University of Tennessee Athletics
LADY VOL SWIMMING LANDS THREE HIGHLY TOUTED RECRUITS
November 28, 2005 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Nov. 28, 2005
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee Lady Volunteer swimming program landed three highly touted recruits for the 2006-07 season, head coach Matt Kredich announced today. Michele King, Ashley Knapik and Keira Heath are set to join the Big Orange starting in 2006-07.
"We're really excited about the enthusiasm and ability that these three student-athletes will bring to our program," Lady Vol head swimming coach Matt Kredich said. "Michele, Ashley and Keira have very high aspirations for themselves, and they share the vision that we have for our team. They come from two of the most successful club programs in the country and bring a wealth of skill, experience and potential to our team. We're thrilled to welcome them to the Lady Vol family."
King, a native of York, Pa., was the No. 1-ranked high school swimmer in the nation as a junior in the 100y freestyle and third in the 50y freestyle. She placed sixth in the 50y free at the 2005 World Championship Trials. Additionally, she was an Olympic Trials qualifier in the 50 and 100y free. Moreover, she was the 2005 national high school swimming champion in the 50 and 100y free.
At the state level, King was named the Pennsylvania Swimmer of the Year in 2005 and was an all-state honoree from 2003-05. She is the record holder in the 50 and 100y free and was the district champion in 2004 and 2005. King also holds every single record at Spring Grove High School, where she swam for three years.
"To sign someone of Michele's caliber is obviously a great thing for our program," Kredich said. "Michele is one of the best sprinters in the country right now and has the ability to make a profound impact in the SEC and at NCAAs immediately. We believe that she's going to get a lot better as well.
"She has a limited pre-high school background, but she has developed over the past few years under Murray Stephens, the head of our country's most successful swim club, North Baltimore Aquatic Club, so she's been brought along very thoughtfully. We're obviously excited about her freestyle, but Michele is also a very good breaststroker and IM'er as well, so she'll make our team better in a number of ways."
Knapik, a product of Baltimore, Md., was ranked sixth in the country in the 100 and 200y butterfly for 16-year olds. She has come on strong of late, qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Trials in both the 100 and 200y fly. She qualified for senior nationals, both spring and summer, in 2003, 2004 and 2005. She also competed at the U.S. Open and the Grand Prix in 2003.
"Ashley had a breakthrough year last year, qualifying for the Olympic Trials in both the 100 and 200 butterfly," Kredich said. We are pretty thin this year in the 200 fly, and Ashley's going to help us make that event a strength for our team. She is also a national level distance freestyler and IM'er, so she'll be very versatile in meets, and she'll be a valuable addition to the training atmosphere in our distance and IM groups."
Heath, from Greenwich, Conn., has been an All-American the past three campaigns. In total, she earned 12 All-America certificates and set four school records at Greenwich High School, two of which were individual. She led her team to the YMCA National Championship in both the short and long courses. She was also awarded the Janel Jorgensen award for inspirational swimming.
"Keira is an outstanding distance freestyler and IM'er," Kredich said. "She has a super attitude towards her swimming, a great work ethic and a real appreciation for all of the things that make the Lady Vol swimming program unique. We believe she's going to be a strong contributor right away in the 500 free, mile, and 400 IM."
