University of Tennessee Athletics
Swimming and Diving Team Adds 10
June 10, 2008 | Women's Swimming & Diving
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - In addition to the seven swimmers who committed to the University of Tennessee last fall, head swimming coach Matt Kredich and head diving coach Dave Parrington signed three more athletes for the 2008-09 season. Swimmer Atlantis Wilkins and divers Gabrielle Trudeau and Jodie McGroarty will join Abbie Alton, Lindsey Brackens, Jenny Connolly, Maddie Garrett, Samara Gelb, Caitlin Perks and Tori Richmond in the class of 2012.
Wilkins hails from Bolingbrook, Ill., where she was a five-time All-American in the sprint freestyle events at Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville. She won three varsity letters as a member of the Wildcats' swim team and was named to the All-State team in each of her last two years. As a member of the Fox Valley Swim Club, she participated in the 2007 ConocoPhillips Short Course Nationals and the National Club Swimming Association (NCSA) Junior Nationals.
"Atlantis is a rapidly improving swimmer who we believe is on the verge of becoming an elite sprinter," Kredich said. "She's got great speed and a lot of room for improvement because of her relatively short time in the sport.??
"We're really excited about what she brings to our team in terms of attitude and work ethic as well as athleticism. She's a great person, student, and athlete from a great family and we're thrilled to have them join the family of Lady Vols."
Trudeau has been a member of the Canadian National Diving team since 2003 and has been successful at both the national and international level. From Montreal, Canada, Trudeau represented Canada at the Pan Am Junior Championships where she won a gold medal from three meters and silvers from the one-meter board and the platform in 2005. She also competed at the Junior National Championships, taking home a gold in 2005 and silvers in 2003 and 2004. Trudeau, who attended Antoine-de-St-Exupery school in Montreal, qualified for the upcoming Canadian Olympic Diving Team trials on platform.
"Gabbi is extremely talented on all three levels," Parrington said. "And will give our team enormous versatility and depth particularly at the SEC and NCAA??Championship meets where I felt we were in need of a high quality three-board competitor, who could have an immediate impact.
"After visiting with her and her family it is obvious she has enormous family values which will lend itself well to our team spirit. In addition to her talent, she has great passion for the sport, is very inquisitive and extremely gifted academically, all of which will add greatly to our swimming and diving team."
McGroarty will begin her career at Tennessee after signing with the Lady Vols last season. The Sheffield, England, native deferred her enrollment to continue to compete for Great Britain on an international level such as at the European Championships, World Championships and the World Cup. She also did well this year at the British Championships winning a gold medal from the three-meter board and silver in the three-meter synchronized diving event.
??"Jodie will come to us with a lot of international experience which will bode well during her freshman campaign of adjustment," Parrington said. "Though I anticipate she too will have an immediate impact both at the Conference and NCAA level."
Wilkins, Trudeau and McGroarty are the final installments to an incoming freshman class of 10 student-athletes. The following seven swimmers committed to UT in the fall.
Abbie Alton will join the Lady Vols from Lawrenceville, Ga., where she attends Dacula High School (Dacula, Ga.) and swims for Chris Davis of Swim Atlanta. As a member of Swim Atlanta, Alton was the 2007 state champion in the 50m freestyle and competed at the Summer Nationals in Indianapolis, Ind., this year.
On the high school level, Alton was named an All-American and Gwinnett County's Swimmer of the Year in each of the past two seasons. She also has five county titles and three state championships to her name. Alton won the state 100y free event in each of the last two years and the 50y free last year. She also took top honors in the 100y back as a freshman and sophomore, the 100y free as a sophomore and junior, and the 50y free as a junior, all at the Gwinnett County Championships.
"Abbie is one of the top sprinters coming out of high school this year, and she's on a steep improvement curve right now," Kredich said. "She has good speed and also finishes very well. She's going to be a great addition to our freestyle relays and will be a threat to score individually at NCAAs as well. Abbie is as excited as anyone I've ever recruited to be a Lady Vol and that makes all of us smile considering where she is from."
Lindsey Brackens, a resident of Memphis, Tenn., attends Briarcrest Christian where she is a four-time letterwinner and two-time captain for the Saints. She was awarded the Most Valuable Swimmer for the past three seasons, earned the Coaches Award and was dubbed the Tennessee Swimmer of the Year.
Brackens is coached by Dan Schultz of the Memphis Thunder Aquatic Club. While competing for Memphis Thunder, she made the finals in four different events at both the 2006 and 2007 Speedo Junior National Championships. In 2007, she produced Olympic Trial times while placing third in the 200m free and fifth in the 400m free. She was also fourth in the 1500m freestyle. Brackens earned an Olympic Trial time in the 800m freestyle this summer at the 2007 ConocoPhillips National Championships.
"Lindsey is the most accomplished swimmer coming out of Tennessee this year, and we are thrilled that she has chosen to be a Lady Vol," Kredich said. "She is a little unusual in that she is an excellent distance swimmer who has some very impressive speed. She is going to help us have much more of a presence nationally in distance events, and will make our 800y free relay much more competitive."
