Eight Santa Clara Swimmers Sign National Letters of Intent

santa clara swim club signing nli
Photo Courtesy: Allison Beebe

On Wednesday, November 14th, eight Santa Clara Swim Club high school seniors signed National Letters of Intent to continue their swimming careers in college beginning in the fall of 2019.

Those eight seniors – Trent Itow, Tina Le, Ashley Ma, Maggie Malloy, Virginie Qian, Max Saunders, Mackenzie Thomas, and Mikayla Tseng – joined their parents, coaches and teammates in a signing ceremony at the International Swim Center in Santa Clara, Calif.

Santa Clara Swim Club head coach Allison Beebe said:

“We are really proud of these student athletes, whose hard work, commitment, and sacrifice opened so many doors for their future. We are excited to watch their continued growth and progress at the collegiate level.”

Trent Itow – Cal Baptist

A backstroker with a Winter Juniors cut in the shorter of the two distances, Itow finaled in his signature event at Santa Clara Futures this summer. The Morgan Hill native was the runner-up in both backstroke events at the Phoenix Invite last winter and his best 100 back time would’ve scored in the A-final at the 2018 Rocky Mountain Championships.

Tina Le – Columbia

Le owns three Junior National standards and placed sixth in the 100m free at Santa Clara Futures this summer after notching four lifetime bests at Juniors West last winter. The Santa Clara sprinter would’ve placed in the A-final of the 200 free at the 2018 Ivy League Championships, making an immediate impact for Columbia next year.

Ashley Ma – UC Davis

Ma recorded a pair of best times at Junior Nationals – West last winter and placed 10th in the 200m fly – her best stroke – at Far Westerns last long course season. Hailing from Sunnyvale, she would’ve placed in the A-final of the 100 fly at last season’s MPSF Championships. Read more about her commitment here.

Maggie Malloy – UC Davis

Joining Ma with the Aggies next fall is Santa Cruz freestyler Malloy, who had three top-5 finishes at Far Westerns to cap off her summer season. She placed eighth in both the 500 free and 400 IM at Far Westerns in April and would’ve scored in the C-final of the 200 free and 500 free at the 2018 MPSF conference meet.

Virginie Qian – Rice

A Winter Juniors qualifier, Qian placed seventh and eighth in the 200 IM and 400 IM, respectively, at Santa Clara Futures in August. The Owls will gain valuable depth when she arrives on campus next fall as her best 200 IM and 100 breast times would’ve scored in the B-final at the 2018 C-USA Championships. Read more about her commitment here.

Max Saunders – USC

The Trojans will gain from the quickly-improving Los Gatos freestyler, who finaled in the 100m free at Junior Nationals this summer. A former water polo player, Saunders only recently turned his attention full-time to swimming and was the 100 free runner-up for Bellarmine Prep at the CIF State Championships as a junior. Read more about his commitment here.

Mackenzie Thomas – UMBC

The Hollister native will add valuable breaststroke depth to the Retrievers’ roster next fall and her best times in both distances would’ve placed in the B-final of last season’s America East Championships. Thomas competed at CIF-Centrals as a junior and was a key member of Valley Christian High School’s relays. Read more about her commitment here.

Mikayla Tseng – Loyola Marymount

Primarily a butterflyer, Tseng hails from San Jose and had a strong showing at Far Westerns this past summer with a trio of seventh-place finishes. She’ll make an immediate impact when she suits up for the Lions: Tseng’s best 200 fly time would’ve scored in the A-final at the 2018 PCSC Championships. Read more about her commitment here.

If you have a commitment to share, please send a photo and quote via email to hs@swimmingworld.com.

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Sachi Kuwano
5 years ago

Congrats to all of the swimmers!!!

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