Stanford Strikes it Rich, Signs Four Top Swimmers; Texas Signs Top Diver

STANFORD, Calif., Nov. 14. THE rich keep getting richer! The Stanford women's swimming and diving program has announced the signing of four student-athletes to national letters of intent to attend Stanford in 2002-2003. Texas signed one of the nation's top high school diver.

The four incoming swimmers are Kristen Caverly (San Clemente, CA/San Clemente HS), Laura Davis (Concord, CA/Clayton Valley HS), Carly Geehr (Newport Beach, CA/Newport Harbor HS) and Anna Strohl (Cleveland, OH/Hawken HS).

"On paper, this is one of our best classes during my tenure at Stanford," said head coach Richard Quick.
"When you sign two national champions, that is a pretty good accomplishment. We feel great about this
class and where they're going to take Stanford swimming in the future."

Caverly is a three-time national champion with a pair of victories in the 200 meter IM (1999, 2001) and one in the 200 meter breast (2001). She currently ranks among the world's best in the final 2001 world rankings in the 400 meter IM (8th), 200 meter IM (15th), 200 meter breast (21st), 100 meter breast (58th) and 200 meter back (93rd). Caverly was a member of the 2001 U.S. National "A" Team and finished second in both the 200 meter breast and 400 meter IM at the 2001 Goodwill Games. She was also fourth in the 200
meter breast at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials.

"Kristen is a world class swimmer who is on an amazing improvement curve," said Stanford head women's swimming coach Richard Quick. "She competes at an
elite level in a number of events, and we are more than pleased she will be representing Stanford."

Davis won a national title in the 200 meter IM in 1999 and has a wealth of international swimming experience. She finished second in the 200 meter breast, 100 meter fly and 400 meter IM at World Cup 1 in 2000. She also finished fifth in the 200 meter IM at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials. As a prep junior, Davis won national public high school championships in both the 200 yard IM and the 100 yard fly.

"Laura is one of the most versatile swimmers in the nation," said Quick. "She will play a significant role for our team the next four years. She brings a great deal of international experience, an outstanding work ethic and great energy to a team situation."

Geehr won a Junior National title in the 200 meter breast in 1997 at the age of 12 years old and holds several age group records. She also had a big World Cup 5 meet in 2000, finishing fourth in the 400 meter IM, as well as fifth in the 200 meter IM and 200 meter breast.

"We feel that Carly is one of the most talented swimmers in this class," stated Quick. "We look for her to fully recover from injuries that have hampered her the last two years and return to world class form. Carly could be the real find of this class."

Strohl won a Junior National title in the 500 yard free in 1998.

"Anna brings a lot to the table," said Quick. "She has the ability to swim a lot of events, in addition to having a great attitude, work ethic and strong club background. We look for Anna to quickly return to the national and international scene."

Stanford is currently the top-ranked collegiate women's swimming and diving team in the nation. The 2001-2002 team won all three of its dual meets this
fall, including victories over defending national champion Georgia and perennial national power Texas. Last year, the Cardinal finished second at the 2001 NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. Stanford won six NCAA titles during the 1990's.

University of Texas women's diving head coach Matt
Scoggin announced Wednesday the signing of Melanie Panek (Houston, Texas/Houston Learning Academy) to a National Letter of Intent for the upcoming 2002-03 academic year.

Panek finished second on the one-meter springboard at the 2001 U.S. Indoor Nationals in April and won the platform competition at the 1999 U.S. Junior Nationals. Most recently, Panek was a member of the
2001 U.S. Goodwill Games which competed this past summer in Brisbane, Australia.

"Melanie is an extremely talented and strong diver who will immediately have a strong impact on our springboard events," Scoggin said. "She also will be asked to compete for UT on the platform where she will be a huge asset for us. We are very excited to have
Melanie join our program."

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