University of Tennessee Athletics
Aqua Vols Ink Seven for 2005-06 Season
November 30, 2004 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Nov. 30, 2004
The Tennessee men's swimming and diving team signed six swimmers and a diver for the 2005-06 season head coach John Trembley announced Tuesday.
The talented group of signees include Peter Baer (San Juan Capistrano, Calif./Dana Hills HS), Stanley Czarnecki (Denver, Penn./Cucalico HS), James Dabney (Charlotte, N.C./Providence HS), Michael Russo (Norcross, Ga./Norcross HS), Zachary Samlund (Omaha, Neb./Westside HS), Burkley Showe (Columbus, Ohio/Thomas Worthington HS) and Jeffrey Sudbury (Redding, Conn./Joel Barlow HS).
"Needless to say we are very excited and cautiously optimistic about this group," UT head coach John Trembley said. "We anticipate to add four to six additional team members to this class in the spring. We are looking forward to having a very strong and powerful class. Certainly the new Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center has added momentum to our recruiting and the Hope Scholarships have added some excitement. Good things are on the horizon for Tennessee men's swimming and diving."
Baer is a middle-distance freestyler and individual medley specialist whose father, Jim Baer (1968-71), was an All-America and team captain for the Vols. Baer is a seven-time high school All-America, National Meet qualifier and earned a fifth-place finish at the junior nationals on the 800 free relay.
Czarnecki is a backstroke and butterfly competitor who should make an impact at the SEC and NCAA levels. Czarnecki earned three high school All-America honors while winning three Pennsylvania state championships.
Dabney is an all-around performer who looks to compete in the butterfly, breaststroke, freestyle and backstroke for the Vols. Dabney was a 2004 All-America while earning second at the North Carolina state championships in the 400 free relay.
Russo will be returning to the Vols after a one-year hiatus from the team. Russo will be a junior and looks to make an immediate impact in the breaststroke for the Vols on the national level.
Samlund, a 6-6 freestyle and butterflyer adds some depth to the Vols. Samlund was the swimmer-of-the-meet honoree at the Nebraska state championships his junior year as his high school team also won the state team championship.
Sudbury is a freestyler and individual medley performer. Sudbury's club team, the Wilton Wahoos, won the YMCA National Long-Course Championships in 2003 and 2004. His high school also won the Connecticut state championship in 2003.
Showe, the lone diver of the signees, comes from a very prestigious diving club with many accolades. Showe was the USA Junior National Champion on the one-meter in 2002 and the three-meter in 2001 and 2004. He also represented the US at the Junior Pan-Am Games in 2001, Junior World Championships in 2002 and 2004 and the Senior Grand Prix in 2004.
"Burkley (Showe) comes from an outstanding program that does many similar things to what we do here training- and competition-wise," UT diving coach Dave Parrington said. "His work ethic is second to none, and I am really looking forward to the prospects of working with him for the next four years. Personality-wise, he knows the guys currently on the team from various competitions through the years, so they should jell very well."
The Vols return to competition Dec. 18-20 in Las Vegas at the UNLV Invitational.
Players Mentioned