Jenny Connolly will come to Tennessee from West Lafayette, Ind., where she attends William Henry Harrison High School, and is a three-time All-State Team member and All-American. She has been the state champion in the 100y backstroke for the last two years and was the Indiana state high school champion in the 100y fly this past year.
Connolly joined current Lady Vol senior Christine Magnuson on the U.S. Team which competed at the 2007 Japan International Grand Prix in August. She placed eighth in the 100m back with a time of 1:01.87.
In addition to her international experience, Connolly has been competing on a national level for several years. In 2005, a then-15-year-old Connolly placed fourth in the 100m backstroke at Junior Nationals and 13th at the U.S. Open. The next year, she was the Junior National champion in the 100y back and took 21st in the event at Senior Nationals. In the summer of 2007, Connolly brought home the bronze medal in the 100m back at the ConocoPhillips National Championship meet. She owns Olympic Trial cuts in the 100m back and 100m fly. Her club coach at Boilermaker Aquatics is T.J. Day.
"Jenny's breakthrough summer established her not only as the top 100 backstroker in the senior class, but as one of the best in the country," Kredich said. "She has tremendous speed, an awesome competitive drive and some real versatility as well. She has gotten a lot of attention due to her backstroke, but she is an outstanding 100 and 200 butterflier and sprint freestyler. She comes from an outstanding club background and is an excellent student and a joy to be around."
Nashville-native Maddie Garrett will become a Lady Vol after winning three state championships (2005-07) as a member of the Harpeth Hall High School swimming and diving team. She was the state scoring champion and MVP in each of those championship meets. In 2007, she earned a runner-up finish in the 100y fly and third in the 200y free. Garrett has earned All-America honors in both the 100y fly and 200y free in each of the last two years. As a freshman, she was the named the Bearacuda's Rookie of the Year.
Garrett is currently representing the Nashville Aquatic Club at the 2007 USA Swimming Short Course National Championships in Atlanta. She is coached by John Morse.
"We are really excited that Maddie is coming to Tennessee for a lot of reasons," Kredich said. "She is known as a very hard worker, great teammate and a tough competitor. She will have an immediate impact on our team in the butterfly events, especially the 200. She also comes from a family that is rich in Tennessee and USA swimming history, and from one of the great club teams in Tennessee."
From Clarksville, Md., Samara Gelb is coached by Chris Gibeau of Retriever Aquatics. She is a talented breaststroker whose time in the 200m breast earned her eighth at the 2006 Junior National Championships. She also placed 14th in the 200m IM at that meet.
"Samara is the consummate student-athlete and a great fit for the Lady Vols," Kredich said. "She has been very well coached so she has a lot of versatility in strokes and distances. She is one of the fastest incoming breastrokers we've ever had, so she'll be a great addition to our breaststroke and IM groups, as well as a fantastic addition to the University of Tennessee community."
Gelb attends River Hill High School in Clarksville where she has excelled in the classroom. She is a member of the National Honor Society and RHHS honor roll, and was a Maryland Distinguished Scholar Semi-Finalist, National Merit Commended Student and is an Advanced Placement Scholar. USA Swimming tabbed her as a Scholastic All-American in 2006 and 2007.
Three-time All-American Caitlin Perks hails from Warrenton, Va., where she attends Fauquier County High School. She won district and regional championships from 2005-07, and was a state champion and team MVP in 2005. She holds 10 of 11 swimming records at her high school.
Perks is also successful outside of the pool as she is a member of the National Honor Society and holds an officer position in the Future Business Leaders of America club at FCHS. In addition, USA Swimming has named her a Scholastic All-American.
As a member of QDD Swim Team, which is coached by Mike Yearwood, Perks has competed at numerous national events including the 2006 U.S. Open, and Junior Nationals in the summers of 2006 and 2007, where she qualified for the finals in the 50m free.
"Caitlin is one of the top 200 freestylers coming out of high school this year," Kredich said. "She has great range. Her 100 [freestyle] is very good, but she races the 50 and 500 [freestyle] also. She has tremendous work ethic and some very high goals for the program and for herself."
Tori Richmond will come to Tennessee from Palm City, Fla. The 12-time All-American attends the Bolles School in Jacksonville, Fla., and swims for Sergio Lopez of the Bolles School Sharks. Prior to attending the Bolles School, Richmond earned All-America honors in the 200y IM, 100y breast and 200y free relay at Martin County High School. After she transferred to the Bolles School, she added All-America accolades in the 200y IM and 400y freestyle relay and two Florida state team championships. In 2006, she was part of the foursome that broke the National Independent School and Florida state record in the 200y free relay.
"When her friends and coaches talk about Tori, they talk about her heart, her leadership and her character first," Kredich said. "Our staff and team have been really impressed with those elements, as well. In addition to those qualities, Tori is simply a fantastic aquatic athlete. She's very good at every stroke, knows how to put them together in an IM and is a very tough competitor. She also sprints well. She can race a 200 [distance] well, and we're betting that her 400 IM will be outstanding."
