
Hometown: Minot, North Dakota
High School: Minot
Club Team: A.S.K. Swim
Notes: A six-star recruit by Swimming World Magazine ... 2009 National High School Swimmer of the Year ... Earned a silver medal at the 2009 World Championships as a member of the 800m free relay prelim team ... Recorded seven medals, six gold, at the 2009 Junior National Championships and broke a 30-year-old record in the 200m free ... Set the American record in the 400y IM at the 2008 Short Course National Championships ... Set new American high school records in the 200 IM and 100 free at the 2009 North Dakota State Championships.
Emily Bos
Hometown: Holland, Michigan
High School: Holland
Club Team: West Michigan Swimmers
Notes: A five-star recruit according to Swimming World Magazine ... A 2009 Junior National Championship finalist in the 50m free, finishing seventh ... Took fourth at the meet in the 100m back and sixth in the 100m free ... Owns senior national cuts in the 100m free, 100m back and 100m fly.
Siena DeVenuto
Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
High School: Pine Crest
Club Team: Pine Crest
Notes: A four-star recruit by Swimming World Magazine ... Recorded a 2008 NCAA Championship qualifying time in the 1650 free of 16:18.27 ... Also picked up NCAA B times in the 200 free (1:48.49) and 500 free (4:44.29).
James Disney-May
Hometown: Surrey, England
High School: Millfield School
Notes: Age group record holder in the 100m free ... British youth champion in the 50m and 100m free ... Attends the prestigious boarding school, Millfield School, in Somerset, England ... Times in the 50m and 100m free would have qualified him for the U.S. Senior National meet.
Zane Grothe
Hometown: Boulder City, Nevada
High School: Boulder City
Club Team: Boulder City Henderson
Notes: A five-star recruit according to Swimming World Magazine ... Finished fourth in the 1650 free at the 2008 USA Short Course Junior Championships with a time of 15:17.85 ... Recorded senior national cuts in the 400m free (4:00.98) and 1500m free (15:36.54).
Nimrod Hayet
Hometown: Highstown, New Jersey
High School: Peddie School
Club Team: Peddie Aquatic Club
Notes: A five-star recruit by Swimming World Magazine ... Recorded three first-place finishes at the 2009 USA Swimming Sectionals in Cambridge, Mass. ... Took first in the 200y fly (1:46.91) and 200y breast (2:00.69) and was a part of the winning 400 free relay ... Holds senior national cuts in the 100m fly, 200m fly and 400m IM.
Dimitri Higgins
Hometown: Spotslyvania, Virginia
High School: Home School
Club Team: Nova of Virginia Aquatics
Notes: Member of the 2009 NCSA Junior National Champion 400 free relay team ... Recorded top times for the Nova of Virginia Aquatics Club in the 50 free (21.11), 100 free (46.84) and 200 free (1:45.30) at the 2009 NOVA Senior Classic.
Dakota Hodgson
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
High School: Home School
Club Team: Nashville Aquatic Club
Notes: A five-star recruit by Swimming World Magazine ... Won the 200m fly and finished second in the 100m fly at the Mel Zajac International Swim Meet in Vancouver, B.C. ... Champion in the 200y fly at the 2008 Short Course Junior Championships ... Five-time All-American.
Haley Krakoski
Hometown: Paradise Valley, Arizona
High School: Xavier College Prep
Club Team: BEST Swim Club
Notes: A five-star recruit according to Swimming World Magazine ... A two-time Arizona state champion in the 50 free and 100 free ... Four-time team MVP and a member of the four-time Arizona 5A Division State Championship Team ... A 16-time All-American ... 2008 Arizona High School Swimmer of the Year ... Member of the 2008 USA national junior team ... 2009 USA Senior National Championship qualifier.
TJ Leon
Hometown: Mobile, Alabama
High School: UMS-Wright
Club Team: City of Mobile Swim Association
Notes: A five-star recruit by Swimming World Magazine ... All-American and four-time Alabama state champion ... Scholastic All-American ... Alabama state record holder in the 50 and 100 free ... Participated in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials ... A 2008 USA Junior Short Course Champion in the 100 free ... Holds the Southern Zone record in the 100m fly.
Chris Manning
Hometown: Brantford, Ontario, Canada
High School: North Park Collegiate
Club Team: W. Ross Macdonald Swimming
Notes: A five-star recruit according to Swimming World Magazine ... Competed at the 2008 Canadian Olympic Trials ... Finished fifth at the 2009 Canadian World Championships Trials in the 50 free (22.82) ... Holds age group record in the 50m free ... His times in the 100m free (50.80) and 100m fly (54.87) would qualify him for U.S. Senior Championships.
Yennifer Marquez
Last School: Indian River State College
Notes: Member of the Indian River State College team that has won 26-straight National Junior College Athletic Association titles ... Set NJCAA individual records in the 100 and 200 free and was a part of the record-breaking 200 free relay, 400 free relay and 800 free relay ... Named the 2009 Female Swimmer of the Year ... Captured individual titles in the 100 free, 200 free and 500 free at the national meet.
Evan Noble
Hometown: Troy, Illinois
High School: Triad
Club Team: CSP Club
Notes: A five-star recruit by Swimming World Magazine ... A national selection camp member ... Named to the 2009-10 USA National Youth Team ... Finished ninth in the 200m IM in a time of 2:03.71 ... Has recorded NCAA B cut times in the 400y IM (3:55.40).
Erin Reisinger
Hometown: Marietta, Georgia
High School: Walton
Club Team: Stingrays Club
Notes: A Swimming World Magazine five-star recruit ... Finalist in the 100 back at the 2008 Short Course National Championships, finishing seventh in 54.03 ... Has recorded NCAA B times in the 100 back and 200 back.
John Santeiu
Hometown: Dearborn Heights, Michigan
High School: University of Detroit Jesuit
Club Team: Legacy Diving
Notes: All-American and a Michigan state champion on the platform ... All-Catholic League and All-State honoree ... Finalist on the platform at the 2009 Junior National Championships, finishing eighth ... Took second on the 3-meter at the 2009 USA Diving Age Group Championships ... Won the 2009 Junior Zone B title on the platform and finished third on the 1-meter ... Capture titles on the 1-meter and platform at the 2009 Region 4 Championships, while finishing second on the 3-meter.
Olivia Scott
Hometown: Aurora, Illinois
High School: Rosary
Club Team: Academy Bullets Club
Notes: A five-star recruit by Swimming World Magazine ... A 2009 USA Senior National Championship Qualifier ... Competed individually in the 100m fly, 100m back and 200m back ... Finished 17th in the 100m fly in 59.87 ... Recorded 2009 NCAA B standard times in the 100 free, 100 back, 200 back and 100 fly.