Seven Join Cavalier Swimming Program
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. Virginia head swimming coach Mark Bernardino has announced that five men and two women will join the swimming and diving program next fall. The seven student-athletes join nine others who signed National Letters on Intent in the fall.
Justin Ashcraft (Fort Mill, S.C.), Tom Casey (Suffield, Conn.), Kevin Marsteller (York, Pa.), Nick Montes De Oca (Orange, Va.) and Nathan Vredeveld (Chattanooga, Tenn.) will join the Cavalier men’s team while Anna Dobben (Flossmoor, Ill.) and Meg Hutchinson (Sudbury, Mass.) will join the women’s squad.
“We felt we had signed an outstanding group of young men and women in the winter and knew we still had some areas we wanted to improve upon,” Bernardino said. “We spent a lot of time trying to find the right pieces for our spring recruiting group. It looks as though we should be able to move forward with this freshmen class without skipping a beat.”
Casey, Vredeveld and Dobben are all high school All-Americans while the trio of Ashcraft, Casey and Marsteller are each state record holders. Additionally, Vredeveld was the Tennessee state champion in the 200 freestyle.
SIGNEE TOP TIMES
MEN
Justin Ashcraft
Fort Mill, S.C.
Team Charlotte (Doug Fleck)
Free/Back/IM
200 IM 1:51.70
400 IM 3:56.81
200 Free 1:40.17
500 Free 4:32.16
200 Back 1:49.68
Bernardino on Ashcraft: “Justin is an outstanding all-around swimmer and we feel as though his best days are in front of him. He comes to us from the same program that (current UVa swimmer) Lauren Smart came out of in North Carolina and as with a lot of our recruits, we spent a lot of time focusing on the versatile athletes and it has paid huge dividends.”
Tom Casey
Suffield, Conn.
Suffield Academy (Andy Lowe)
Breast/IM
200 IM 1:49.31
100 Breast 56.14
200 Breast 2:00.72
Bernardino on Casey: “Tom is a versatile swimmer and came on very well late in his senior year and we think he is going to help fill the breaststroke void. He has yet to really focus solely on swimming. From this point forward, all of his athletic endeavors will be put toward the sport of swimming. We look for Tom to be a sleeper in this class and to be the type of athlete who really steps up and shocks a lot of the swimming world with his performances. He is a terrific student and a great leader. He should bring quite a bit to the table.”
Kevin Marsteller
York, Pa.
York Suburban (Dick Guyer)
Free/Fly
50 Free 20.69
100 Free 45.06
200 Free 1:38.66
100 Fly 48.56
Bernardino on Marsteller: “Kevin is another late bloomer. He came on at the end of the season and really surprised people with his performances at the Pennsylvania state championship meet. He can swim multiple events through a wide range of distances. Kevin is another who has yet to really dedicate himself on a year-round basis strictly to swimming. We think he is going to improve in leaps and bounds during his collegiate years.”
Nick Montes De Oca
Orange, Va.
Battlefield Area Swim Starts (Kevin McHaney)
Breast/IM
200 IM 1:51.55
400 IM 3:56.43
200 Breast 2:05.05
Bernardino on Montes De Oca: “Nick had a tremendous spring and had significant time drops in both the 200 and 400 IM. He has been in our swim camp multiple years as a youngster. He is very tall and hasn’t hit the weight room yet within a year we except to see some major breakthrough performances. He is also a very good breaststroker and may be able to help us out in that event as well.”
Nathan Vredeveld
Chattanooga, Tenn.
The Baylor School (Dan Flack)
Free/Back
200 Free 1:39.42
500 Free 4:29.24
1000 Free 9:17.10
1650 Free 15:38.30
100 Back 50.82
200 Back 1:47.84
Bernardino on Vredeveld: “Nathan is certainly an interesting addition to the Virginia swimming program because his dad, Roger, is a North Carolina swimming great. Nathan had a wonderful senior year and is also a little bit underdeveloped as far as physical strength. With some effort in the weight room, Nathan will establish himself, like his father, as one of the top swimmers in the ACC. We look for him to be a strong contributor in the 200 backstroke and the middle distances freestyle events. We are thrilled to have Nathan in the fold and look for him to do some spectacular things.”
WOMEN
Anna Dobben
Flossmoor, Ill.
North Aquatics Club (Bill Magnuson)
Free
50 Free 23.39
100 Free 50.27
Bernardino on Dobben: “Anna is a high school All-American and state runner-up in Illinois. She is an outstanding sprint freestyler and also is an outstanding ballerina. She is very athletic and has great physical length. We think she is going to be able to come in right away and hopefully contribute to some relays. She will add much needed depth to the 50 and 100 freestyle groups. Anna is a superb addition to the women’s team especially with the potential to soften the loss of our departing seniors.”
Meg Hutchinson
Sudbury, Mass.
Shawmut Aquatic Club (Matt Craven)
Back/Free
100 Back 57.22
200 Back 2:02.26
100 Free 52.88
200 Free 1:52.53
Bernardino on Hutchinson: “Meg is going to add outstanding depth to our backstroke corps. She is a junior national qualifier and we look for her to make some significant improvements right away. Meg was looking for a challenge and wanted to be with athletes who were faster and more advanced so she could push her talents to the limit. She has a great perspective and attitude on the sport and we think she is going to blossom into a fine swimmer.”