Wolverines Add Three to Signing Class

ANN ARBOR, Mich., June 2. THE University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team announced the signing of three more student-athletes to National Letters of Intent on May 31. Joining the team this fall will be Andre Schultz (Santa Barbara d'Oeste, Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Palmares), Adam DeJong (Holland, Mich./Holland HS) and Chris Dukatz (Troy, Mich./Birmingham Brother Rice).

The trio joins sprinter Chris Brady (Wilmington, Del./Mt. Pleasant HS), middle-distance freestyler Charlie Houchin (Raleigh, N.C./William G. Enloe HS), breaststroker Scott Spann (Austin, Texas/Westlake HS) and IM'er Shaun Weinberg (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney HS), who committed to U-M during the early signing period. Josh Correll (Charlotte, N.C./Providence HS), who originally committed during the early signing period, no longer plans to attend U-M.

"They have big shoes to fill with the loss of Peter Vanderkaay, Chris DeJong and Davis Tarwater," head coach Bob Bowman said. "While you can never replace senior swimmers of that caliber, I'm confident this class will add its own chapter to the rich tradition of Michigan swimming. They might rank among the best recruiting classes ever to come to U-M."

A freestyle and individual medley specialist, Schultz comes to Ann Arbor with strong credentials. This spring alone, he made national teams for the Swimming World Cup, Multinations Junior Swimming Meet, Latin Cup and Brazilian National Championship. At the Latin Cup, featuring teams from 19 countries, Schultz finished fourth in the 200m freestyle (1:54.29), and third in the 200m IM (2:07.88) and 400m IM (4:31.62). At the Brazilian national championships, he posted four top-four finishes in the 200m individual medley (2nd, 2:04.41), 200m backstroke (2nd, 2:04.60), 400m freestyle (3rd, 3:58.72) and 200m free (4th, 1:52.17).

"Not only is he one of the most talented young swimmers in the world, he is an excellent student who exemplifies the term student-athlete," Bowman said. "We're delighted he's chosen Michigan. His versatility and focus on reaching the highest levels of international swimming make him one of the top prospects available this year and we're thrilled to have him."

A high school All-American in the 200 and 500 freestyles, DeJong was the 2006 Michigan state champion in the 500-yard free. He was a member of Holland's 2004 state champion swimming and diving team and also played prep football. He is the younger brother of 2005-06 Michigan team tri-captain Chris DeJong (Holland, Mich./Holland HS).

"We are very excited about Adam's potential because he is relatively new to year-round swimming," Bowman said. "He comes from a great swimming family; his older brother, Chris, was an All-American and Big Ten champion for us. We're excited for him to join the Michigan family."

A butterflier and freestyler, Dukatz comes from the Oakland Live Yers club team that produced the All-America trio of brothers Christian Vanderkaay (2001-02, '04-05), Peter Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich./Adams HS) and Alex Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich./Adams HS), as well as current Wolverines Johnny Austermann (Huntington Woods, Mich./Berkley HS) and Dane Rook (Metamora, Mich./Cranbrook Kingswood HS). Dukatz is a USA Swimming Scholastic All-American and has won several state titles. He scored in multiple events at the 2006 NCSA Junior National Championships, winning the consolation final of the 100-yard butterfly (50.39) and scoring in the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard free and 200-yard butterfly.

"We're happy to continue our relationship with the Oakland Live Yers," Bowman said. "Chris is an excellent student and is someone who will be a tremendous addition in the butterfly and middle distance events. "We've signed the country's top breaststroker in Scott Spann, who just broke the Texas state record in the 100 breaststoke, the top middle distance freestyler (Charlie Houchin), and we have Andre, who has international experience and the potential to swim at the very top level internationally. I'm very excited to watch this class progress."

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x