Georgia Adds Four More To An Already Impressive Recruiting Class

ATHENS, Ga, December 3. GEORGIA women's swimming and diving team announced the signing of four more swimmers to national letters-of-intent to compete and study at the University of Georgia.

Erin Forster, Lauren Groblewski, Anna Miller and Gretchen Schmaltz will each join the Georgia program next year following their all-star prep careers.

A native of Centerville, Ohio, Forster is finishing up a fine career at Centerville High School, where she was a four-time high school All-American in the backstroke and individual medley events as well as a three-time Scholastic All-American. Forster, who swims for coach Mark Davis, is ranked sixth in her class at Centerville.

"We could not be more proud to have Erin with us next year," said Georgia head coach Jack Bauerle. "She is a very talented athlete and an excellent student. She is going to give us much needed help in both backstroke events. We feel she has the potential to only get better during her college career."

A senior at J.L. Mann High School, Groblewski in a two-time South Carolina state champion in the 100-yard backstroke and is the high school record holder in the event ‹ a standard previously held by Olympian and All-American Lady Bulldog Courtney Shealy. Groblewski also earned a state title in the 200-yard individual medley and was a member of the winning 200-yard medley and 400-yard freestyle relays. A four-year letterwinner, Groblewski is a three-time All-State selection and earned All-Conference honors the last two years.

"We are very excited to have Lauren as part of our program," said Bauerle. "She is an up and coming swimmer that has a real up side in the sport. As a strong backstroker, she is going to help up where we need help with the graduation of Neka Mabry (at the end of the year). She has the opportunity to come in and be a vital freshman. She is a hard worker and a great team player."

A three-time scholastic All-American, Groblewski trains with Scott Bonine at Team Greenville. Groblewski was a USA Swimming national qualifier in the 100- and 200-meter backstroke and a South Carolina state champion in the 100-meter backstroke this year.

An All-American at two different high schools, Miller is currently a senior at Farragut High School in Knoxville, Tenn., where she earned All-America honors by winning the 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle and finished second in the 100-yard freestyle at the 2003 Tennessee State Championships. She won state titles in the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyles as a sophomore swimming for Science Hill High School in Johnson City, Tenn.

"We are excited to have added Anna to our program," added Bauerle. "She burst on the scene over the last year and had a tremendous summer. She was recruited by all the major swimming powers in the U.S. She can swim successfully in any freestyle event. She is a great young lady and a hard worker that will add much to this team."

Miller currently trains with the Pilot Aquatic Club of Knoxville under head coach Gardner Howland. She finished seventh in the 200-meter freestyle at the USA Swimming Summer Nationals this past summer. She also won the C consolation final (17th overall) in the 400-meter freestyle. Miller is an Olympic Trials qualifier in three freestyle events. Her age group competition began under coach Scott Dunn with Y-Spartaquatics Swim Club in Spartanburg, S.C., where she broke two South Carolina age group records in the 800-meter and 100-yard freestyle, as well as winning the 5K open water title at the YMCA National Championships.

Georgia's fall signing class rounds out with some local flavor, as Athens native Schmaltz signed with Lady Bulldogs. For the past two years Schmaltz has trained under current Georgia assistant coach Harvey Humphries as a member of the Athens Bulldogs Swim Club (ABSC). Schmaltz has been a finalist at the Southeastern Sectional Championships and has been selected to three Georgia State Zone teams. A two-time Scholastic All-American, Schmaltz was named the Athens Banner Herald Northeast Georgia Swimmer of the Year.

"We are excited to have another swimmer out of the ABSC to sign with Georgia," offered Bauerle. "She is a talented young lady that was recruited by many of the top schools in the southeast. We are fortunate to have her. She has improved over the last couple of years, and we feel she is going to be a very important part of our program. She helps round out a very successful recruiting class."

These four student-athletes bring the Lady Bulldogs total to seven signees during the early signing period, as Georgia also inked Stephanie Carr, Elizabeth Hill and Amanda Weir.

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