Looze hits his mark with 2014 recruiting class

Ten high school swimmers have signed their National Letter of Intent to join the IU swim team in 2014 since Nov. 20.

The recruiting process for this class began two years ago and still isn’t complete.
IU Coach Ray Looze said he is excited about the swimmers the team has so far, especially with the depth and international experience they will bring.

In finding swimmers who he can build a team around, Looze said he looks beyond the impressive qualities.

He looks for the intangibles, such as work ethic, character, leadership, competitiveness and ability to perform under pressure.

Looze said he looks at whether each swimmer is team-oriented.

“In a two-hour workout you start to reveal who you really are,” he said. “The individualist will not be happy at Indiana University.”

Looze said he continues to recruit 365 days a year, and he doesn’t go a day without doing something in recruiting — not even national holidays.

The recruiting doesn’t stop there, though.

Junior Dorina Szekeres is from Hungary and freshman Anze Tavcar came to IU from Slovenia.

Kennedy Goss, a Toronto native, will join Canadian sophomore Brooklynn Snodgrass and junior Cynthia Pammett in 2014.

Goss competed at Junior Worlds, the top meet for swimmers 18 and younger. She will swim the backstroke and freestyle.

Goss’s father was an Olympic swimmer, and her mother is a sports psychologist.
Although she won’t be close to home, Goss looks to follow in their footsteps as she works toward her own Olympic dream and studies psychology at IU.

Also on the women’s side, sprinter Kaitlin Kitchens will become a Hoosier in 2014.
Out of Atlanta, she currently swims for one of the top teams in the country.

Ali Rockett and Delaney Barnard complete a trio of freestylers for the recruiting class.
Marie Chamberlain, from Cape Cod, Mass., was the YMCA National Champion last year and holds the meet’s record in the 100-meter backstroke. She will join the IU backstroke squad.

For Chamberlain, swimming at IU is the next step toward her Olympic dream.
She began swimming at age 8 and said she always hoped to compete at the highest level. She said she now sets her sights on Rio and Tokyo.

“Marie Chamberlain goes in line with some of the great backstrokers we have in the program and have had,” Looze said. “We think she can be really, really good.”

Looze said he is continuing to search for a female breaststroker and female distance swimmer.

On the men’s side, Teddy Kalp and Blake Pieroni are two who competed at Junior Worlds with Goss.

Kalp, a Canadian, is primarily a middle-distance freestyler.

Pieroni was one of the top Indiana recruits, helping lead Chesterton High School to the state title last season.

He is the defending Indiana High School Champion in the 200 individual medley and two-time defending champion in the 100-meter freestyle for Chesterton.

“Blake Pieroni is one of the top 18 and under freestylers in the world,” Looze said. “He was probably the top overall recruit for the state of Indiana, so it’s awesome to get him.”

Brandon Colonis, from West Lafayette, and Cody Taylor, from Columbus, Ind., are two other in-state recruits.

Both are primarily breaststrokers and Taylor, who is a member of the Junior National team, was state champion last winter in the 100-yard breaststroke.

For now, Ryan Gordon completes the 2014 freshman class.

His best strokes are the 100- and 200-yard backstroke, and he was a U.S. Open Qualifier in 2013.

“Ryan Gordon is a backstroker and IM-er from New York State,” Looze said. “We’re losing a lot of backstrokers with Eric (Ress) and James (Wells) graduating, so he’s going to really help us.”

As for replacing this year’s seniors, Looze said it’s not all about filling spots in each individual stroke.

“The biggest thing we’re losing is awesome leadership,” he said. “We don’t always try to replace by need, but more by those characteristics.”

Follow reporter Grace Palmieri on Twitter @gpalmieri7.