IU Coach Ray Looze announced today that the Hoosiers have signed six men's swimmers, eight women's swimmers and one men's diver in their talented 2012 recruiting class.
On the men's side, the Hoosiers signed a high-quality class, however zero came from the state of Indiana. Leading the signing class is Grayson Smith of Ridgefield, Conn., a Junior National qualifier and second-place finisher in the March 2011 EZ North Region Speedo Championships in both the 1,650 and 1000 Freestyle races. Smith also holds the Conn. state records in the 800-meter freestyle, 200-, 400- and 800-meter freestyle relays and the 200- and 400-meter medley relays. The Hoosiers also signed twins Tanner and Seth Kurz of Hockessin, Del., both of whom are state champions. Tanner, who according to Looze is one of the "finer recruits in the country", is also the Delaware state record holder in the 50 free, 100 free, 100 back and 100 breaststroke. The lone diving signee came from Andrew Hull of Denver, Colo., who was a national qualifier in 2011 and was a sixth-place finisher in the 2011 Colorado State Championships. Hull was once an elite gymnast, until injuries led him to focus solely on diving. Other signees include Brent Aarons (Austin, Texas), Grayson Smith (Ridgefield, Conn.), Michael Stack (Oak Lawn, Ill.) and Michael Taylor (Ft. Francis, Ontario).
The 2012 women's class is one of the most talented and diverse in recent memory, with five signees from Indiana. Leading the class though is Canadian Brooklyn Snodgrass, the silver medalist in the 200-meter backstroke at the 2011 World Cup in Sweden. Snodgrass also is the 2011 Canadian age group gold-medalist in both the 50-, 100- and 200-meter backstroke, and recently finished 16th in last weekend's AT&T Winter Nationals in Atlanta, Ga. Another high-profile swimmer, Haley Lips of Greer, South Carolina, signed to swim with IU starting next year. Lips, a nine-time state champion and YMCA short course national record holder in the 100 butterfly, also holds 2012 Olympic Trials qualifying times in the 100 fly, 200 fly, 200 free, 400 free and 400 IM. Closing out the class though is Taylor O'Brien of Zionsville, Pa., who had back surgery this summer after fracturing her vertebrae and will attempt to battle back from the huge setback in her career. O'Brien, a 2012 Olympic Trials qualifying time holder in the 400 free and 800 free, also won the bronze medal in the 800-meter freestyle at the 2010 US Junior National Championships. The other five signees include Alexis Bullard (Carmel, Ind.), Shelby Carroll (Schererville, Ind.), Allie Lamberson (Valparaiso, Ind.), Erika McCormick (Mt. Vernon, Ind.) and Myra Retrum (Columbus, Ind.).
