LYNCHBURG, Virginia, May 21. LIBERTY Head Women's Swimming Coach Jake Shellenberger has announced the signing of three athletes to National Letters of Intent for the 2010-11 academic year. <\/p>\n
Sarah McCorkle, Lindsey Romkes and Melissa Watson will join previously-signed team members Kirsten Blake, Amber Kerico, Emily Mudd and Bethany Wakeley as the first athletes to commit to Liberty for the first season of competitive swimming as a NCAA sport. They are slated to begin their careers as Lady Flames this fall. <\/p>\n
"The spring group of signees is a small but talented group, and we are expecting big things from them here at Liberty," commented Shellenberger. "The pressure is on for them to come in and perform right away, and with two of them already scoring in the top eight in multiple events, I believe they are up for the challenge. <\/p>\n
"Now, the real work begins. The incoming freshmen and current club team members need to take care of business this summer and be ready to roll in the fall." <\/p>\n
Sarah McCorkle
\nHometown: Sparks, Nev.
\nHigh School: Spanish Springs High School
\nClub: Sparks Piranhas
\nClub Coach: Mike Richmond
\nIntended Major: Nursing
\nHonors and Highlights<\/p>\n
\u2022 2009-2010 Academic Letter Award<\/p>\n
\u2022 2007-08 Scholastic Achievement Award (minimum of 3.75 cumulative high school GPA)<\/p>\n
\u2022 First and second-team all-region and all-state first-team<\/p>\n
\u2022 Career best times: 25.16 in the 50-yard freestyle; 54.81 in the 100-yard freestyle; 2:01.97 in the 200-yard freestyle<\/p>\n
Quote from McCorkle: "Liberty is giving me an opportunity to become closer to God, be part of history as part of the women's first swim team, and to pursue my dream of becoming a midwife."<\/p>\n
Quote from Shellenberger: "The sky is the limit for Sarah, and we expect her to continue improving at the next level. She is an extremely hard worker and a great student, and she will provide much-needed depth in the freestyle events." <\/p>\n
Lindsey Romkes<\/p>\n
Hometown: Parksville, British Columbia, Canada<\/p>\n
High School: Ballenas Secondary<\/p>\n
Club: Ravensong Breakers<\/p>\n
Club Coach: John Campbell<\/p>\n
Intended Major: Pre-Med<\/p>\n
Honors and Highlights<\/p>\n
\u2022 Holds the Ravensong Breakers' record in six different events<\/p>\n
\u2022 Member of the National Honor Society<\/p>\n
\u2022 Three-time member of the Principle's List Honor Roll<\/p>\n
\u2022 Career best times: 24.89 in the 50-yard freestyle; 53.04 in the 100-yard freestyle; 1:53.96 in the 200-yard freestyle; 58.36 in the 100-yard butterfly; 2:07.43 in the 200-yard butterfly<\/p>\n
Quote from Romkes: "Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase. I look forward to the challenge of taking that first step, being a member of a swim team that lays the foundation for the program." <\/p>\n
Quote from Shellenberger: "We are extremely excited to have Lindsey on campus here at Liberty for the next four years. She hails from British Columbia, and enters the conference scoring in the top eight in three different events. She will provide a solid anchor leg on our medley relays and will help with depth in the butterfly events as well."<\/p>\n
Melissa Watson<\/p>\n
Hometown: Friendswood, Texas<\/p>\n
High School: Friendswood High School
\nClub: Houston Cougar Aquatic Sports
\nClub Coach: Greg Orphanides
\nIntended Major: Nursing
\nHonors and Highlights
\n\u2022 2010 Academic All-American (NISCA)
\n\u2022 Named first team all-state in the 100 Breast, 200 Medley Relay, 400 Free Relay in 2008, 2009, 2010 by the Texas Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association
\n\u2022 Named second team all-state in the 200 Free in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and in the 100 Breast in 2007 (TISCA)<\/p>\n
\u2022 Holds Friendswood High School record in the 100 Breast, 200 Medley Relay and 400 Free Relay<\/p>\n
\u2022 Four-year qualifier for the Texas 4A State Swimming Championships<\/p>\n
\u2022 FHS Water Polo Team \u2013 2009 State Championship Qualifier <\/p>\n
\u2022 Four-year member of FHS chapter of the National Honor Society <\/p>\n
\u2022 Career best times: 1:05.09 in the 100-yard breaststroke (SCY); 2:21.81 in the 200-yard breaststroke (SCY); 1:57.68 in the 200-yard freestyle (SCY); 2:11.59 in the 200-yard individual medley (SCY); 55.70 in the 100-yard freestyle (SCY)<\/p>\n
Quote from Watson: "I chose Liberty University because I love the school and the environment. I love that Liberty's motto is "Training Champions for Christ," and I firmly believe that this is the team the Lord has led me to be a part of."<\/p>\n
Quote from Shellenberger: "Melissa has all the tools to be an NCAA Qualifier at the next level. She comes into the conference scoring very near the top in both breaststrokes, and will be an important part of our medley relays. She is a tireless worker and a great student and person. "<\/p>\n
The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine<\/i>. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World<\/i> offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World<\/i> reserves the right to choose what material is posted.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LYNCHBURG, Virginia, May 21. LIBERTY Head Women's Swimming Coach Jake Shellenberger has announced the signing of three athletes to National Letters of Intent for the 2010-11 academic year. Sarah McCorkle,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-college","category-zzzzzzzzz"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n