Dec. 8, 2008
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Five high school student-athletes have signed National Letter of Intents to join the Notre Dame women’s swimming and diving team in the fall of 2009, Irish head coach Brian Barnes recently announced. Barnes, who took over the program in August, has strewn together a recruiting class that he believes to have the potential to help shape the direction of the program’s future.
“First off, they are all outstanding students which is the first thing that attracted us to them,” Barnes said. “They are all going to add to the depth of our team and I think that they will ultimately develop into team leaders in the years to come.”
The five-person class boasts a number of individual state titles and All-America accolades.
—-
Jaime Malandra
5-5 Free
Allentown, Pa.
Top times: 200 Free (1:48.18), 500 Free (4:48.43), 1,000 Free (10:03.49).
The Malandra File: Has shown some raw speed in the short course pool in the middle distance free events … will fill the gap left from this year’s graduating class … one of the top 200-500 freestylers on the prep level this season.
Barnes on Malandra … “She’s an All-American performer that comes from a great family. She’s definitely going to help us with depth on our team and our goal to move up the NCAA rankings and perform at that level. She’s a solid, kick-driven middle distance swimmer. Jamie is a hard worker that comes to us from a great program.”
—-
Gracie Fredlake
5-9 Free / IM
Tampa, Fla.
Top times: 200 Free (1:51.14), 500 Free (4:53.83), 1,650 Free (16:43.83), 200 IM (2:04.85), 400 IM (4:23.49).
The Fredlake File: An all-around great swimmer with good strokes … the kind of swimmer that Notre Dame will be able to put in just about any event without hesitation … should contribute mostly in the middle freestyle events … just beginning to tap her potential as a swimmer.
Barnes on Fredlake … “Gracie is a high-energy and very confident young lady. She comes from a nice Tampa Bay Aquatics program that promotes the right values in swimmers in terms of hard work, attitude and discipline. She was an all-state performer in Florida in the 500 Free last season, and she’s going to be a nice addition to our distance squad.”
—-
Lauren Scott
5-7 Free / Fly
Fayetteville, Ga.
Top times: 50 Free (24.04), 100 Free (51.86), 100 Fly (55.25, 1:02.26 – long course).
The Scott File: Beginning to find her speed in the pool … swam much faster this past summer than she ever had before … a great kicker … will be a huge asset to the Irish relays and shorter individual events.
Barnes on Scott … “Lauren is a little more on the sprint side of things. She is an Olympic Trials qualifier with a nice 100m Fly mark coming in that would already rank among Notre Dame’s top five all-time times. She is going to be a nice swimmer for us and we’re glad to have her join the program.”
—-
Kim Holden
5-7 Back / Fly
Mount Kisco, N.Y.
Top times: 100 Back (53.98, 1:03.67 – long course), 200 Back (2:02.01, 2:18.67 – long course), 100 Fly (54.40, 1:03.18 – long course).
The Holden File: A fantastic dolphin kicker that developed into a solid stroker this past summer … should see some fast swims from her during the upcoming short course season … will be expected to contribute to the Irish immediately on relay squads and at the individual level.
Barnes on Holden …
“She set New York’s record in the 100 Back during her most recent state meet, which is already under our school record in the event. She did not appear to be that fast when we recruited her, but she sent us some footage and after watching it we knew she had a ton of potential. Soon after she visited campus, she won two events at her state meet.”
—-
Jenny Chiang
5-8 Diving
Fairport, N.Y.
The Chiang File: Four-time All-American … New York’s 1-meter state champion in 2008 … finished runner-up in the event last season as a prep at Fairport (N.Y.) … claimed four Section V Class A titles … finished among the top three at the state meet in each of her four prep seasons … fifth off the 1-meter at the 2008 USA Junior Nationals … placed first off the 3-meter at the 2008 USA Spring Junior Region 2 meet … active in Fairport’s National Honor Society and Spanish National Honor Society.
Notre Dame head diving coach Caiming Xie on Chiang …
“She is a very strong diver with great fundamentals. Jenny is very talented and I see her helping this team starting the day she steps on campus. As a diver, she’s very developed but there is room for improvement. I can see her becoming one of the top divers in the conference and moving on to the NCAAs.”
Barnes on Chiang …
“She was a highly-sought after diver and a huge addition to our team. I believe in investing greatly into our diving program. If we are taking a break between prelims and finals at the conference or NCAA meets, for a swimming coach, there is nothing better than scoring points when you’re not even there. Jenny is certainly poised to leave her mark on this program.”
–ND–